2019 Youth Leadership Summit Impact

Sister Cities International (SCI) hosted its annual conference in Houston, Texas in July focused on the theme “Cities Mean Business.” Pre-conference events included an all-day U.S.-China Mayors’ Summit and an all-day Africa Forum, held at Texas Southern University. A range of interactive sessions and round-tables explored the conference theme from the perspectives of SCI’s program areas: Trade and Investment; Community Development; Youth Leadership; and Arts and Culture. Parallel to the Conference, we hosted our Youth Leadership Summit at Rice University. The Annual Conference all included mini-summits on U.S.-Mexico, and U.S.-German relations. Reflecting on the 2019 Annual Conference, several key themes emerge from panels and discussions. Uniting these themes is the principle of innovation, which is a core element infused into all SCI initiatives.