Town twinning is a concept whereby towns or cities in geographically and politically distinct areas are paired, with the goal of fostering human contact and cultural links. Neckarsulm is a City in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, near Stuttgart, and part of the district Heilbronn. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. A town is a type of settlement ranging from a few to several thousand (occasionally hundreds of thousands inhabitants although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan A city is an Urban area with a large Population and a particular Administrative, Legal, or Historical status In the European Union, such pairs of towns are known as friendship towns or partner towns and twin towns in the UK. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in In North America, India, Australasia and Asia, the term sister cities is used for the same concept and brother cities is the term in the former Soviet bloc. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Australasia is a Region of Oceania: New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and neighbouring Islands in the Pacific Sister cities often (though by no means always) have similar demographic and other characteristics. Sometimes, even larger areas enter into "twinning" agreements, such as that between the provinces of Hainan in China and Jeju in South Korea. A province is a territorial unit almost always an Administrative division. Hainan ( POJ: Hai-lam Pinyin:, Jyutping: hoi2 naam4 literal meaning "South of the Sea" is the smallest province of the People's Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Jeju may refer to Jeju-do, an island of South Korea Jeju City, the biggest city on that island South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː

Contents 1 Europe 2 North America 3 Informal usage 4 References 5 See also 6 External links

Europe

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. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Paderborn (paːdɐˈbɔʁn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Le Mans (ləmɑ̃ in French) is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Events By Place Asia Abbasid caliph Al-Mutasim establishes a new capital at Samarra, Iraq. Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar.

Coventry, United Kingdom was the first ever city to "twin" with another city (Stalingrad, Soviet Union) and hence began the modern practice of twinning. Coventry ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in the County of West Midlands in England. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991

The practice was continued in the European Union 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. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including For example, Coventry twinned with Dresden as an act of peace and reconciliation, both cities having been heavily bombed during the war. Dresden (etymologically from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the riverside forest, Drježdźany is the Capital city of the German 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. Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London Hanover (i ( haˈnoːfɐ on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony ( Niedersachsen

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 European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in The support scheme was established in 1989. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) In 2003 an annual budget of about 12 million euros was allocated to about 1,300 projects. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Please update other articles as well to avoid contradiction within Wikipedia e 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.

E. U. sister cities are a separate affiliation from the international sister cities association.

In the UK, twinning is sometimes associated with junketing - local dignitaries visiting twinned towns. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located ^{[1] [2]}

North America

The first city in North America to establish a sister city relationship was Toledo, Ohio, United States, with Toledo, Spain in 1931. This article is about the city in Ohio, USA. For Toledo Spain, see that article Toledo Spain locationpng|thumb|right|200px|Location of Toledo in Spain Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada was also a notable city to enter into an intercontinental twinning arrangement when, in 1944, it twinned with the Ukrainian city of Odessa, which at the time was part of the Soviet Union. Vancouver (vænˈkuːvɚ is a coastal British Columbia (ˌbrɪtɨʃ kəˈlʌmbiə ( BC) ( (la Colombie-Britannique C Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. ODESSA which stands for the German phrase O rganisation d er e hemaligen SS - A ngehörigen which in turn translates The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 This was based on aiding the allied port city during the Second World War. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Tashkent, an Uzbek city, then part of Soviet Union, was twinned with Seattle, USA in 1973. Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( Uzbek: O‘zbekiston Respublikasi or Ўзбекистон Республикаси is a doubly The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Tashkent became the first Soviet city to be twinned with a US city. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Another first for town twinning occurred in 1967 when Rochester, Minnesota and Knebworth, UK teamed up to bring a primary medical research front. Rochester is a City in the US state of Minnesota and is the County seat of Olmsted County. Knebworth is a Village and Civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England immediately south of Stevenage. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located

The American "Sister Cities" program was begun in 1956 by President Dwight Eisenhower. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14 1890 – March 28 1969 was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general It was originally administered as part of the National League of Cities, but since 1967 it has been a separate organization, Sister Cities International (SCI), which is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network creating and strengthening partnerships between U. The National League of Cities is the oldest and largest organization in the United States devoted to strengthening and promoting cities as centers of opportunity leadership Sister Cities International is a Non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and fostering Town twinning, especially between cities in the United States S. and international communities in an effort to increase global cooperation at the municipal level, to promote cultural understanding and to stimulate private business and economic development. SCI leads the movement for local community development and volunteer action by motivating and empowering private citizens, municipal officials and business leaders to conduct long-term programs of mutual benefit. ^[3]

Informal usage

Sometimes, people will use the phrase "sister cities" to mean cities that are neither very close together, nor from two different cultures and officially twinned, but rather two cities with similar cultures and/or historical background, as with Galveston, Texas and New Orleans, two cities that were historically major Southern ports on the Gulf coast. "Galveston" redirects here For the town in the US state of Indiana see Galveston Indiana. New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world Another example is Charleston, South Carolina and Boston (see the Charleston article for a description of their colonial-era relationship). Charleston is a city in Charleston county in the US state of South Carolina. "Twin Towns" is also used as a colloquialism for the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, specifically referring to the central twin cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are born in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time Saint Paul ( abbreviated St Paul) is the capital and second most populous city in the U

References

See also

• List of twin towns and sister cities
• Cross-border town naming
• Partnership 2000
• World City

External links

• Town-twinning information from the European Commission
• Sister Cities International (cities twinned with cities in the USA)
• Germany and the town twinning movement

• Town twinning in Europe's municipalities, towns and regionsen:Αδελφοποιήσεις

This is a list of " twin towns " or " sister cities " — that is pairs of towns or cities in different countries which have Town twinning arrangements Cross-border town naming occurs where Towns or Villages with the same or equivalent names are divided between two different countries Partnership 2000, or P2K, is a program connecting some 550 Jewish communities in the Diaspora with 45 Israel Partnership areas primarily The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive branch of the European Union.

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