About

Wheelchairs for PeaceTempe Sister Cities: Bringing the World Together, One Friendship at a Time.

Our student exchange, educator exchange, and professional exchange programs are among our many valued programs that help promote international good will and cultural understanding. Tempe Sister Cities’ encourages cross-cultural cooperation and collaboration by building friendships between people and partnerships between communities. Tempe has eleven sister cities worldwide.

Sending students abroad through our Tempe Sister Cities Student Exchange program is our top priority, as well as supporting our sister cities through activities to promote international goodwill and cultural understanding.

Fundraisers like Oktoberfest and Hackett House support our mission to bridge cultural divides and create personal connections both abroad and at home.

Where are Tempe’s Sister Cities?

  • Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia – Established 1971
  • Regensburg, Germany – Established 1976
  • Lower Hutt, New Zealand – Established 1981
  • Zhenjiang, China – Established 1989
  • Timbuktu, Mali – Established 1991
  • Beaulieu sur Mer, France – Established 1997
  • Carlow, Ireland – Established 1998
  • Cuenca, Ecuador – Established 2008
  • Cusco, Peru – Established 2012
  • Trollhätten, Sweden – Established 2015
  • Agra City, India – Established 2016

A High School Student’s Opportunity of a Lifetime

Our Student Exchange Program allows our community’s next generation of leaders to reach across geographical bounds to experience the variety of life and culture the world offers.

Our program sends high school students who are residents of Tempe to send four to five weeks abroad with a host family in our sister cities and host students from those cities here in Tempe.  We do this because we believe these cultural experiences are an investment in the future of our Tempe youth. More than 800 Tempe teens have had the opportunity to experience another culture firsthand and be ambassadors for Tempe worldwide.

How does Tempe Sister Cities promote peace and goodwill?

Tempe Sister Cities volunteers address immediate needs in addition to investing in our future by providing humanitarian aid to our sister cities in need.

Sister Cities International Humanitarian Award

In 2026 Tempe Sister Cities received the Innovation in Humanitarian Assistance Award from Sister Cities International for our donation to Timbuktu for school supplies in memory & honor of long time volunteer and original Timbuktu Country Director Sue Lofgren.

U.S. State Department Citizen Diplomacy Award

In 2020 Tempe Sister Cities received the U.S. State Department’s 2020 Citizen Diplomacy award. The Citizen Diplomacy Award celebrates the significant and beneficial contributions Tempe Sister Cities has made to furthering U.S. foreign policy objectives and strengthening relationships around the world.

Assistance to Timbuktu

Timbuktu, our sister city in Mali, was once a fertile hub of learning, but now it faces drought, poor education and little healthcare.

Tempe Sister Cities partnered with Timbuktu to address pressing needs, building seven drinking water wells and providing school and medical supplies, and is now a partner in building a desperately needed new primary school.

Wheelchairs for Peace

Over 700 wheel chairs were divided evenly amongst our sister cities of Timbuktu, Mali; Skopje, Macedonia; and Zhenjiang, China.

Tempe Sister Cities also partnered with Project C.U.R.E. to provide wheel chairs and medical supplies for Hilla, Iraq. Other joint projects to support Hilla are in the works.

U.S. State Department Partner in Peace

In 2005, the U.S. State Department selected Tempe as one of five U.S. cities to be a “Partner in Peace” with a city in Iraq, pairing us with Hilla, Iraq, the capital of Babylon.

We Put the FUN in Fundraising!

Our annual Oktoberfest is a three-day festival attended by nearly 60,000 people. Talk about a party! Plus, all the profits fund our international exchanges and charitable works—now that’s really something to celebrate.

Our volunteers’ creativity makes Tempe Sister Cities a national leader in innovative fundraising strategies. Hackett House, Tempe’s historic bakery complex that we’ve operated for 40 years, is a smashing success with its programs and parties that inject life into the local community and fund our sister cities programs.

Why not support a winning organization with a bright future?

Tempe Sister Cities has received an Overall Best Sister City Program in America award seven times and more than 20 additional awards ranging from “Overcoming Geographical Distance” to “Developing Local Awareness” to “Contribution to World Peace and Understanding.” None of this would be possible without our dedicated community volunteers, two of whom have received “Volunteer of the Year” recognition (selected from some 1,500 sister cities). Please volunteer your talents with Tempe Sister Cities today.

You and your family can also join the Tempe Sister Cities organization for just $35 (tax-deductible) and expand your horizons, meet new people, and change the world one friendship at a time.

Sister Cities International

Sister Cities International (SCI) is the national U.S. membership organization (founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower) that promotes peace through citizen diplomacy, cultural/educational exchanges, and community partnerships. It serves as the umbrella body for over 400 U.S. communities with more than 1,800 official sister city partnerships across 140+ countries.

How do Sister Cities International and Tempe Sister Cities Work Together?

As our parent organization, Sister Cities International certifies and supports Tempe Sister Cities’ international partnerships. Sister Cities International champions the cultural, educational, and municipal projects that we undertake.

It is with Sister Cities International’s backing that Tempe Sister Cities can enable student exchanges with our sister cities through a partnership with the American Cultural Exchange Service and continue our humanitarian work.

Key ways we collaborate:

  • Certification and Official Recognition: SCI registers and certifies sister city agreements. When Tempe establishes or maintains a formal sister city relationship (signed by city officials), it gains legitimacy and structure through SCI’s national framework. This ensures partnerships follow recognized standards for long-term cultural, educational, and municipal cooperation.
  • Support, Resources, and Advocacy: SCI provides backing, guidance, and promotion for local programs like TSC’s. This includes championing TSC’s initiatives in education, culture, and humanitarian efforts (e.g., wells, school supplies, and medical aid in sister cities like Timbuktu).
  • Enabling Exchange Programs: SCI’s national infrastructure and partnerships (such as with exchange services) help TSC run its flagship student exchange program. High school juniors from Tempe travel abroad for weeks-long homestays, and international students visit Tempe. SCI’s broader exchange frameworks and J-1 visa-related support facilitate these people-to-people connections.
  • Awards, Recognition, and Networking: TSC frequently wins SCI awards, demonstrating active participation and excellence within the network. Examples include multiple “Overall Best Sister City Program in America” awards, the 2025 Innovation in Youth & Education Award, and the 2026 Innovation in Humanitarian Assistance Award. SCI’s annual awards program recognizes outstanding local achievements among its member communities.
  • Broader Initiatives and Best Practices: SCI connects TSC to a national network of sister city programs, shares resources/best practices, and aligns local work with larger goals like youth leadership, cultural exchange, and global development initiatives. TSC operates independently with local volunteers, fundraising (e.g., Oktoberfest), and partnerships (City of Tempe, ASU, schools), but leverages SCI for international credibility and program enablement.

In short, SCI provides the national framework, certification, resources, and recognition, while TSC delivers localized programming, volunteer-driven exchanges, and community engagement in Tempe. This structure allows Tempe’s efforts to thrive as part of a larger movement promoting global understanding and peace, one friendship and partnership at a time.

What other causes does Sister Cities International support?

Sister Cities International (SCI) primarily advances peace, mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation through city-to-city partnerships and citizen diplomacy. Beyond establishing and supporting these core sister city relationships, it backs a variety of targeted initiatives, programs, and causes focused on youth development, humanitarian aid, cultural exchange, diversity, regional diplomacy, and community improvement.

Here’s a breakdown of key additional causes and initiatives SCI supports (drawn from its official programs and affiliated descriptions):

Youth Development and Education

  • Youth Leadership Summit (YLS): An annual program (often held alongside SCI’s conference) for ages 14–18. It engages young people in international affairs through simulations, service projects, and peer collaboration to build the next generation of global leaders.
  • Young Artists & Authors Showcase (YAAS): A yearly contest where students worldwide submit original art, photography, poetry, literature, or music based on a chosen theme. Winners receive prizes (e.g., $1,000), and works are featured in a virtual exhibit.
  • Educational exchanges, including the J-1 Visa High School Homestay program, which facilitates semester- or year-long student hosting to foster cross-cultural bonds.
  • Recognition through the Annual Awards program (established in 1962), which honors excellence in youth/education categories among member communities.

Humanitarian Aid and Development (Especially in Africa)

  • Broader member-supported humanitarian work, including health, education, infrastructure, and quality-of-life improvements in partner communities worldwide.
  • Africa Urban Poverty Alleviation Program (AUPAP): Launched around 2009, this initiative worked with U.S. and African sister cities on water, sanitation, and healthcare projects to address urban poverty in targeted African cities. It supported practical improvements in sectors critical to sustainable development.
  • 500 in 5 Initiative: A current strategic effort to connect 500 cities in Africa with U.S. counterparts over five years. It aims to build long-term diplomatic, cultural, and people-to-people relationships that promote peace, respect, and mutual understanding.

Regional Diplomacy and Expansion

  • 7 for 70 Initiative: Focuses on creating or strengthening partnerships between U.S. cities and Pacific Island nations, tied to SCI’s 70-year milestone.
  • U.S.-Japan focused efforts, such as the Haijmari Project (documenting the origins of over 400 U.S.-Japan sister city relationships) and the U.S.-Japan Global Impact Grant (supporting collaborative projects on shared challenges through city-to-city connections).

Cultural Exchange, Diversity, and Peacebuilding

  • Arts and culture programs/exchanges.
  • Partnership & Peace Tours: Initiatives that enable deeper, more meaningful interactions between visitors and local communities.
  • Muslim World Partnership Initiative: Efforts to expand U.S. sister city partnerships with primarily Muslim cities and raise awareness of these connections.
  • General promotion of diversity, inclusion, and peace through people-to-people diplomacy.

Other Supporting Areas

  • Business, trade, and economic development via delegations and connections.
  • Citizen diplomat delegations and institutional knowledge-sharing/best practices for members.
  • Annual Awards across categories like arts, business, education, youth, and diplomacy to highlight impactful work.
  • Grants, resources, and networking to help local programs implement these causes.

SCI functions as a national hub (with over 400 U.S. member communities and 1,800+ partnerships globally). It provides resources, recognition, and coordination so local organizations, like Tempe Sister Cities, can participate in or lead these efforts. Many initiatives are member-driven but amplified through SCI’s framework, awards, and targeted programs.

For more information, please visit the Sister Cities International website.

Other information on Tempe Sister Cities

Tempe Sister Cities is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit organization, which means that all donations can be allocated directly toward achieving our mission of promoting global goodwill and cultural understanding for the people of Tempe.

Members and donors who make charitable contributions to Tempe Sister Cities, a public charity, are eligible for tax deductions.

Our community partners

We are proud to partner with organizations in our Tempe community that believe in the work we do. We thank the following community partners:

  • City of Tempe
  • Tempe Chamber of Commerce
  • Arizona State University
  • Tempe Convention and Visitors Bureau
  • Tempe Union High Schools
  • Tempe Elementary Schools
  • Tempe Historical Museum

Would you like more information on Tempe Sister Cities, how to become a member, or to volunteer?

You are welcome to contact Tempe Sister Cities with any questions or comments you have. We look forward to hearing from you!

Tempe Sister Cities