The concept of twinning began in Europe as early as the turn of the 20th Century, with the first recorded UK link in 1920 between Keighley, West Yorkshire and Poix du Nord in France. The number of twinning links increased significantly after the Second World War to aid the process of peace and reconciliation and in the 1970s and 80s, following the UK's entry into the European Economic Community (EEC).
The basis of twinning is deeply rooted in friendship with the main aims being to enable different communities to exchange experience of their history, culture and contemporary lifestyle thus increasing mutual understanding, tolerances and respect. Over the years twinning schemes have continued to weave an extremely close knit fabric within the European Community and elsewhere, which is growing stronger all the time.
Twinning also has a personal and family friendship basis and in many ways this is the one that our members find gives them the greatest enjoyment. |
