From the Heartland to the Adriatic Sea
Since its founding in 1903, Crayola Crayons has increased its collection from eight to 120 colors. Since its founding in 1956, the number of Sister City International (SCI) members has increased to 570 U.S. member cities with 2,300 partnerships in 150 countries. As with the variety of colors, you can find urban, suburban, and rural sister city members. But one size (or color) does NOT fit every relationship. The flexibility to develop your own mutually beneficial program is a key factor in the success of SCI. An example is the relationship between the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, located in America’s heartland, and Piran, Slovenia, located on the Adriatic coast.
Slovenia is often described as “The Green Piece of Europe” to reflect the fact that almost fifty percent of the country is forested. And yet this Central European nation of two million people boasts natural beauty in a variety of other elements as well — the Julian Alps, Karst terrain, Adriatic Sea, and Pannonian plains all stand out to make up its distinctive landscape. Located on the Adriatic coast about twenty miles south of Trieste, Italy sits the city of Piran, with a cultural and political history that has many calling it an “open air museum.” With its Mediterranean architecture and Istrian influence in food and culture, Piran is a primary tourist attraction for Italians, Croatians, Austrians, and other Europeans.
Indianapolis, meanwhile, sits across the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of America. With a population of 820,000 people, it is the largest city in the state of Indiana, of which it is also the capital. Known as “The Circle City” for its car-racing culture, Indianapolis prides itself on hosting the annual Indianapolis 500, which is currently the world’s largest single-day sporting event. To the outsider, Piran and Indianapolis may seem extremely different — but fifteen years ago, they united under a Sister City relationship, which largely incorporates three exchange categories: education, culture, and government.
The 15+ year relationship between Indianapolis-Piran Sister City Committee (IPSCC) and Municipality of Piran largely incorporates three exchange categories: 1) Educational, 2) Cultural and 3) Governmental.
Education
Educationally, Piran and Indianapolis have made it a point to assure international relations within classrooms of all levels. Elementary schools such as Indianapolis’ Public School #46 participate as e-pen pals with Piran’s Sečovlje Elementary School, while Allisonville Elementary and Franklin Central High School conduct regular Skype conferences with Cirila Kosmaca to learn what their Slovenian peers are doing in class. On a University level, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and the University of Primorska have ongoing faculty and staff exchanges, as well as annual video conferences between their tourism students. GEA College business students from Piran also recently participated in grocery internships with the American retail supermarket chain Kroger, along with volunteering for Slovenian cultural booths at the Indianapolis International Festival.
Culture
Culturally, the Indianapolis Slovenian National Home holds many events to celebrate its sister city relationship. In 2005, they sponsored Slovenian National Day programs to celebrate Slovenia’s 1991 independence from Yugloslavia — an event that featured Ambassador Samuel Zbogar. The Home also arranged for a three-week visit of Zorko Bajc, parish priest of Piran, to attend the Festival and promote awareness of church restoration in Piran. Finally, the Slovenian National Home also made financial and material donations toward a reading room at Haughville Library (originally settled by Slovenes), produced a concert by the Istrian band Tramontana, and sponsored the Slovenian Day of Culture through hosting conversational Slovenian language classes.
Government
The last category of the two cities’ relationship is governmental relationship. After officially signing the Indianapolis-Piran Sister City agreement in 2001 at the Indy Slovenian Festival, Indianapolis has made contributions to the International Trust Fund for demining projects in various regions of former Yugoslavia. Now, the mayors of the two cities maintain regular contact via email, and organize exchanges for officials to visit their Sister Cities counterparts in Slovenia — and vice versa in Indiana.
The essence of Sister City citizen diplomacy is twofold: first, to respect differences, and second, to celebrate similarities. For members of the Indianapolis-Piran Sister City Council, maintaining regular contact with their ancestral homeland back in Slovenia is priceless. Through mutually beneficial relationships, educational exchanges, and personal visits, these two cities have formed a strong, long-lasting transatlantic connection that, as is Slovenian custom, is built on love. There is LOVE in every Slovenian!
I FEEL SLOVENIA www.slovenia.info
This story is part of the #SisterCitySunday series on Medium. Each Sunday from October 2, 2016 to May 7, 2017, new stories from the 28 European Union Member States will be published. Stories will also be shared on social media using #SisterCitySunday.
To join the conversation on social media, make sure to use #SisterCitySunday and tag @EUintheUS and @SisterCitiesInt on Twitter and Instagram, and EUintheUS and SisterCitiesInternational on Facebook. Let us know about your experiences in twinned cities and share your partnership stories with us!
