Who We Are
The Sister City Roundtable — a community-led think tank reimagining international civic partnerships.
Our Identity
In plain English, the Sister City Roundtable is a community-led think tank. Formally, as outlined in our Constitution, our core objectives are:
- To serve as a collaborative forum for the exchange, review, and advancement of all Sister City activities and initiatives.
- To provide a structured platform for the discussion of issues, challenges, and opportunities affecting the Sister City movement locally, nationally, and internationally.
- To facilitate coordinated dialogue and strategic planning for the implementation, evaluation, and refinement of Sister City programs.
Why We Were Formed
The Roundtable was established in direct response to the dissolving of the previous national body and the resulting perception of a leadership vacuum within the wider Sister City network. We recognized an urgent need to step up, fill that void, and ensure that these vital international relationships continue to be supported and nurtured.
How We Operate
Our mission is to reimagine and revision the Sister City movement from the ground up by establishing a strong presence directly within our communities. Our primary mechanism is the “local roundtable”—a collaborative forum that actively brings together community members, local businesses, and municipal Councils. By uniting grassroots enthusiasm with civic leadership, we are building new, practical pathways to achieve our international goals.
Governance and Independence
The organization is currently guided by a dedicated steering committee. As our local roundtables roll out across different regions, each forum will serve as a localized mechanism for the development of those local, independent, community roundtables.
Furthermore, the Sister City Roundtable is proudly a community-funded initiative. To maintain our independence and grassroots focus, we do not rely on or seek government funding to operate our roundtable events.
Founder & Chair
Allan Scudder has been recognized as an original thinker for a time of change in the Sister City movement. Over more than forty years, he has pioneered connections from schools to states, guided Sydney's civic partnerships in response to evolving economic priorities, and led national discussions on strengthening sister state collaboration.
In recent years, he founded the Sister City Roundtable. His work reflects both practical leadership and a larger vision: that sister cities are not only instruments of policy, but enduring bridges of civic imagination, economic cooperation, and global understanding.