Politics & Government

Johnston and Kosovo City to Become 'Sister Cities': From the Mayor's Desk

On Thursday of this week, the cities of Johnston, Iowa and Peja, Kosovo will become "twin" cities. And like so many twins, the city of Peja and the city of Johnston are similar in many ways, and yet different in others.

Johnston and Peja - Making History Together
by Mayor Paula Dierenfeld

Twinning. That’s what people in many countries around the world call it when two cities enter into a sister city relationship. On Thursday of this week, the cities of Johnston, Iowa and Peja, Kosovo will become “twin” cities. And like so many twins, the city of Peja and the city of Johnston are similar in many ways, and yet different in others.

Peja is a city with a population of about 85,000, located about 50 miles west of Kosovo’s capital city of Pristina. The population of Peja is quite young, with 65% of the population being 35 years old or less. Nearly half of the population is unemployed.

As a city, Peja suffered extensive property damage and loss of life in the war with Serbia in 1998-99. More than 80% of the homes in Peja were damaged or destroyed, forcing the residents to flee to the mountains surrounding the city. NATO stepped in and Kosovo declared its independence. Today, Peja is rebuilding it homes, schools and businesses.

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Like Johnston, the economy of Peja Is deeply rooted in agriculture – over 56% of the land in Kosovo is arable. Economic development and job growth are priorities for both communities. We also share a strong commitment to the education and success of our youth. Providing the services residents need and that contribute to a high quality of life are goals we also share as “young” communities.

Our relationship with Peja developed through the Iowa National Guard. Since March of 2011, the Guard has had a military partnership with Kosovo that is built around the concept of involving the “Whole of Iowa” and the “Whole of Kosovo.” At the urging of Adjutant General Orr, the city of Johnston began discussions with officials of Peja late last year about the possibility of entering into a sister city relationship.

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Our talks over the past several months have resulted in an agreement between the cities to collaborate for the mutual benefit of each other by exploring educational, economic, cultural and other cooperative opportunities. Our activities will involve information sharing and exchanges between the cities that include representatives of municipal government, education, business and industry, health, wellness and social services, and arts, sports and culture.

A delegation from Peja will be arriving in Johnston on Tuesday evening and will be visiting locations throughout our community until Saturday morning. The delegation includes the Mayor of Peja, Dr. Ali Berisha, and three of his department heads – the Director of Health and Social Welfare, Mr. Xhafer Dema, the Director of Culture, Youth and Sport, Ms. Shpresa Gjonbalaj, and the Director of Urban Planning, Ms. Violeta Ukaj. The signing of the Sister City Agreement will occur at the Johnston Chamber of Commerce Luncheon on Thursday at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Kosovo is the newest democracy in Europe – it just celebrated the fifth anniversary of its independence on February 17, 2013. It’s exciting to know that we will not only be ”twinning” with a city in Kosovo that presents so many opportunities but that we are also the first community in Iowa to do so. The history of Peja, Kosovo is rich and dates back for many centuries. Johnston’s history is much shorter. We are about to make history together.


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