Twinning Ceremony with Porthmadog 2006

The earliest form of town twinning in Europe was between the German city of Paderborn and the French city of Le Mans in 836, although this was not officially established as a modern town twinning arrangement until 1967.

Coventry,United Kingdom was the first ever city to "twin" with another city (Stalingrad, Soviet Union) and hence began the modern practice of twinning.

The practice was continued in Europe after the Second World War as a way to bring European people into a closer understanding of each other and to promote cross-border projects of mutual benefit. For example, Coventry twinned with Dresden as an act of peace and reconciliation, both cities having been heavily bombed during the war. Each twin city country is represented in a specific ward of the city and in each ward has a peace garden dedicated to that twin city. Another early example of town twinning dates back to 1947 when Bristol Corporation (later Bristol City Council) sent five 'leading citizens' on a goodwill mission to Hanover.

While still more popular as a concept in Europe than elsewhere, the idea has now spread to other continents.

Within Europe, town twinning is now supported by the European Union. The support scheme was established in 1989. In 2003 an annual budget of about 12 million euros was allocated to about 1,300 projects. The Council of European Municipalities and Regions also works closely with the Commission (DG Education and Culture) to promote modern, high quality twinning initiatives and exchanges that involve all sections of the community.

Town twinning is a reality in today's Europe, as an important number of municipalities are linked to each other through a formal town twinning agreement. Such partnership aims at encouraging cooperation between the towns and mutual understanding between their citizens. The Town twinning movement has developed after the Second World War, in parallel to the progress made by the European integration process. One of the major developments was the establishment of new town twinning links between EU Member States and countries from Central or Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall, anticipating and preparing their integration in the European Union.

Town twinning represents a unique and dense network and therefore has a specific role to play with regard to the challenges of today's Europe, which are reflected in the objectives of this Programme.

First, town twinning relies upon the voluntary commitment of citizens, in collaboration with their local authorities and local associations. It is therefore both a sign of, and an incentive to active participation. Second, it encourages exchanges of experiences on a variety of issues of common interest, thereby raising awareness on the advantages of finding concrete solutions at European level. Finally, it provides unique opportunities to learn about the daily lives of citizens in other European countries, to talk to them and very often to develop friendships with them. Thanks to the combination of those elements, town twinning has a real potential to enhance mutual understanding between citizens, fostering a sense of ownership of the European Union and finally developing a sense of European identity.

In order to make the best possible use of this potential, it is necessary to provide an appropriate vehicle to the various actors involved in town twinning and to adapt to the variety of potential projects.

The above information is taken from the European Commission. for further reading European Commission