Success for the long term

By The Daily Progress

Published: September 23, 2008

Charlottesville’s Sister Cities Commission seems to be taking both a creative and a common-sense approach to relationships with overseas cities. That’s a wise balance.

It’s good to have cultural, economic and historic ties with many parts of the world. Charlottesville is a cosmopolitan city with interests broad enough to warrant geographical diversity in its choices.

But, as commissioner Nancy O’Brien pointed out, a question arises: Is that interest sustainable?

Charlottesville risks spreading itself too thin if it takes on too many commitments to sister cities (or commitments to too many sister cities).

Promises made during initial enthusiasm may be hard to keep as interests shift, people move on, energy dissipates.

Better to have steady relationships.

A natural ebb and flow may be expected. But some officials note that sister city relationships can become harder to maintain when those persons with the initial vision lose interest or energy, or literally move on.

Each city needs a group of people who are delighted about the opportunities for interaction and, moreover, are able to spread their enthusiasm to new supporters. That way the support is self-replicating, and the project is sustainable.

The new commission is beginning to address this issue as it considers how to improve existing sister city relationships and how to evaluate possible new ones.

Sisterhood is powerful, especially if it can be sustained for the long haul, en-riching the lives of future residents. The commission is wise to consider the long-term success of a sister city project, which is as important as the initial enthusiasm and energy needed to get such a project started.