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Houston Matters

What Does Houston’s Sister City — Leipzig, Germany — Have To Teach Us?

Houston has 18 different sister cities. One of them is Leipzig, Germany. Now, while those kinds of things usually sound more ceremonial than anything, is there anything we could actually learn from one of our sister cities?

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The German city of Leipzig is the most populous city in the federal state of Saxony and has been one of Houston’s sister cities since 1992.

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Houston Matters tends to focus on subjects that are close to home, whether with the city, the state, or the U.S. But well beyond international borders there are cities abroad that have some kind of effect on — or connection with — Greater Houston. It's almost unavoidable given how diverse our population is.

So how much does that outside world affect us here in Houston?

Houston has 18 different sister cities. One of them is Leipzig, Germany. Now, while those kinds of things usually sound more ceremonial than anything, is there anything we could actually learn from one of our sister cities?

The Sister Cities International program, part of the Mayor's Office of Trade and International Affairs, gets at the heart of that.

We learn more from Susan Young, the organization's board secretary, and Steven Braun, the vice president of the Houston-Leipzig Sister City Association.