Council gives OK to begin formal sister‑city process with Iquitos, Peru; local nonprofit to manage exchanges

The council granted initial support on June 17 for a proposed sister‑city relationship between Lafayette and Iquitos, Peru, to be facilitated by Lafayette nonprofit 1 Voice for Change. The nonprofit’s executive director, Felicity Minch, described a history of youth‑focused programs in Peru — including a CubeSat (small satellite) STEM project and teacher exchanges — and said the organization will serve as the primary liaison and project manager for educational, cultural and sustainability exchanges.

Minch said 1 Voice for Change has run projects in Mexico, Belize and Peru and has existing contacts and partners in Iquitos, including mayoral and youth organization leaders. The council was asked to authorize a formal proclamation committing Lafayette to pursue a sister‑city agreement; councilors expressed support for the approach, conditioned on the nonprofit administering programming and the city providing limited staff support for a proclamation and ceremonial steps. Council raised no formal objections to the concept and gave the mayor and staff permission to draft and pursue an official proclamation to finalize the partnership.

Council and staff noted that any exchanges (student visits, collaborative projects, or short delegations) would be managed by the nonprofit partners and that the City of Lafayette’s role would be ceremonial and supportive. No city funding was committed; the nonprofit indicated it would seek funding and donations to support exchanges. The council asked staff to bring a proclamation back for a future meeting along with suggested ceremonial language.