DRAFT

TWINNING STRATEGY

2009 - 2012

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1. PURPOSE...... 3 2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES...... 3 3. PRIORITIES/FOCUS ...... 3 4. OUTLINE OF TWINNING GROUP ...... 5 5. CAERPHILLY’S PARTNER TOWNS ...... 7 6. OTHER TWINNING LINKS...... 9 7. ACTION PLANS AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES...... 11 8. MEASURE ...... 15

D:\stellent\IdcRefinery\shared\ConversionEngines\Master_on_stellcon-main\031597.doc 2 o f16 1. PURPOSE

1.1 This strategy is developed to give a clear focus on the activities currently undertaken with our twinning partners Ludwigsburg and Písek and to set out the direction for the next three years. The strategy aims to give clear focus on priority projects/areas, enabling the Council to undertake long- term project and funding planning.

1.2 The strategy identifies key players in the areas of youth, community and professional who are central to the strategy’s successful implementation.

1.3 The twinning strategy will also demonstrate how it intends to measure the benefits to the council and the communities of Caerphilly county borough.

2. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

2.1 The key aim of the twinning strategy is to create a sense of European identity for the citizens of Caerphilly county borough through the exchange of people, skills and goods. Our twinning partnerships provide opportunities for people from different countries and cultures to come together. This will help to increase their understanding of the world and can broaden their horizons. Importantly it will, we believe, help promote tolerance and respect for others, thereby combating racism and xenophobia.

2.2 Actively involve all members of the community, regardless of age, ethnic or religious background, gender, disability, social or economic status. It will help people get to know others within their own local community, thereby increasing understanding of other people locally, as well as between two communities in different countries.

2.3 The strategy will focus on learning and development of skills in a European global context and will support youth, community and professional exchanges and projects in particular in the areas of European citizenship, community regeneration and sustainable development.

3. PRIORITIES/FOCUS

3.1 We believe that in order to successfully promote and support our aims and objectives, a twinning committee (diagram 1) focusing on the three core areas: Youth, Community and Professional needs to be established. Each of the three areas is run jointly by the Council’s relevant directorates/divisions together with of other key sections of that group, i.e. nominated personnel from schools, colleges, ESIS and voluntary organisations.

D:\stellent\IdcRefinery\shared\ConversionEngines\Master_on_stellcon-main\031597.doc 3 o f16 3.2 Action plans (point 5) and decisions made in the areas of Youth, Community and Professional will be discussed and reviewed in regular meetings by the committee.

3.3 Youth: A clear focus for our twinning partnerships will be to provide a realistic context for learning. Activities will be developed that relate directly to the curriculum and taking part in a twinning link will also enhance key skills such as communication, language learning and organisation.

3.4 Community: We will use twinning to motivate key sections of the community, such as ethnic minorities, young people and disadvantaged groups, who may not always be involved in council activities or have contact abroad. We will aim to stimulate local interest and make the links with our twinning counterparts work for the benefit of all.

Through community groups taking part in twinning activities we will raise public consciousness and encourage debate on major global issues, such as the environment or racism. The twinning partnership will also be used as a learning tool for all age groups in understanding the social, political, environmental and economic issues that face other parts of the world. Community regeneration is another specific area of common interest and with our twinning partners we will share information, ideas and solutions, which can be effective when transferred across borders and countries.

3.5 Professional Through the challenges associated with resolving technical issues in a new environment, twinning links will provide innovative training opportunities for all levels of staff and in a number of subject areas, ranging from management development to practical skills.

Sustainable development and in particular climate changes are now a real challenge facing councils across the world. We will seek opportunities for our respective colleagues to meet, discuss and work together on solutions for better use of energy and reducing carbon footprints.

We will bring together through the twinning partnership, experts and interest groups in health and social welfare, which will lead to improvements in community services and facilities. Sharing expertise and experience on issues such as unemployment and drug and alcohol dependency, and comparing facilities for the young and elderly which will enable changes at a local level that can make a real difference to people’s lives.

Our twinning partnerships will allow small and large organisations, in both the public and private sectors, to explore potential economic benefits of cooperation. Tourism is recognised as a key component to the economy of many areas, and overseas partnerships can help promote an area.

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4. OUTLINE OF TWINNING GROUP

Twinning Group

Youth Community Professional

Directorate of Directorate of Chief Executive Education & Leisure Education & Leisure Division: Economic Division: Learning, Division: Lifelong Development, Tourism & Education & Inclusion Learning & Leisure European Affairs

Welsh Assembly Arts Council Government Schools for Department of Enterprise, Innovation & Networks

Sports Council CCBC Council Tertiary Colleges for Wales Admin staff

Community Clubs Health & Welfare ESIS Music, Arts, Sports

Voluntary Other twinning Local businesses Organisations Organisations

Regeneration & Sustainability

4.1 The membership of this group would draw on officers from the relevant directorates and have a cabinet member representative. It would also draw on the external bodies expertise as and when necessary.

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5. CAERPHILLY’S PARTNER TOWNS

5.1 Our twinning partnerships are diverse and divided into county borough twinning partnerships (Ludwigsburg and Caerphilly) and town twinning partnerships. (Caerphilly – Lannion, – Sautron, Llanbradach – Ploubezre, Blackwood – Protovin).

5.2 The borough twinning links with the towns of Ludwigsburg and Pisek are considered priority-twinning partnerships with an active involvement by the council. Caerphilly County Borough Council will in particular support and drive forward initiatives focussing on education, sustainable development and community regeneration. Subject to available funding, we will financially support projects where future benefits can be demonstrated.

5.3 The twinning arrangements of the individual towns below described in “Other Town Twinning partnerships” are regarded responsibility of the individual town Councils, however Caerphilly County Borough Council will support the area of school exchanges by helping to set up school links for joint projects and exchanges. Due to limited funding we will not be able to support any projects financially.

Ludwigsburg ()

5.4 Location and history: Ludwigsburg is situated on the River Neckar in Southern Germany, 15km from Stuttgart, the capital of Baden- Württemberg region.

5.5 Ludwigsburg is one of the best-known Swabian towns in the region with a magnificent Baroque Palace, which is set in the centre of the town amidst impressive gardens and a lake. The Palace has 425 rooms and is liken to Versailles and is a huge attraction to many of the 2 million tourists who visit Ludwigsburg each year. Along side the Palace is the world famous porcelain factory - Queen Elizabeth was presented with a dinner service of ‘white gold’ porcelain, which is still as much in demand today as ever.

5.6 The town sprang up in the early 18th Century at the instructions of Duke Eberhard Ludwig and has been visited by famous people in the past including Leopold Mozart and his son Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Today the town is inhabited by more than 90,000 people and is a large bustling vibrant town with many shopping centres, small specialists shops, bars, cafés and restaurants. Ludwigsburg is a university/college town and has a number of schools. In the heart of the town is the impressive Forum, which as the cultural centre of the region stages a wide range of musical, theatrical and entertainment events. There are many indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts and fitness and gym clubs in the area plus ice-skating in the winter.

5.7 Industry: Close to the industrial heart of Stuttgart, Ludwigsburg has developed into an industrial centre north of the State capital. The main

D:\stellent\IdcRefinery\shared\ConversionEngines\Master_on_stellcon-main\031597.doc 7 o f16 industries are mechanical engineering, car accessories, textiles, and food manufacture. One of the largest European building societies is also situated in the town.

5.8 Twinning history: 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the twinning partnership with Ludwigsburg. In 1960 the former Caerphilly Urban District Council formed the partnership and it has continued since. In 1974 (upon local government re-organisation) Rhymney Valley District Council took over the twinning arrangement and again in 1996 the new Caerphilly County Borough Council adopted the twinning partnership. Formal declarations of partnership were entered into on 21 September 1996.

5.9 Other Ludwigsburg twinning partnerships: Ludwigsburg is also twinned with a number of other countries: • Montbéliard, • Jevpatoria, Ukraine • St. Charles, Missouri, USA

Písek (Czech Republik)

5.10 Location and history: The picturesque town of Písek is situated approximately 110km south of Prague in the along the banks of the Otava river. The castle and the town of Písek were officially founded by Czech kings shortly before the mid 13th century. The town was named Písek (Sand) because of the gold bearing sand that had been panned from the river to gain the precious and valuable metal. Thanks to the gold mining the town grew very quickly and it became a favourite with a number of Czech kings.

5.11 Towards the end of the Middle Ages the town was one of the largest regional centres in Southern Bohemia. The expansion was halted due to various historic events. Only with the beginning of the 19th century did the town start to spread out of the fortification walls. Today the town has a population of approximately 30,000 and is the administrative centre for some 60,000 people. Písek boasts many higher education colleges and is well equipped with new media facilities like the Film Academy of Miroslav Ondříček. With its historical centre Písek has been proclaimed a conservation zone and has become a popular tourist destination. One of its landmarks is the stone bridge across the river Otava, which was damaged during the 2002 floods, but since has been restored.

5.12 Industry: Písek’s main industry is centred around the manufacture of textiles and foods and in recent years many automotive and electronic component production plants moved into Písek’s northern industrial zone, which is one of the most successful in Southern Bohemia with a workforce of around 2,200 and covering an area of 64 ha.

5.13 Twinning History: In June 1994 a twinning partnership was set up between Islwyn Borough Council and Písek, which has been continued by Caerphilly County Borough Council. Since that time many exchanges have taken place representing all quarters of the community.

D:\stellent\IdcRefinery\shared\ConversionEngines\Master_on_stellcon-main\031597.doc 8 o f16 Formal declarations of partnership were entered into on 28 October 1997.

5.14 Other Písek twinning partnerships: Písek is also twinned with a number of other countries: • Wetzlar, Germany • Deggendorf, Germany, • Lemvig, Denmark • Smiltene, Latvia • Velký Krtíš, Slovakia • Uherské Hradiště, Czech Republic

6. OTHER TWINNING LINKS Caerphilly - Lannion (Brittany)

6.1 Location and history: Lannion is situated on the northern tip of Brittany in very close proximity to the coast. The history of the town dates back to the 12th century and today the town has approximately 20,000 inhabitants.

6.2 Industry: Lannion is a great research centre for telecommunications with several major telecom companies operating from here. In summer it attracts a lot of tourists with its ornate flower decorations in the old historic quarter.

6.3 Twinning history: The link was formed between Caerphilly town and Lannion in 1991. The towns of Llanbradach, Caerphilly, Penyrheol are also part of the twinning with Lannion. Llanbradach also has its own twinning connection with the town of Ploubezre since 1994. Last July 53 people from Brittany visited Caerphilly and 2008 was also the tenth anniversary of the football club exchanges.

6.4 Planned activities and events with Lannion in 2009 and 2010 • At the end of April Cor Cwm Ni will be performing in Brittany • In May Lannion’s FC Servel will be visiting Llanbradach as part of their regular football exchanges. • As part of the 15 years twinning celebration between Llanbradach and Ploubezre, a visit to Brittany has been arranged for 23-26/27 July. • School exchanges: First contacts to re-start the school exchanges have been initiated between St. Cenydd Comprehensive School and College St-Joseph in Lannion with the first exchange visit hopefully to take place in spring 2010.

6.5 Other Lannion twinning partnerships: Lannion is also twinned with a number of other countries: • Viveiro, Spain • Günzburg, Germany

D:\stellent\IdcRefinery\shared\ConversionEngines\Master_on_stellcon-main\031597.doc 9 o f16 6.6 Caerphilly and District Twinning Association: Cllr. Colin Mann who has chaired the Caerphilly and District Twinning Association has, after four years in service, handed over his duties to John Reardon, former vice chairman.

Machen – Sautron (Brittany)

6.7 The Machen Sautron twinning began in 1993 following a visit by representatives from Sautron, who were looking for a twinning partner. Sautron has been engulfed in the suburbs of Nantes and the local council were exploring a number of initiatives to give Sautron more of a sense of community. Machen is about the same distance from Cardiff as Sautron is from the centre of Nantes (Cardiff & Nantes are twinned). Each year since then residents in groups of about 25-40 have exchanged - alternating one year a visit to Machen, the other a visit to Sautron. Machen has also hosted groups of schoolchildren, young football players, choirs and ramblers. Sautron, a bigger and richer community than Machen, has always been keen on such exchanges with Machen in the past having had difficulties to reciprocate. This year, for the first time, a visit to Sautron had to be cancelled because of the falling number of active members. There is concern that there will not be sufficient members to accommodate them when they visit Wales next year. The twinning association decided to mount a "final" publicity campaign during the spring to see if we they can get enough new members to be able to welcome Sautron. Though having had little contact with the council, the association would appreciate support i.e. an article in Newsline. The membership is not restricted to Machen village as they have members as far afield as Rogerstone and Bridgend.

Blackwood – Protovin (Czech Republik)

6.8 The official twinning link between Blackwood and Protovin was signed in 1998 following prior cultural exchanges like the Mynydd Islwyn male choir performing during the 1996 music festival. The twinning link between Blackwood and Protovin was initially instigated and driven by Protovin’s former Mayor. Unfortunately, following his death the link has not been developed further. The twinning association “The friends of Písek” supported cultural exchanges between Protovin and Blackwood.

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Youth

Aim Plan Action

Street dance workshop Pisek in July 2009. Established contact between the Game factory Pisek and the Creazione Dance company, Caerphilly. A group of 20 young girls from the borough are planning to go to Pisek for a weeklong street dance training camp followed by a performance in Pisek. A group from Pisek will return for a visit in 2010. This visit could Create opportunities be combined with a performance during the 50 years twinning between Caerphilly and Ludwigsburg for youth from celebration. different background to take part in A group from Cwmcarn Gymnastic Club are planning to travel to Pisek and perform at the annual exchanges with our International Folklore Festival in August 2009. European partner Create sense towns. Ludwigsburg is hosting an international football tournament involving football clubs from all its twinning of European partners. Pengam football club will join the tournament from 6th to 10th August with a group of 15 boys Identity between the ages of 14 and 15 to compete in the tournament.

Promotion of Work in conjunction with leisure and youth centres to create programmes attracting youth to take part in exchange twinning activities and exchanges. opportunities in leisure centres, youth clubs, art & music centres Develop and support projects in conjunction with the Council’s Arts and Leisure department.

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Aim Plan Action

Arrange school School exchange between Heolddu Comprehensive and Friedrich Schiller School Ludwigsburg in July 2009. exchanges for students A class of 12 students studying German will be travelling to Ludwigsburg. As part of the exchange the to enhance existing and schools are working on a joint project on waste and recycling. The students will be communicating via develop new skills and eTwinning, a secure web forum on which the students can exchange ideas and develop the project. The experience learning in a progress of the project will be presented on the Council’s website. different cultural environment. Development of school garden project between High School, Pisek Forestry school together with partner schools from Sweden and/or Poland. The project would see the development of unused land Help to find partner adjacent to the existing climate change garden at Bedwas High School with help of the Pisek Forestry schools for joint school. Initially the schools would concentrate on the clearing of shrubs, identifying and labelling of trees projects with schools followed by the construction of an outdoor amphitheatre for a joint performance with the drama school from from our twin towns Sweden. Support and other European learning and partners, identify Support the development of an eTwinning project between Newbridge School and Pisek Grammar school, development suitable projects and which would link in with the waste project undertaken by Heolddu Comprehensive and Friedrich Schiller of skills in a facilitate with setting School, Ludwigsburg. European up school links global Re-establish school exchanges with Lannion. Discussions have been started with Bedwas High School, St. context Cenydd Comprehensive and St. Martins.

In conjunction with the sustainable development unit we are identifying suitable primary schools for projects with schools from Pisek and Ludwigsburg. Encourage schools, colleges and students Promote exchange opportunities in school and college programmes e.g. during open days. to get involved in twinning activities

Funding support Publish list with comprehensive information on funding options. Provide funding support for a number of projects and activities. Obtain advice from ESIS and the British Council to successfully submit funding bids

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Aim Plan Action

Publicise activities and invite the local community to take part in twinning activities via Council website, Newsline magazine and local media.

Raise awareness of twinning partnerships Encourage community groups actively involved in twinning activities to share them on and “recruit” new twinning members the Council’s twinning website, i.e. publishing articles, activity reports and lists of events like the “Friends of Pisek” database of events.

Create opportunities Provide interested groups and individuals with information and key contacts of our twin for all members of towns. the community to take an active part in Promote the anniversary of 50 years of twinning between Ludwigsburg and Caerphilly twinning activities Publicise twinning festivals and events which is to take place in Caerphilly in 2010. A notice will be placed on the Caerphilly’s twinning site and publicly distributed.

Provide funding support for a limited number of projects and activities based on Funding support individual assessment and resources Publish list with comprehensive information on funding options. Promote Caerphilly County Borough as a tourist destination. The Council will set up a stall promoting the town and its surrounding areas by distributing tourism material and Encourage tourism to the area flyers during the 300 years Ludwigsburg celebrations in June. Ludwigsburg’s residents and other visitors to the festival are invited to join the 50 years Ludwigsburg-Caerphilly twinning celebrations held in Caerphilly in 2010. Community regeneration Caerphilly County Borough Council will sponsor two local bands to perform during the 300 years Ludwigsburg celebrations in June 2009: Allan Yn Y Fan and 4thstreettraffic will be performing on 26th and 27th of June to support the twinning festival and the Support cultural and sport exchanges Ludwigsburg market place festival. Encourage and assist groups active in twinning or wishing to get involved in The Council will sponsor two people from the twinning association “The Friends of twinning Pisek” to join the celebrations of the 15th anniversary of the twinning partnership between the two towns in Pisek in September this year. To promote the event the Council will support Pisek in the design of a brochure about their twinning partnership and their joint activities.

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Aim Plan Action

Forum with officers and councillors from Pisek and Caerphilly on getting young unemployed people back into work is planned to take place in Caerphilly in June Arrange workshops, conferences and 2009. Community meetings with experts from Ludwigsburg and regeneration Pisek for knowledge exchange and project Joint conference on future urban development with focus on regeneration of ideas. disadvantaged town quarters with focus on Youth in October 2009 in Ludwigsburg. Caerphilly will be sending 8 experts: officers on youth welfare, social workers, council members, city planners, teaching staff and 3 – 5 young people to this conference in Ludwigsburg.

Sustainable Arrange workshops, conferences and Forum with officers from Pisek and Caerphilly to discuss sustainable development development meetings with experts from Ludwigsburg and with focus on climate change and energy. Pisek for knowledge exchange and project ideas.

Caerphilly is putting in place a 3 months training programme for students from Ludwigsburg completing a combined degree in public administration as part of their Staff training and Set up vocational staff training exchange training programme in Ludwigsburg council. professional programme development Establish which areas from Caerphilly council would benefit from a vocational exchange with Ludwigsburg, discuss opportunities with Ludwigsburg and offer job shadowing programme to Caerphilly council staff.

Business Invite local business and explore joint development projects supported by the Council’s Economic Development Division and the Welsh Assembly government

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Aim Measure Target

Survey as to how “European” Caerphilly’s citizens An increase in the number of people regarding see themselves. (Viewpoint panel) themselves as a citizen of Europe.

Create sense of European identity Survey on awareness of EU programmes and More awareness and understanding of available whether Caerphilly’s citizens think they have programmes through the EU. Active participation in benefitted from EU programmes designed to events/exchanges supported by the EU. strengthen the EU identity.

Get all participants involved in any twinning Increased awareness of twinning activities undertaken Create opportunities for all members of the activity to fill in a gender/race equality form, to in the borough. Increase of number of people actively community to become active in twinning identify any areas that have not been included. involved in twinning or knowledge of others who have taken part in such activities.

Number of twinning school projects linked to the Increase joint projects undertaken by primary and Create learning opportunities curriculum. secondary schools.

Number of employee exchanges Employee exchanges between Caerphilly and its partner towns.

Number of school exchanges Regular school exchanges and establishment of long- term relations between schools from the county borough and schools from our partner towns.

Number of school projects Increased number of school projects between schools Increase the number of youth and school of the county borough and schools from our partner activities with our twinning partners towns. Create long term working ties between staff of these schools.

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Number of youth exchanges Increased number of youth exchanges throughout the borough. Community regeneration Number of people visiting the area. Survey via Increased activity in twinning by clubs and individuals. tourism department.

Number of professional exchanges and links to Increased number of visits and projects that reflect sectors. information exchange.

Sustainable development Number of sustainable development projects Increased number of school and professional projects either by information or activity. focusing on sustainability.

Secure EU funding Number of projects supported by EU funds. Increased number of projects supported by EU funds.

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