The Mayor’s Office of International and Invest Atlanta were honored with the the Sister Cities International (SCI) 2017 Innovation Award for Economic Development for a city with a population between 100,001 and 500,000. The Sister Cities Innovation Award for Economic Development recognizes the accomplishments of outstanding community and individual sister city programs that promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation.

The prize was awarded in recognition of the launch of the first Atlanta International Startup Exchange with Atlanta’s sister city Toulouse, France. The goal of the exchange is to ingrain an international strategy in the foundation of Atlanta’s emerging enterprises. The two-week residency program provided selected companies a platform for global expansion as well as identify potential partners, investors, clients, and access two of the top aerospace and tech industries clusters. The program also provided an opportunity to showcase Atlanta and Toulouse as economically-sound choices for future international operations to the visiting Toulouse-based and Atlanta-based companies, respectively.

SCI Award winners will be honored at the Lou Wozar Diplomatic Awards Dinner on Saturday, July 15 during SCI’s 61st Annual Conference in Virginia Beach, VA.