Who Are We?
The San Diego-Vladivostok Sister City Society (SDVSCS)is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit corporation founded in 1991 to promote mutual understanding and goodwill through people-to-people contacts between the citizens of San Diego and Vladivostok, Russia.
We are a member of the San Diego International Sister Cities Association - the umbrella group which coordinates San Diego's 15 sister city relationships.
We are a member of Sister Cities International - the national coordinating group for sister cities programs in the United States.
What is a 'Sister City'?
A Sister City relationship is a permanent channel for communication & exchange established through the signing of a Protocol Agreement between two cities or jurisdictions. It is a classic example of thinking globally & acting locally. The Sister Cities movement was initiated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 at a White House conference on citizen diplomacy.
Our Mission Statement
"The purpose of our Society is to encourage the ideals of international goodwill and peace, and to seek understanding of each country’s traditions, customs, history, and community life through people-to-people contacts".
Our goal is to develop long-term cooperation between our two cities by promoting public awareness of each city through exchanges in education, business and technology.
In The Beginning...
The official protocol agreement establishing sister city relations between San Diego and Vladivostok was signed on September 10, 1991 by Mayor Maureen O'Connor of san Diego and Mayor Yevgeny Blinov of Vladivostok.
The co-founders of the San Diego-Vladivostok Sister City Society were Lowell Strombeck and acclaimed San Diego artist and architect, James Hubbell. The roots of our Society are an organization called "Citizen Diplomacy" founded by Lowell Strombeck in 1986.
'Spacebridge’
The San Diego/Vladivostok Sister City Society has been a special organization form the very beginning. On January 23, 1992 the ground-breaking event "Spacebridge" was held. This was a live, two-way satellite video conference between several thousands of people gathered at Sea World Theater in San Diego and Gorky Theater in Vladivostok in celebration of our sister city relationship. We were also celebrating the January 1, 1992 "opening of Vladivostok — a closed city for most of the post-WWII era. 'Spacebridge' was awarded "Communications Project of the year" by Sister Cities International.
First Delegation
In April, 1992, the Society for one week hosted a delegation of 177 politicians, businessmen, educators, and VIP's as well as 51 members of the Russian Pacific Fleet Song and Dance Ensemble. The purpose of this event was to establish links between professionals of every type in our two cities. One hundred twenty-six members of this delegation were hosted in private homes across San Diego.
Our Official Data:
Official data below will help you check our registrations and nonprofit status with the IRS or the State of California.
Federal Tax ID: 33-0236939
California Corporation #: 1544618
California Registry of Charitable Trusts #: RCT 66504