Mayor's Welcome
Mayor Brandon Whipple
Honorary Chair of Wichita Area Sister Cities
Message from Mayor Whipple (click here)
(316) 268-4331
President's Welcome
Message from our President (click here)
President 2022-2023
Wichita Area Sister Cities (WASC)
Mission
To promote peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation - one individual, one community at a time.
Purpose
Wichita Area Sister Cities (WASC) pursues exchanges with its sister cities in the following areas of interest:
Diplomatic - Mayor and City Council delegation visits
Cultural - group and individual exchanges
Educational - university programs for language development
Professional - ballet, music, chef, etc.
Tourism - group and individuals
Economic - searching business opportunities
Strategic Goals
Consistent with Sister Cities International, our strategic goals are:
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Cultural Exchange
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Partnership Building
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Business & Trade
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Community Development
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Youth & Education
More information from Sister Cities International
Sister Cities International
Notice Board
- Click the following links to visit the WASC Facebook page or the pages for Mexico , China or France
- Click the following link to complete your membership form, save it, and email it to wichitaareasistercities@yahoo.com, then click the link "Pay dues & events" at the top of the page.
Upcoming events:
Entre Nous FB: https://fb.me/e/462kUj6on
Past events:
In 2023, WASC is celebrating the 50th anniversary of our strong relationship between Wichita and Orléans, France.
In August 1944, American soldiers, including the 137th Infantry from the Kansas 35th Division, liberated the people of Orléans, France from the Nazi occupation. Thus began the friendship between our two cities and, in 1973, Wichita and Orléans formally became Sister Cities.
Spearheading this 50th anniversary celebration was an international partnership during the month of February which included both the Wichita Area Sister Cities (WASC) and the Orléans-Wichita association, alongside WSU’s School of Music and French Department and their counterparts across the pond, the Orchestre Symphonique d’Orléans.
Together, WASC and WSU produced concerts and masterclasses in both Orléans and Wichita. In honor of this historic anniversary, the concerts featured music from American and French composers. Here are the Youtube videos of the two WSU concerts featuring Vincent Mitterrand:
February 19th - Vincent performed in the Faculty Artist Chamber Music Chamber recital featuring WSU French faculty for the 2nd half. Click here for the link to this concert.
February 21st - Vincent performed the "Concerto for Trumpet" by French composer Henri Tomasi with the WSU Wind Ensemble. Click here for the link to this concert.
Our Wichita musicians, Gerald Scholl and Dominique Corbeil, are back from their visit in Orléans, France! Here are some pictures of Gerald Scholl and Dominique Corbeil's visit to Orléans.
Previous events:
- Kaifeng China Delegation: November 29-December 2nd, 2022. Pictures from meeting with Mayor Whipple and Wichita Art Museum.
35th Anniversary of our Sister City relationship with Kaifeng, China
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Cities (click arrows to scroll through cities)
Kaifeng 开封, Henan 河南, P.R. China 中华人民共和国 Early in 1985, Wichita Mayor Robert Brown appointed a task force to study the desirability of establishing a Sister City relationship with a city in the Henan Province, a sister state to Kansas, People's Republic of China. The relationship became official on December 3rd and in September 1986, Mayor Brown led the first delegation to visit Mayor Zhu in Kaifeng.
On April 16th, 1944, the 137th Infantry of Kansas 35th Division liberated Orléans from Nazi occupation. In 1949, 1 1/7th Scale train was sent to Orléans as a gift. Orléans and Wichita became sister cities in 1974. That year, they exchanged statues of Joan of Arc and Blackbear Bosin's Keep of the Plains.
Wichita and Tlalnepantla de Baz, Mexico, became Sister Cities in 1973 when the Presidente Municipal (Mayor) Joaquin Rodriguez Lugo visited Mayor James Donnel in Wichita. A replica of Black Bear Bosin's Keeper of the Plains was presented to Tlalnepantla de Baz in 1975.
Kaifeng 开封, Henan 河南, P.R. China 中华人民共和国 Early in 1985, Wichita Mayor Robert Brown appointed a task force to study the desirability of establishing a Sister City relationship with a city in the Henan Province, a sister state to Kansas, People's Republic of China. The relationship became official on December 3rd and in September 1986, Mayor Brown led the first delegation to visit Mayor Zhu in Kaifeng.
See our Riverfest page for more details.
Economic Value of Sister Cities
Recently, ValueIdeas LLC published a report, "Measures that Matter," for Sister Cities International on the economic value of Sister Cities nationally and for particular cities. It is well worth reading.
Join Sister Cities
Meet visiting delegates from China, France or Mexico and participate in official visits to our Sister Cities; make business, cultural or educational contacts; stay informed about visits and scholarships; practice your Spanish, French or Mandarin; and much more.
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