Best Practice Guidelines for Town Twinning

Twinning is the establishment of a special relationship between two communities in different countries. A twinning relationship should not be restricted by a specified time period or to one particular area of activity.

Twinning encompasses a wide range of activities including cultural activities, sharing of expertise, the creation of trade links, environmental action and the improvement of language skills.

Twinning should enrich the life of the community and promote racial and religious tolerance, international understanding and respect for others.

Twinning should provide regular opportunities for people in various walks of life and professions to compare methods and approaches to problem solving and to exchange skills and experience.

Ideally, twinning should be a partnership between the local authority and the wider community.

Twinning projects should be themed and issue based. They should demonstrate common challenges facing the twinned communities and methods used to overcome them. Twinning should also be regularly concerned with the promotion of public discussion and debate on wider issues of European or international concern.

Twinning should be open to all sectors of the community and seek to include groups that have not previously been involved in twinning, especially disadvantaged groups who generally have less access to international experience.

The public at large should be regularly informed of twinning activities and how they benefit the community.

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