The Sister City program, begun by President Eisenhower in the 1950's, strives to promote world peace by enabling the peoples of the United States and other countries to engage in a special relationship whereby economic, cultural, educational and other exchanges allow for the formation of special bonds of friendship and understanding.

The sister City program in Mansfield grew briefly in 1965 with ours becoming the first sister city in the U.S. to have a "twin" in Africa with our bonding with Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.The Sister City program was re-energized in 1986 when a core group began exploring other sister cities. They incorporated in 1987 as the Sister City Association of Mansfield, Ohio, Inc. A formal "twinning" occurred in 1989 with Mansfield, U.K. In 2000, another "twinning" was finalized with Funehiki, Japan. That city, having merged with others, is now known as Tamura. Its Sister City group has extended an invitation for a formal delegation to Tamura in May, 2007, to finalize the official signing of documents making Tamura the official "twin" of Mansfield, OH.