About HKSCA
The Houston Karachi Sister City Association (HKSCA) is an inclusive organization, whose sole focus is mission is to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, & cooperation one individual, one community at a time.
Created in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Sister City International’s (SCI) goal is to develop municipal partnerships between U.S. cities, counties, and states and similar jurisdictions in other nations. SCI also works with ordinary citizens to participate in people-to-people exchanges and to build long-term partnerships between U.S. and international municipalities. SCI represents more than 700 U.S. communities and nearly 2,500 partnerships with sister communities in 134 countries.
Established in Houston in 2009, HKSCA is the newest member of the SCI family. The association is a voluntary organization and has applied for the notfor-profit (501© (3) status
about
Our History
Sister Cities International was created at President Eisenhower’s 1956 White House conference on citizen diplomacy. Eisenhower envisioned an organization that could be the hub of peace and prosperity by creating bonds between people from different cities around the world. By becoming friends, President Eisenhower reasoned that people of different cultures could celebrate and appreciate their differences, instead of deriding them, fostering suspicion and sowing new seeds for war.
Sister Cities International creates relationships based on cultural, educational, information and trade exchanges, creating lifelong friendships that provide prosperity and peace through person-to-person “citizen diplomacy.” Since then, Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, and now President Barack Obama have served as the Honorary Chairman of Sister Cities International.
Since its inception, Sister Cities International has played a key role in renewing and strengthening important global relationships. Early partnerships included a trading relationship between Seattle, Washington and Tokyo, Japan, repairing post-WWII tensions by creating cultural and educational exchanges and, subsequently, lasting friendships. A 1974 study found that many early sister city relationships formed out of the post WWII aid programs to Western Europe. The relationships that endured, however, were based on cultural or educational reasons that developed lasting friendships. Sister Cities International improved diplomatic relationships at watershed moments over the past 50 years, including partnerships with China in the 1970s.
In the new millennium, Sister Cities International continues to expand its reach to new and emerging regions of the world. Today, it dedicates a special focus on areas with significant opportunities for cultural and educational exchanges, economic partnerships, and humanitarian assistance.
SISTER CITIES BASIC CONCEPT
Sister Cities are official relationships that link cities with mutual interests from around the world. They are established through formal commitments by the respective municipal governments. Citizen volunteers coordinate a variety of exchanges and programs that promote friendship, understanding, trade and cooperation.
Our Mission
To promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation — one individual, one community at a time.
Our Goals
Increase cultural and educational exchange to improve understanding and promote interaction between the people of Houston and Karachi. Help build bridges of friendship and commerce between these two vital centers of culture and finances. Support individual and civic exchanges that foster better understanding and appreciation between citizens of the two cities. Develop ongoing projects and events to promote cultural and people exchanges as well as economic development opportunities.