姉妹都市提携と市民國際交流の意義

Toshio Kusumoto 성결대학교 다문화평화연구소 2009 다문화와 평화 Vol.3 No.2

The foundation of international cultural exchange in our county is sister city agreements, which are signed between local municipalities and foreign cities. In 1956, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the US President, proposed “People to People Program” to promote international cultural exchanges between cities in the US and around the world. The basic philosophy behind the program was that the international cultural exchange among citizens concerned would promote mutual understanding; concomitantly it would promote world peace. One of the most important scheme in President Eisenhower’s program was to develop sister city agreements among foreign municipalities. Today, the same philosophy still stands. Different from diplomatic activities between governments, which are directly affected by national interests, sister city agreements are less affected by foreign policies. To the contrary, sister city agreements often promote more grass-root cultural exchanges between cities and citizens. In Japan, before the end of world war Ⅱ, it was quiteunusual for a local municipality to sign a sister city agreement with a foreign city. The first sister city agreement signed by a Japanese city was between Nagasaki and St. Paul. Minnesota, in 1955. Japan in 1955 was still a devastated and confused country after being defeated in the war. Strict government regulations on foreign currency limited the ability to travel abroad for the average citizen; however, for the heads of municipalities and citizen this sister city agreement provided a rare opportunity to experience the outside world. The international cultural exchange between sister cities covers various aspects of societies, such as education, high culture, sports, health care, industry and administration. Through sister city agreements, a city can expect an increased number of opportunities for the international cultural exchange of citizens. The expectations for world peace were high when the cold war ended after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, such optimistic expectations have been proved to be only an illusion. Confrontations provoked by racial, religious or national interests, which lead to confusion and dispute, are often observed today. In such chaotic situations, mutual understanding and cooperation between individual citizens, which differ from inter governmental diplomatic relationships, should have even more important significance. Through a sister city agreement, two cities and their citizens interact with each other to create close friendship and a sense of solidarity. Thus, sister city agreements may contribute to world peace through a grass-root cultural exchange of citizens. In 1974, Kobe and Riga, the capital of the Latvian Republic, signed a sister city agreement. While under control of the Soviet Union, its citizens were strictly prohibited from making free contact or having exchanges with foreigners. However the sister city agreement has provided citizens of Riga, who were not ordinarily allowed to travel to western countries, the opportunity to visit Kobe. After Latvia obtained independence from the Soviet Union in 1990, one Riga citizen looked back and commented; “Before 1990, it was impossible to make a free contact with foreign countries for the people of Latvia. The sister city, Kobe, provided the only window, through which people of Latvia could glance at the western world”. When the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake hit Kobe in 1995, many countries kindly forwarded necessary aids to the hard-hit city. The aids items from sister cities were the most needed in the city at that time. The reason sister cities could provide appropriate aid items was the strong ties between the cities. The strong ties established before the earthquake made communication easy so that information on what were the urgent necessities could be easily communicated. This paper studies the history and the present... The foundation of international cultural exchange in our county is sister city agreements, which are signed between local municipalities and foreign cities. In 1956, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the US President, proposed “People to People Program” to promote international cultural exchanges between cities in the US and around the world. The basic philosophy behind the program was that the international cultural exchange among citizens concerned would promote mutual understanding; concomitantly it would promote world peace. One of the most important scheme in President Eisenhower’s program was to develop sister city agreements among foreign municipalities. Today, the same philosophy still stands. Different from diplomatic activities between governments, which are directly affected by national interests, sister city agreements are less affected by foreign policies. To the contrary, sister city agreements often promote more grass-root cultural exchanges between cities and citizens. In Japan, before the end of world war Ⅱ, it was quiteunusual for a local municipality to sign a sister city agreement with a foreign city. The first sister city agreement signed by a Japanese city was between Nagasaki and St. Paul. Minnesota, in 1955. Japan in 1955 was still a devastated and confused country after being defeated in the war. Strict government regulations on foreign currency limited the ability to travel abroad for the average citizen; however, for the heads of municipalities and citizen this sister city agreement provided a rare opportunity to experience the outside world. The international cultural exchange between sister cities covers various aspects of societies, such as education, high culture, sports, health care, industry and administration. Through sister city agreements, a city can expect an increased number of opportunities for the international cultural exchange of citizens. The expectations for world peace were high when the cold war ended after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, such optimistic expectations have been proved to be only an illusion. Confrontations provoked by racial, religious or national interests, which lead to confusion and dispute, are often observed today. In such chaotic situations, mutual understanding and cooperation between individual citizens, which differ from inter governmental diplomatic relationships, should have even more important significance. Through a sister city agreement, two cities and their citizens interact with each other to create close friendship and a sense of solidarity. Thus, sister city agreements may contribute to world peace through a grass-root cultural exchange of citizens. In 1974, Kobe and Riga, the capital of the Latvian Republic, signed a sister city agreement. While under control of the Soviet Union, its citizens were strictly prohibited from making free contact or having exchanges with foreigners. However the sister city agreement has provided citizens of Riga, who were not ordinarily allowed to travel to western countries, the opportunity to visit Kobe. After Latvia obtained independence from the Soviet Union in 1990, one Riga citizen looked back and commented; “Before 1990, it was impossible to make a free contact with foreign countries for the people of Latvia. The sister city, Kobe, provided the only window, through which people of Latvia could glance at the western world”. When the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake hit Kobe in 1995, many countries kindly forwarded necessary aids to the hard-hit city. The aids items from sister cities were the most needed in the city at that time. The reason sister cities could provide appropriate aid items was the strong ties between the cities. The strong ties established before the earthquake made communication easy so that information on what were the urgent necessities could be easily communicated. This paper studies the history and the present situation of international cultural exchange of sister cities, ...

姉妹都市提携と市民國際交流の意義

쿠스모토토시오 ( Toshio Kusumoto ) 성결대학교 다문화평화연구소 2009 다문화와 평화 Vol.3 No.2