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Dakar-Plateau, Senegal - Pasadena Sister Cities Subcommittee
About us...
The Dakar-Plateau, Senegal Planning Committee was comprised of various individuals and leaders from the community committed to implementing the brainchild of then Vice Mayor John J. Kennedy. In 2018, under the leadership of Vice Mayor John J. Kennedy, a Pasadena delegation visited Dakar-Plateau and enjoyed 10 days of African hospitality—Teranga. Upon the delegation's return, a proposal of Sister City affiliation with Dakar-Plateau, Senegal was prepared for the Pasadena City Council’s consideration and, on August 27, 2018, the Council unanimously approved Dakar-Plateau, Senegal as Pasadena’s first African Sister City. Nine months later, the official agreement was signed by Mayors Terry Tornek and Alioune Ndoye in the Council Chambers of Pasadena City Hall during an historic visit by the eight-member Senegalese delegation from June 13-22, 2019.
Mayors Signing the African Sister Cities Agreement
This was a historic moment for the City of Pasadena. Our first Africa Sister Cities as a direct result of then Vice Mayor John J. Kennedy. we will forever remember and be grateful.
President Eisenhower
Sister Cities International was created at President Eisenhower's 1956 White House summit on citizen diplomacy, where he envisioned a network that would be a champion for peace and prosperity by fostering bonds between people from different communities around the world.
Sister Cities International began in 1956, when
President Dwight D. Eisenhower envisioned a way for U.S. cities to create formal partnerships with foreign cities. Municipality to municipality, cities could exchange information and ideas in order to develop friendships and deepen cultural understanding. This vision sparked the creation of Sister Cities International, which today includes more than 500 U.S. cities with relationships in 145 countries – a total of some 2,000 municipal partnerships. Each year, thousands of citizen diplomats, young and old, represent the United States around the world, promoting democracy and understanding.