About Town Twinning & Sister Cities

What is Town Twinning ?

Town twinning, or often referred to as “sister city” relationships, is a broad and flexible concept, encompassing in essence all kinds of relations that may be established between two or more towns. Such relations may extend from merely communicating with each other and experience sharing to more advance forms of collaboration and partnerships.

The general purpose of town twinning is to bring the cities and communities closer to each other, and thereby contribute in multiple dimensions to their development in a participatory and inclusive manner and in the longer term, to serve sustainable development and the world peace.

The bridges to be established between different cities/towns through town twinning will not only lay the foundations for familiarisation between local authorities, but also between the private sector, civil society and citizens. Such familiarisation will enable the mutual flow of the approaches, methods and information necessary for the establishment of concrete forms of collaboration, paving the way for social and economic solidarity.

One of the most fundamental characteristics of town twinning that distinguishes it from other forms of communication and collaboration is its long-term perspective. Therefore, unlike other forms of short and medium term collaboration, town twinning needs to have higher-level targets defined in a more comprehensive manner. Furthermore, it is imperative that these targets are adopted and internalised by the citizens residing in twinning cities or towns.

From this perspective, town twinning is a democratic and participatory approach that brings different communities closer on the basis of common values and principles, facilitating the joint solution of common problems, enabling the more efficient and effective utilisation of resources by virtue of experience-sharing, and thereby increasing the level of satisfaction of citizens, raising the living standards, and contributing to socioeconomic development.

 

Activities commonly-conducted under town twinning

Since town twinning activities need to be designed as long-term relationships, instead of involving a single type of activity, they generally encompass a number of activities collectively serving a specific purpose. As an example, a number of the following activities may be conducted simultaneously in a coherent and mutually reinforcing manner:

• Regular events (festival, conference, seminar, training etc.)

• Study visits

• Capacity building activities

• Project implementation

• Personnel exchange

• Building networks for information and know-how exchange

• Analysis, monitoring and evaluation

• Sharing innovative information systems

• Developing shared procedures, guides and tools

• Improving the legislation

• Developing international standards

 

Thematic approach to town twinning

Town twinning activities may be initiated with a focus on the broad spectrum of service areas under the jurisdiction of local authorities. On the other hand, town twinning activities may also be initiated for making comparative evaluations on the organisational structure and functioning of local authorities, their administrative and financial processes, regulations and human resources, as well as for benefitting from good practices. In this context, the following areas may be considered as possible focal points of town twinning:

• Decentralisation (subsidiarity, devolution etc.)

• Inter-cultural exchange (language, history, arts, youth, sports etc.)

• Technical know-how exchange (efficiency and effectiveness in public services, financial management, leadership, human resources etc.)

• Good governance (participation, openness, accountability, rule of law etc.)

• Policy development (planning, analysing, monitoring and evaluation etc.)

• Local economic development (sectors including agriculture, tourism, commerce, transportation, infrastructure etc.)

• Social development (sectors including education, employment, health, gender equality, social services etc.)

• Protection of the environment (sectors including energy, climate, natural resources etc.)

• Crisis management (disasters, emergencies, migrants etc.)

• Exchange of know-how (innovation, management technologies etc.)

• Research & development (technical cooperation, management and service laboratories etc.)

 

Town twinning with a particular focus on EU accession

The TWIN Projects lays a special emphasis on promoting town twinning initiatives that have a particular focus on Turkey’s accession process to the EU.

In fact, town twinning may serve as an effective tool in contributing to augment the vital role of local authorities in the EU accession process, and particularly in increasing the awareness and ownership the local communities and stakeholders, and reinforcing mutual understanding and friendship between twinning partners.

By its very nature, town twinning contributes to developing a sense of European identity, based on common values, history and culture, fostering a sense of ownership of the European Union among its citizens, and enhancing tolerance and mutual understanding between European citizens, respecting and promoting cultural and linguistic diversity, while contributing to intercultural dialogue. In this context, town twinning has a vital role to play in helping to prepare for future EU enlargement, particularly in embracing Turkey.