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Meeting Details
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Meeting date/time:
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5/19/2026
10:00 AM
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Minutes status:
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Final
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Meeting location:
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Room 303, Third Floor, City Hall
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| | 1. | | Call to order.
Minutes note: The meeting was called to order at 10:05 a.m. | | | |
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Not available
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| | 2. | | Roll call. | | | |
Roll call
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Not available
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| | | | Also present:
Minutes note: Peggy Williams-Smith, President and CEO, VISIT Milwaukee
Tony Snell Rodriguez, Director of Community Engagement and Inclusion, VISIT Milwaukee
Dr. Dele Ojelabi, Milwaukee Action Network, Inc.
Dr. Francis (Ayo) Obuseh, Milwaukee Action Network, Inc.
Dr. Alice Kones, Milwaukee African Women's Association
Mike (Miroslav) Jovic, St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral
Stefan Dostanic, St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral
Biljana Lepojevic, St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral
Caitlin Ward, Irish Festivals, Inc (dba CelticMKE)
Cailin Branchford, Irish Festivals, Inc (dba CelticMKE)
Tomislav Kuzmanovic, Federation of Croatian Societies, Inc.
Boris Nayflisch, Friends of Be An Angel, Inc.
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| | 3. | | Review and approval of the previous meeting minutes from January 21, 2026.
Minutes note: Meeting minutes from January 21, 2026 were approved without objection. | | | |
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| | 4. | | Discussion, review, and/or motion(s) on committee membership.
Minutes note: a. Adding a representative from VISIT MKE
Ms. Williams-Smith thanked the committee for its work connecting Milwaukee globally and stated VISIT Milwaukee shares that commitment.
Ms. Williams-Smith said that having VISIT Milwaukee have formal representation on the committee would help amplify sister city relationships through tourism, cultural exchange, and economic opportunity. VISIT Milwaukee recently hosted Chinese delegations with WEDC and Central Asian delegations through the Congressional Office for International Leadership. Mr. Snell Rodriguez was currently in China for that work. VISIT Milwaukee was a member of Great Lakes USA, investing in travel marketing to Germany, England, and Ireland. Milwaukee was now an official Michelin destination, and culinary tourism was a powerful connector. Mr. Snell Rodriguez already attends meetings and formal membership would deepen the partnership.
Chair Ald. Stamper called it a perfect fit for expansion.
Member Durtka spoke at length in support, stating Milwaukee needs to move from being an international destination to being an international city, noting the presence in the room of representatives from Ukraine, Serbia, and Ireland, and that the committee needs help marketing who Milwaukee is and what it does.
Member Cheney-Trawinski called it beneficial and robust.
Member Hegarty said she had seen Mr. Snell Rodriguez at several meetings and he would be a great representative. Member Penaloza agreed.
Mr. Lee said that subsequent legislation would follow to change the committee's membership structure, followed by a Mayoral appointment file, likely taking the next few Common Council cycles.
Chair Stamper said he would sponsor the legislation.
Member Durtka moved approval, seconded by member Hegarty, to change the committee membership structure to add an additional member representative from VISIT Milwaukee. There was no objection.
Ms. Williams-Smith noted her team currently has four staff at IPW in Fort Lauderdale meeting with international travel journalists and tour operators.
b. Other
There was no other discussion. | | | |
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Not available
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| | 5. | | Discussion, review, update, and/or motion(s) on prospective and current sister city and/or friendship city relationships relating to their establishment, status, activities, application, and/or annual reporting.
Minutes note: a. Abuja, Nigeria
i. 2025 annual report (due 10/28/25)
Dr. Ojelabi presented on the 2025 annual report and activities of the sister city relationship. They coordinated a shipment of fairly-used hospital equipment from a Madison nonprofit to Abuja, delivered to a local hospital and university. The shipment was highly appreciated, with feedback reaching the governor's office. They hosted two IVLP (International Visitor Leadership Program) delegations from sub-Saharan Africa in Milwaukee, inviting the Mayor's Office and committee members. Delegates were surprised a sister city program existed. They participated in Sister Cities Day with a booth, with strong turnout from Milwaukee's Nigerian community.
2026 goals and activities would include efforts towards tech skills transfer, educational exchange, and firefighter skills exchange. There was scheduled a meeting tomorrow at UW-Madison with the Director of African-American studies, and a June meeting scheduled with UWM Vice Chancellor Dr. Gibson, to develop faculty-led two-week study abroad exchanges both directions. Regarding trade, they were working with WEDC to ensure sub-Saharan Africa, specifically Nigeria, is included in state trade missions. Firms were active there and Wisconsin businesses could benefit from the fast-growing market. Regarding firefighter training, Abuja officials wanted hands-on training. Initial talks were with Deputy Chief Josh Parish. Visa restrictions have complicated travel both ways but have eased.
Dr. Obuseh added that community members donated new laptops to be shipped to Nigeria for monitoring and evaluation of maternal health programs.
Members inquired about specifics regarding educational exchange and virtual firefighter training.
Mr. Ojelabi replied. The goal was to conduct short faculty-led trips before semester-long exchanges. Firefighting training required hands-on skills, making virtual training very difficult. Hope was to acquire resources to send a cohort from Milwaukee Fire Department to Abuja or vice versa.
Fire Chief Aaron Lipski appeared and commented. He fully supported assisting in the firefighting training exchange initiative, offering to house Abuja firefighters in Milwaukee fire stations, integrate them into the recruit class at the Fire Academy, and also to send Milwaukee firefighters to Abuja to learn how they approach fire protection.
Member Cheney-Trawinski offered to assist with the university exchange based on her prior work establishing a UW-Madison exchange with a school in Uganda and Kenya.
Member Durka moved acceptance and approval of the 2025 annual report for the sister city relationship with Abuja, Nigeria. There was no objection.
b. Bomet County, Kenya
i. Renewal application (expired 11/23/25)
ii. 2025 annual report (due 11/11/25)
Mr. Lee said that representatives planned to attend in-person, encountered travel issues, and were in attendance virtually.
Dr. Kones appeared virtually but experienced audio issues.
Member Durtka commented on the importance of having a representative, not necessary the leader, of the sponsoring organization appear in-person to make presentations.
Member Durtka moved to hold to the call of the chair review of the renewal application and 2025 annual report. There was no objection.
Chair Ald. Stamper said that advance notice would be sent out regarding the next meeting and for representatives to appear in-person for the next time.
c. Other
Mr. Dostanic thanked chair Ald. Stamper for the City press release congratulating Kragujevac on its Slava of the St. George. Slava was inscribed by UNESCO in 2014 as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and Kragujevac celebrated with a street carnival including salsa dancing.
Mr. Dostanic gave an update on the sister city relationship with Kragujevac, Serbia. The Serbian community will be representing Wisconsin in the Wisconsin-Chiba Prefecture cultural exchange, hosting a delegation from Chiba, Japan in Milwaukee in October 2026. A gala is being planned and invitations will follow.
Mr. Jovic read a message from Kragujevac Mayor Nikola Dašic, who met that morning with the U.S. Embassy Chargé d'Affaires in Belgrade, Aleksandar Taitler, and City Council Member Danka Andric, to discuss economic development, technological innovation, a new state data center, and Expo 2027 Belgrade. The Mayor asked when Milwaukee would visit Kragujevac.
Mr. Dostanic commented further. The Serbian national assembly in Belgrade must approve sister city relationships, which underscores the significance of the Milwaukee relationship. Kragujevac has 28 sister cities worldwide. The Serbian government had provided a $64,000 grant for a full-time Serbian language teacher at St. Sava and a pledge for gym renovations. A Madison IT company will open an office in Serbia employing 30 IT graduates this year and had cited the Milwaukee-Kragujevac relationship in its application.
Ms. Branchford was introduced as the new official committee liaison for their organization’s Galway sister city oversight committee.
Ms. Branchford gave an update on the sister city relationship with Galway, Ireland. A formal Galway sister city committee was created including former Ald. Michael Murphy, Colleen Kennedy, and Mary Alice Tierney. Irish Fest was less than 100 days away. Approximately 25 delegates from Galway City and County Council and business community would attend. The Mayor of Galway, who coaches a youth Gaelic football (soccer) team of 15- and 16-year-old boys, was bringing the team plus families, totaling about 30 people, for their first U.S. trip. They would play in Chicago, then arrive in Milwaukee August 12, stay at UWM, and play the Tosa Kickers on August 13 and 14. They will attend Irish Fest.
The committee was shifting focus from tourism alone to business exchange, educational exchange, and Irish language revitalization. Galway was one of two officially bilingual cities in Ireland. The CEO of Oifig na Gaeilge would visit to help develop year-round Irish language programming at the Wauwatosa center, including a potential March pen-pal program with Galway schools. The annual Galway Sister Cities reception would be held Friday morning of Irish Fest at City Hall. Galway had created a dedicated International Relations Officer position, held by Keith Finnegan, who was a longtime Irish Fest partner. Galway was currently vetting a sister city request from Ohio, but Keith affirmed Milwaukee was the favorite. Thomas Fisher, a Milwaukee native living in Galway, worked for Platform94, an organization that scales startups internationally. He would be in Milwaukee in June to explore partnerships.
Chair Ald. Stamper said that he liked soccer, would want to participate in the soccer events, and will like to invite Mr. Finnegan to speak with the committee.
Mr. Kuzmanovic gave an update on the sister city relationship with Zadar, Croatia. He had responded to an email from member Cheney-Trawinski regarding a water institute connection. Zadar was selected as the EU Regional Water Knowledge and Innovation Hub, receiving a €150 million grant over six years, working with 24 EU countries on ocean protection and blue economy development. Operational offices would be in southern Croatia. Zadar's coastal region was agriculturally similar to California's Central Valley and hosts some of the Mediterranean's largest tuna pens, making water purity critical. Their board meets tonight to advance discussions with Milwaukee's water institutions. Their main focus was to establish fresh water purity technology and knowledge exchange between the water institutes from both cities. Croatian Fest would occur on Saturday, July 18 at Croatian Park in Franklin, beginning with Mass at 10 a.m., followed by food, music, and cultural performances. The new $2 million pavilion was complete. Weekly beer gardens run Thursdays 4-10 p.m. through mid-October with live music and food trucks. World Cup viewing parties for Croatia and U.S. matches would be held in the 400-capacity pavilion, rain or shine.
Chair Ald. Stamper asked that event information be submitted to the committee.
Mr. Nayflish gave an update on the sister city relationship with Irpin, Ukraine. The Ukrainian community in Milwaukee had quadrupled in the last four years stemming from humanitarian parole. Their primary need was employment, but many parolees earning $16 to $18 per hour as personal care workers immediately lose Medicaid and other benefits. Due to this, many parolees chose not to work in order to keep their benefits. To solve this issue, the community had partnered with software developers and Ukrainian AI specialists in Silicon Valley and Ukraine to build a mobile health access application. The application would provide 24/7 telemedicine, primary care, urgent care, mental health access, access to more than 2,000 free medications with pharmacy price mapping, and 50-80% dental and vision discounts through partnerships with Aetna Dental (200,000 offices) and the Doctors Without Borders Association. Access to the application would cost $65 per month for a family of four. No immigration status, social security number, or ID was required. The program has 15,000 members. This mobile health access application was a game changer to encourage the parolees to seek employment and work and help connect them to existing health and medical resources.
Mr. Nayflish offered to share the platform with the City of Milwaukee, stating it would reduce ER utilization and solve a problem affecting all low-income workers, not just Ukrainians.
Mr. Nayflish added that cultural programming would include annual events, picnics, and flag raisings. A full calendar and event information would be sent to staff to forward to the committee.
Ms. Leplae gave an update on the friendship city relationship with Chasse-sur-Rhône, France. She was working to elevate the friendship city into a full sister city relationship. The connection between the two cities centered on the Joan of Arc Chapel at Marquette University. The chapel was built in the 1400s in Chasse-sur-Rhône, brought brick-by-brick to New York, then to Milwaukee. It was sold in 1921 by a tailor who had not been paid by the city for firefighter uniforms requisitioned by the French government during WWI. A 22-person delegation visited Milwaukee in October 2022 and filmed a 60-minute documentary and a 20-minute short about the chapel and the visit. The film would premiere in France in September 2026. Also being planned was a Milwaukee screening, possibly through the UWM French Film Festival or Milwaukee Film. The Mayor of Chasse-sur-Rhône had visited Milwaukee twice. The next step was pursuing a sister city relationship application concluding in a formal signing ceremony bewteen both mayors. The Marquette University president will visit Chasse-sur-Rhône in June. The French side had created a separate nonprofit to maintain the relationship through municipal elections. Initial discussions have begun with Milwaukee School of Languages for a student exchange. | | | |
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| | 6. | | Discussion on sister city related events, activities, and goals.
Minutes note: a. Sister Cities International
Member Durtka commented. SCI would be holding its 70th anniversary conference from July 22-26, 2026 in Washington, D.C. The President of Ghana had been invited to speak, pending confirmation. A pre-conference African Sister Cities Summit would precede the conference. Other conference highlights would include an embassy reception hosted by Thailand, a major reception hosted by Japan, state department briefings, and award presentations by category. He was a candidate for the SCI Board of Directors. There were ten open seats and ten candidates. He co-chaired a Japan roundtable the previous day with San Francisco that drew 49 participants. Roundtables would be held throughout the year for each country. Serbia currently has only two active U.S. relationships, Milwaukee and Chicago, while Japan has over 400. Future conference locations were not yet announced, with cost considerations including rising airfare and hotel rates. The U.S. dollar was currently strong against the yen at approximately 150 yen per dollar. To his recollection, previous SCI conferences had all been held within the United States except one conference that was held in Belfast, Ireland.
Chair Ald. Stamper said that he would attend the SCI conference and that he previously had served as a SCI Board of Director.
b. Other
Member Durtka emphasized the need for a shared calendar to help everyone to be informed of and attend each other’s sister city related events. Mr. Dostanic volunteered to work with Mr. Lee to compile dates and a calendar of events.
Member Cheney-Trawinski concurred and advocated for social media presence to raise awareness for the sister cities.
Mr. Lee said that his office’s Public Information Division was responsible to maintain the City Clerk’s online websites, including the City’s Sister Cities website, and any social media, if any. He would check with the PID office to see what can be updated on the Sister Cities website and done relating to social media.
Chair Ald. Stamper said for staff and Mr. Dostanic to work on establishing a calendar of events and for Mr. Lee to check with the PID office. | | | |
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| | 7. | | Next steps.
Minutes note: a. Agenda item(s) for the next meeting
Review of the renewal application and 2025 annual report for the sister city relationship with Bomet County, Kenya.
Other agenda items to be determined.
b. Set next meeting date and time
To be determined for August or September. | | | |
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Not available
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| | 8. | | Public comments and/or announcements.
Minutes note: There was no updates and/or announcements. | | | |
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| | 9. | | Adjournment.
Minutes note: Meeting adjourned at 11:46 a.m.
Chris Lee, Staff Assistant
Council Records Section
City Clerk's Office | | | |
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