HOLLYWOOD UPDATE

By Mayor Josh Levy

In 1956, as the world was still recovering from World War II, President Dwight D. Eisenhower hosted a White House conference on how citizen diplomacy could improve international relations. One of the outcomes of this conference was the establishment of the People to People Program, which later grew into the concept of Sister Cities, through which cities from different parts of the world would pair with one another in order to facilitate cultural exchange and economic cooperation between their people. Since then, the number of Sister Cities has flourished, with thousands of partnerships formed between cities across continents.

During the 1990’s and 2000’s, our city established eight Sister City relationships around the world - with Baia Mare, Romania; Herzliya, Israel; Lecheria, Venezuela; Higuey, Dominican Republic; Vlorë, Albania; Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France; Guatemala City, Guatemala and Ciudad de la Costa, in Uruguay.

This year, we added a ninth Sister City relationship for our city, when on May 10th, we signed a ceremonial Sister City Agreement with Laayoune, Morocco - our first new Sister City in 20 years. Laayoune, named after the natural oasis that provides the city with its source of water, is the capital of the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region of Morocco and is located in the mineral rich Sahara desert along the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa. Laayoune is a city with great history and culture, and its people are warm and welcoming. It is an important economic hub, with long established fishing and mining industries and healthcare and education sectors that are in the midst of undergoing monumental investments. A bright future is ahead for Laayoune, and we are excited about the opportunity for our two cities to cooperate in a variety of areas to promote business and cultural exchange. Please look out for the Sister City programming that we hope to bring in the months and years ahead as we reinvigorate our city’s international outreach and friendships - one handshake at a time.

Sincerely,

Josh Levy Mayor of Hollywood