Music is an international language.

What began more than 30 years ago as an exchange between the Shawnee Mission South Band and Bietigheim’s Musikschule grew into cherished relationships between families, formalized in 1999 by the City and Chamber in Overland Park and Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany, as official “sister cities.”

Despite an ocean, years-long gaps between visits, and language differences, our relationship is a rich personal and cultural experience. Last month I joined a delegation in Bietigheim to commemorate our 25th Sister City Anniversary.

Our German friends have enriched my life and global understanding. A highlight for me was in 2019 when our combined bands played our national anthems – “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Deutschlandlied” – in harmony for an audience united in love for our respective homelands and a desire to understand each other.
Our communities have exchanged students, parents, elected officials and business leaders as well as art, music and best practices to benefit community, workforce and economic development to enrich our lives in Overland Park and Bietigheim.

For example, getting to know the councilmembers and some of their children as they’ve grown has demonstrated how their education system and experiential learning work. This has informed some of the Chamber’s understanding and implementation of Real-World Learning and apprenticeships.

Although our cities are dissimilar in age, comparing Overland Park to Bietigheim’s 1,200-year history, we learn from their redevelopment challenges and opportunities, and their approaches to sustainability and commitment to arts, culture and global understanding.

Bietigheim’s council members represent six political parties. As community and business leaders, they are acute observers of local and global economies and they actively engage with us. Knowing them enriches us and our understanding of how our cities, interests and economies intersect.

While Overland Park has one Sister City, Bietigheim connects us to what they call their other “twin towns,” enhancing Overland Park’s image and our global economic and political insights. We’ve met delegates from France, England, Hungary, Argentina and Japan.

A bonus: These relationships help us prepare to host multiple countries for the World Cup (we might have lobbied a little about hosting a few of these countries in 2026).
What began with our music students has built lasting ties. With each conversation I feel the world is a little smaller. We may use different words, but we share the same values about supporting each other and building our communities.