Twinning Society calling all ‘civilian diplomats’
By Lethbridge Herald on October 10, 2025.
Alexandra Noad
Lethbridge Herald
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Lethbridge Twinning Society has been fostering relationships with other cities worldwide for over 30 years and invites all “civilian diplomats” to join in a meeting Saturday to learn more about their initiatives.
The idea of having sister cities actually came from former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956 as a way to encourage residents to learn about different countries, cultures and people to promote world peace
Lethbridge’s first sister’s city was Timashevsk, Russia, shortly after the Second World War ended and they needed help rebuilding their city from the destruction caused by the war.
In 1989, Lethbridge Twinning Society was formed and the sisterhood with Timashevsk was integrated into the society.
During the Cold War, communication with Timashevsk was lost, but it resumed in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union.
During this time, Harold Pereverseff, current president of Lethbridge Twinning Society, was working at the Coutts Border in customs when he was approached by the members of the Twinning Society, who needed help shipping five tonnes of medical equipment to Timashevsk.
Being of Russian descent, Pereverseff was more than happy to help with the government side of shipping and then travelled to Russia to ensure its safe arrival.
Because of the crime in Russia at the time, they ended up getting in touch with the only Canadian contact Russia had, which was McDonald’s, to have the equipment delivered there to make sure there was no interference in the distribution of the medical equipment.
Since then, Pereverseff has been an active member of the society and has served as president for the last decade.
Along with Russia, Lethbridge has three other twin cities: Culver City, California; Towada, Japan; and Great Falls, Montana.
Because of Lethbridge’s Twinning Society, traditional Japanese Taiko Drumming has made its way to Lethbridge. Pereverseff’s son Bryan is the music director for the Hibikiya drum group.
On Saturday Lethbridge Twinning Society will be joined by Cory Reeves, mayor of Great Falls, for a panel discussion on Citizen Diplomacy in the Theatre Gallery at Lethbridge Public Library’s main branch at 6:30 p.m.
Pereverseff says it will be a great information session and a chance to connect with people and get to know what the Twinning Society is about.
He adds the society is hoping to re-establish itself since COVID took its toll, and decided the having a discussion on what citizenship is about would be a step toward that goal.
“The more you interact with people, the more you get to understand them and appreciate them,” says Pereverseff.
He stresses the discussion isn’t about political issues, but rather how to become a more unified, peaceful society.
“We try to appreciate where we are, who we are and how we are operating in this world.”
While they will be accepting donations and memberships, there is no obligation to join or donate at Saturday’s discussion.
20-19
Thank you Harold for you dedication for our city to be a better place, which include many areas not mentioned or that people are aware of!
You are a busy person! Thank you!