Sister Cities via Skype

Viljandi Mayor Kivisik with Ambassador Levine
and Janie Keeler at Sister city signing ceremony in Viljandi 

Forging partnerships from 7000 kilometers away has sure gotten a lot easier! Especially when you can make use of one of Estonia’s most successful home-grown innovations: Skype.

And that’s just what we did when it came time to hold a Sister City Agreement Signing Ceremony between the Estonian city of Viljandi and the American City of Cumberland, Maryland. On June 19th, I joined Ambassador Jeffrey D. Levine and Mayor Loit Kivistik of Viljandi for a “face to face” meeting using Skype’s conference call tool. Our video call at Viljandi’s Town Hall connected with Cumberland’s mayoral offices, as well as the Estonian Embassy in Washington, DC.

I was really excited to take part in this because I’ve been lucky enough to visit both Viljandi and Cumberland in the past. Last year, I attended Viljandi’s amazing folk festival and a few years ago, my husband and I visited Cumberland, Maryland while on a bike tour from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC. Both towns are county seats with beautiful architecture and great people. In my opinion, they couldn’t be better matched as sister cities and have a great deal to offer each other.

So back to our Skype call: Ambassador Levine kicked things off with words of congratulations for both cities, citing how much the U.S. and Estonia have gained from our sustained partnership in so many areas, including of course military and business partnerships but also in the arts and through cultural exchanges. In his view, the new sister cities agreement offers a lot of promise but will require commitment from both sides, including the exchange of visits, to keep it going. Mr. Sepp from the Estonian Embassy seconded these sentiments and encouraged both sides to stay involved. Finally, both Mayor Kivistik and Cumberland’s Mayor Brian Grim, shared a bit about their home towns and talked about potential areas of cooperation.

Krista Kull, Viljandi’s Head of Public Relations and Tourism, let me know that is was the first Skype conference call that Viljandi City has used in its 700+ years of history. And I hope this new sister cities agreement is just as much of a groundbreaker for both towns as they share strategies for growing their economies and continuing to hone their images as cultural destinations. I plan on visiting both destinations myself in the coming year. In addition to going to Viljandi’s folk festival once again I am planning on attending Cumberland’s Delfest festival, one of the largest bluegrass music celebrations in North America.

Good luck and congratulations to both Viljandi and Cumberland on their new partnership!

Post by Alison Davis
Pictures by Laine Lembavere