Twinning
Tredomen House
Tredomen Park
Ystrad Mynach
Hengoed CF82 7WF
01443 864321
Few of us can have failed to notice signs by the roadside proclaiming "...twinned with..." throughout the United Kingdom. But, how many of us actually know what "twinning" is or understand the background to this activity, which is expanding at a truly remarkable pace.
The term "twinning" has become the means by which we describe a special relationship between two communities, usually in different countries, where those communities have identified common interests and hopes.
The twinning of cities has its origin in the period after World War II when it was introduced as part of the reparation programme to build friendship and support cultural exchange across Europe. It has evolved from a simple programme of outreach, citizen exchange and friendship ties to an instrument to build regional unity, to learn from others and to help accomplish development goals.
The very first post-war effort by two European cities to join hands in friendship dates back to 1947 when Bristol Council sent five of its citizens on a goodwill mission to Hanover, which was to result in the very first town twinning ever with Bristol sending out food parcels and Germany eager to reciprocate in some way decided to send a choir of students to perform in Bristol the following year.
This concept was quickly adopted by other towns such as Oxford and Bonn soon to be followed by the first German-French twinning between Ludwigsburg and Montbéliard in 1950. Until 1951 twinning arrangements were set up in a more or less random fashion until the CCRE (The Council of European Municipalities) decided to set standards and guidelines. The aim was to pair towns and cities with similar geographical, political and historical backgrounds.
In the UK twinning partnerships are established via a complex and detailed application via the Local Government International Bureau (LGIB), which matches socio-economic geographical and other topography factors to interested areas. Therefore the link with Ludwigsburg and the link Cardiff has with Stuttgart is not coincidental but based on factual assessment of areas.
The role of Caerphilly county borough council is very much one of bringing people together, providing help and advice where needed and accepting the principal promotional responsibility.
This website pages give an overview of our twin towns together with contact points for those wanting more information.
Twinning map