Around the world, cities are looking for new and innovative solutions to solve challenges in local government management. One of the best places to exchange ideas and form new relationships is the ICMA Annual Conference. 

Cities4Cities, an ICMA strategic ally, will host a session at 2026 annual conference in Long Beach titled "How Global City Partnerships Strengthen Local Outcomes for All." At the 2025 conference in Tampa, Florida, they developed in-person connections that will lead to long-lasting partnerships.

About Cities4Cities and City-to-City Exchanges

Cities4Cities is an international initiative co-founded in September 2022 by partners from Ukraine, Sweden, and Germany. For almost 4 years they have been creating networking opportunities for Ukrainian municipalities to meet and develop cooperation with peers abroad. The Cities4Cities initiative is built on a simple but powerful premise: cities learn best from other cities because local government is the oxygen of democracy. Cities4Cities is a structured exchange of knowledge, experience, and proven practices rather than a traditional aid model. Ukrainian municipalities, many of which are navigating the immediate and long-term impacts of war, are seeking the type of expertise that cities around the world have developed over decades in veterans support and integration, telecommunications and cybersecurity, emergency management and other topics. In turn, partner cities gain access to insights from communities rebuilding under extraordinary circumstances, offering perspectives that can strengthen resilience and adaptability.

These city-to-city partnerships are more than best practices exchanges. They build cultural competency and understanding while providing opportunities for technical assistance and capacity building. As the interest in subnational diplomacy and decentralized international cooperation increases, city-to-city partnerships have become even more valuable to municipalities around the world. They strengthen global perspectives among local leaders and reinforce the role of local government in international affairs. As Ukrainian cities seek to rebuild, the partnerships also serve as a method for building institutional knowledge and continuing to develop resilient cities built on good governance principles.

Through networking sessions, panel presentations, and receptions, attendees in Tampa were able to learn more about the needs of Ukrainian cities and how their municipalities could help advance their goals and objectives. 

While ICMA served as the convenor for the initial interaction, it was the one-on-one discussions that were held with interested U.S. municipalities after conference that led to the identification of shared priorities (e.g., infrastructure, digital services, resilience) and the follow-up virtual engagements. Each partnership is unique, but they all have a common theme: working together to advance global local government. 

Some key focus areas of cooperation include:

• Infrastructure and Recovery: rebuilding public assets, utilities, and housing.
• Digital Government and Innovation: smart city tools, data systems, transparency initiatives.
• Emergency Management and Resilience: crisis response, continuity planning.
• Workforce Development: training, leadership development, and knowledge exchange.

From the Field: Benefits of City-to-City Partnerships

The Village of Tinley Park, Illinois has recently partnered with Opishnia, Ukraine, based on connections developed at the ICMA Annual Conference. Tinley Park staff are excited about their new partnership with Opishnia, Ukraine, as a result of the efforts of the Cities4Cities program. They indicated “our two municipalities have many shared priorities including tourism, infrastructure and emergency planning, and we are excited to see what our community can learn from Opishnia's management of these challenges." 

“The city of Encinitas, [California] chose to participate in the Cities4Cities program to partner with Boyarka, [Ukraine], a similarly sized and resilient community whose cultural, economic, and infrastructure priorities align closely with those of the city of Encinitas. Through this partnership, Encinitas desires to exchange best practices in sustainability, emergency preparedness, infrastructure improvements, workforce attraction, public engagement, and community development. By engaging in this international collaboration, Encinitas hopes to strengthen cultural ties, support mutual economic opportunities, and elevate both communities’ global profiles,” said Mike James, deputy city manager, Encinitas, California.

Svitlana Blinova, team leader, Cities4Cities, says, “One of the strongest areas of exchange is crisis response. Ukraine and the United States face different realities but share common challenges—from disaster response to evacuation and resilience.”
 

Building a relationship with ICMA has helped Cities4Cities’ work grow. “Our cooperation with ICMA, and our first participation in the ICMA conference, opened a new level of global engagement for us as an organization supporting Ukrainian municipalities. We built strong and meaningful partnerships with U.S. communities, based on a true exchange - where both sides learn from each other.” 

 

ICMA has allowed the work to expand beyond the United States as well. Blinova continues, “This network is growing. We are already expanding connections to countries like Latvia and Romania and turning them into real partnerships. ICMA is not only a network—it is a space for professional growth. And for Ukraine, especially now, during the war and on the path to the European Union, access to knowledge and experience is critical. We cannot afford mistakes in local governance.”

While the 2025 ICMA Annual Conference encouraged and led to new partnerships, the spark for several of these had already been lit several years ago, as is the case of Bozeman, Montana. ICMA member Brit Fontenot, economic development director, Bozeman, met Bogdan Kelichavyi, mayor of Kopychyntsi, Ukraine, at previous ICMA conferences in 2019 and 2021. Fontenot says, “On February 5, 2022, the day after the Russian invasion I reached out to Bogdan Kelichavyi, my friend and the mayor of Kopychyntsi, Ukraine, and I asked him what, if anything, I could do and he said to me, on day two of the war, 'don’t forget about us. The news will change, and the stories will change but we will still be here. Don’t forget about us'.  I promised him that I would not forget, and Bozeman has not forgotten Kopychyntsi or Ukraine." Bozeman recently approved an official city-to-city partnership with Kopychyntsi through Cities4Cities and looks forward to the continued opportunities for collaboration and exchange. 

Bozeman’s justification for the partnership to its city commission encapsulates why these partnerships are important. “Cities that engage internationally are better positioned to attract talent, foster innovation, and build resilient economies…[ ]  Concurrently, there is a broader, values-based dimension to consider. Bozeman has consistently articulated its commitment to democratic governance, community resilience, and global citizenship. This partnership offers a concrete way to put those values into action. By engaging with Kopychyntsi, Bozeman is not only supporting a community facing challenges but also reinforcing the principles that underpin its own success. It is an opportunity to demonstrate that local leadership can have global impact, and that even mid-sized cities can play a meaningful role in addressing international challenges.”

ICMA’s strategic alliance with Cities4Cities helped develop relationships between cities around the world. This is just the beginning. ICMA looks forward to continuing these discussions and providing the platform for more city-to-city partnerships around the world. 

Interested in a City-to-City Partnership? 

Below are the steps involved in a Cities4Cities partnership. You can also download a PDF about Cities4Cities to share with your municipality using the link below. 

1. Match – Cities4Cities will match interested communities with Ukrainian municipalities that share similar profiles, e.g., population, location, economy, governance priorities, interests, etc. 
2. Kickoff Zoom Meeting – Cities4Cities will schedule with both partners a kickoff meeting and facilitate introductions, short presentations about each municipality, and topics of interest and activities to discuss at future meetings.
3. Plan – Cities4Cities staff will provide minutes from the kickoff meeting. The list of topics of interest and activities and agreed upon frequency of meetings form the initial partnership plan.
4. Partnership Meetings – Cities4Cities will facilitate the scheduling of meetings until the partnership is well established and provide interpretation services as needed during Zoom sessions. As partnerships mature, it is expected that additional community members and organizations will be connected to enrich the cross-cultural exchange and collaboration opportunities, e.g., schools, Rotary Clubs, businesses, nonprofits, etc. 
5. Ongoing Support – As the partnership matures, Cities4Cities will remain connected and available to provide support as needed. Municipal partners will be invited to participate in Cities4Cities partnership forums, workshops, and webinars. And, if both partners decide to sign a memorandum of cooperation, Cities4Cities will assist with the process.

Learn more about Cities4Cities

To discuss a partnership opportunity or otherwise get connected to Cities4Cities, contact ICMA at global@icma.org.