FRIENDS OF AYTOU

For more than 100 years the City of Peoria, Illinois has shared a close bond with the Lebanese community. On July 6, 2014 that bond became official when Jim Ardis, Mayor of Peoria, Illinois, and Ramone Alwan, Mayor of Aytou, Lebanon, signed an official Declaration establishing the Sister City relationship between Peoria, Illinois, USA and Aytou, Lebanon.

Aytou, Lebanon became Peoria's fourth Sister City, joining Friedrichshafen, Germany; Benxi, China; and Clonmel, Ireland; and works in conjunction with the Peoria Sister City Commission.

Friends of Aytou was established as a non-profit and non-governmental organization to promote and expand the sister city relationship between Peoria, Illinois, and Aytou, Lebanon, on behalf of both cities. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

In 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower established the formation of Sister Cities for Citizen Diplomacy. With the support of local elected officials, sister cities play a key role in renewing and strengthening global relationships as a means for cultural exchange.