Town-twinning is all about promoting friendships and understanding between communities across the world. It provides opportunities for schools, associations, individuals and businesses to take part in a wide variety of activities and exchanges.
Why do we 'twin'?
Twinning began after the Second World War when the rebuilding of links between countries was paramount. It was for this reason that the majority of early twinning links were with Germany and France.
Originally twin-towns were chosen on a like-for-like basis of population, ethnicity and employment sectors. But there are many other reasons why towns and cities set up twinning links and newer twinning links are more likely to reflect an interest in that community or its ethnic make-up.
Who are we twinned with?
Leicester has long understood the value of international exchange and has a thriving and dynamic set of twinning links around the world. The first formal twinning links were forged as early as the 1960s:
- Strasbourg in France (established 1960)
- Krefeld in Germany (established 1969)
- Masaya in Nicaragua (established 1987)
- Chongqing in China (established 1993)
- Rajkot in India (established 1996)
- Haskovo in Bulgaria (established 2008)
The wide variety of countries involved shows just how diverse twinning links can be.
What do Leicester’s links represent?
The city's twinning links with Strasbourg (France), Krefeld (Germany) and Haskovo (Bulgaria), promote people to people exchanges.
The twinning link with Masaya (Nicaragua) increases understanding of development issues and global inequality.
The twinning link with Rajkot (India) reflects the country of origin for many of Leicester's residents who have connections with the State of Gujarat.
The twinning link with Chongqing (China) focuses on business and economic links.
What do we gain from a twinning link?
In all cases, twinning links help us to appreciate the diversity of the world and show us that people all over the globe share many things in common even if our lifestyles may be different.
We all aspire to enjoy good health in a clean and safe environment, to gain an education and develop our skills for employment. The reality is that not all these elements are equally accessible to everyone around the world.
