People
World Trade Center St. Louis’ people pillar includes the St. Louis Mosaic Project and the St. Louis Sister Cities Program. The Mosaic Project drives initiatives that expand and retain our global talent pool as one of the cornerstones of the region’s economic and cultural growth. Programs include professional and social connectors, entrepreneurship support and community partnership and collaboration.
Similarly, the Sister Cities Program works to create global relationships, rooted in the power of personal connections. Participants develop lifelong friendships through person-to-person “citizen diplomacy.” Member exchanges span arts and culture, business and trade, youth and education and community development.
St. Louis Mosaic Project
The St. Louis Mosaic Project, launched in 2012, highlights the economic benefits of increasing our foreign-born population. It is a regional initiative that is professionally managed by St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, World Trade Center St. Louis and a 32-member committee.
In 2024, the St. Louis region led the nation’s largest metro areas in growing its immigrant population with the biggest one-year increase locally on record, according to new census data.
The St. Louis metropolitan area added more than 30,000 foreign-born residents from 2022 through 2023, a roughly 23% increase from year to year, the biggest one-year percentage increase in the region on record and the highest among the country’s top 30 metro areas.
The St. Louis Mosaic Project designs and supports regional attraction strategies with the goal of drawing more immigrants into the workforce to boost the region’s economy.
Sister Cities
The St. Louis Sister Cities Program is part of the World Trade Center St. Louis’ international mission. Sanctioned by Sister Cities International locally, it supports and coordinates the 16 sister cities committees and provides guidance for those interested in establishing new sister cities relations.
Founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, Sister Cities International is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit which serves as the national membership organization for individual sister cities, counties, and states across the United States. This network unites tens of thousands of citizen diplomats and volunteers in over 300 member communities with over 2,000 partnerships in more than 140 countries.
Individual committees foster mutually beneficial relations in economic development, education and culture, showcasing St. Louis on the global stage.
