“Moving forward together”: Reflections and recommendations on twinning and linking projects in the twenty-first century
By: Holly R
Tags: Twinning, Research, Local Government, Education, Sister Cities

“Moving forward together”: Reflections and recommendations on twinning and linking projects in the twenty-first century Holly R Sep 4·4 min read

Communities have been connecting with one another under the banner of ‘twinning’ for the best part of a century. Yet, just what twinnings are, what they do and who they serve, remain a great mystery to many. Our report “Moving Forward Together” poses answers to these questions and more. The report is structured around four key objectives: to trace how twinning practice has developed and evolved to the present day; to offer some insights into the benefits that contemporary twinning and linking projects may yield for local communities; to survey some of the main challenges that these projects encounter; and to set out some recommendations with respect to best practice for new and existing twin links.

The report sheds new light on twinning, taking in its many different faces and manifestations: from expressions of political solidarity and peacebuilding through to efforts in the areas of sustainable development, education and international trade.

Beginning with the United Kingdom One World Linking Association (UKOWLA) report, Community Linking: What Overseas Partners Say (1988), there have been intermittent attempts to review and improve upon UK twinning and linking practice. Whilst insightful, these reports and manuals have rarely, if ever, attempted to map British examples to broader global political processes. Moreover, many of the organisations and entities that produced these works have now disbanded, leaving in their wake a gulf of knowledge and lack of ‘joined-up’ thinking about the practice, its promise and pitfalls.

Our report aims to supplement and build on earlier research papers commissioned by the likes of UKOWLA, the Local Government International Bureau (LGIB), and Carnegie UK, by situating UK twinning and linking activities as part of an evolving global landscape and highlighting the value of twinning as an adaptive, popular practice that can — and has- served a wide variety of interests and agendas.

Our history of twinning follows the practice as it evolves out of the ashes of the Second World War broadening beyond Europe, deepening beyond an emphasis on ‘towns’, and transforming into a fascinating movement of many parts. Shifting from past to present, the report also examines the structural constraints faced by twinning and linking associations today. These include — but are not limited to — the effects of local government funding cuts that have followed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the pursuit of increasingly rigid policies on visas and immigration, and the global coronavirus pandemic.

We offer six key recommendations for twinning and linking projects as they move forward together in the twenty-first century:

Firstly, we highlight the importance of raising political awareness among twinning associations themselves, ensuring that they understand and challenge the structural conditions that constrain their activities.

Secondly, we encourage them to turn their attention toward building fair and balanced organisational structures within twinning partnerships, linking and friendship associations in order to facilitate the equal representation of communities and help prevent burnout among volunteers;

Thirdly, we endorse activities to promote intergenerational continuity -namely targeted actions and initiatives to attract and involve younger members of twinned localities;

Fourth, we implore twinning associations to prepare themselves adequately for the digital age by reflecting on what new opportunities and obstacles ‘the digital turn’ will bring in different contexts and types of partnerships (especially during and in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fifth, we emphasise the importance of creating the conditions for a truly global twinning movement founded on the principles of equality and reciprocity rather than ‘aid’.

Finally, it is our firm view that these changes would be best catered for via the establishment of a UK-wide knowledge-sharing forum for twinning and linking associations. Following the examples of other national hubs, networks and knowledge-banks, such a body could be tasked with: improving communication and knowledge exchange among twinning and linking initiatives; collating information and examples of best practices in twinning and linking at home and abroad; keeping an up-to-date registry of active twinning, linking and friendship associations; facilitating the emergence of new links and partnerships; researching and providing solutions to problems and concerns high- lighted by twinning, linking and friendship associations; undertaking advocacy roles as appropriate to the needs of member associations; collaborating with similarly constituted national bodies to facilitate learning, exchange and global connectivity.

We envision this report as a prompt for volunteer-led twinning associations and local councils to take stock of their activities, expectations and goals in light of new challenges — economic, social, political — of the twenty-first century. We invite those interested in a hard copy of the report to get in touch with us using the contact form on our website.

Dr Holly Eva Ryan is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Political Sociology at Queen Mary University of London and a co-convenor of the Queen Mary Latin America and Caribbean Network (QMLAN). Her research is focussed on civil society and everyday forms of political expression. She is the author of the book, Political Street Art (2016) and she has published a wide array of journal articles and thought pieces on topics including sensory politics, collective memory, social movements, solidarity, twinning and international friendship.

Dr Caterina Mazzilli is a Post-doctoral Research Assistant in the School of Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary University of London. She holds a PhD in Migration Studies from the University of Sussex, in which she focused on the institutional and grassroots narratives of receptiveness in two European cities.