Cardiff Connections
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CardifAfn inCternoatnionnal Peolcicytfioor Cnards iff Proud to be international 151 152 150 153 Contents 1. Cardiff’s International Policy Page 3 154 155 2. Twinning Links Page 4 3. International Networks Page 7 4. Supporting Cardiff Page 9 Carbon Lite City Media Capital Competitive Capital European City of Sport Sustainable Travel City Open City International Development Education 5. Partners Page 14 Page 1 Introduction Ever since its emergence as one of the Cities, as centres of knowledge creation, busiest ports in the world during the cultural diversity and energy use are best industrial revolution Cardiff has been an placed to take advantage of the international city, playing a crucial role in opportunities presented by globalisation connecting Wales, and the South Wales and will be at the heart of how the world Valleys in particular, to the global responds to the global challenges. economy. And so it remains today. Cardiff Council’s International Policy Globalisation, in the form of the free outlines how international activity through movement of ideas, information, people, city links, networks, and projects supports products and capital, necessitates that Cardiff’s development as a quality, cities have an international outlook. connected capital city for Wales. Similarly, the credit crunch and the global recession, climate change and international migration present challenges which do not respect national boundaries. Page 2 1 Cardiff’s International Policy Cardiff Council’s first formal Through these links Cardiff will work with international link was created with international cities to develop joint- Stuttgart in 1955, the year Cardiff projects, sponsored by supra-national became the capital city of Wales. Over organisations, and delivered for the the course of the next four decades benefit of local citizens. Stuttgart was joined by Lugansk (1958), Nantes (1964), Xiamen (1983) and Cardiff Council will therefore finally Hordaland (1996). increasingly be working on a project basis with other international cities. A diverse range of social and cultural Naturally then, the Council will work with activities have flowed from these a range of cities for discrete time-periods twinning links, and continue to do so rather than establishing lasting formal today. Their importance is recognised relationships with cities. Fruitful by their status as High Priority Cities in partnerships and relationships with cities the International Partner City developed over the course of a project Assessment Matrix, a system which will be reviewed at the conclusion of compares Cardiff with other cities across each project and the potential for a series of key criteria. The Matrix was developing a longer-term link considered. developed in 2006 to support a more business-focused approach to international links and activities and to identify those cities that provided the greatest opportunities for cooperation. Going forward, Cardiff will look to develop city-to-city links with cities which reflect the city’s priorities and ambitions in 2010. Understanding the different approaches and solutions that cities around the world are developing in response to universal challenges will remain important for Cardiff, particularly in these times of fiscal restraint. Page 3 2 Twinning Cardiff’s longest standing formal city links are with its twin cities, the oldest dating back to 1955. For over half a century these links, and their strong social, economic and cultural programmes of activities have broadened the horizons and enriched the cultural experience of generations of our and our sister-cities’ citizens. Page 4 Stuttgart Cardiff’s oldest twinning link is with Stuttgart City Council regularly takes part Stuttgart, state capital of Baden- in Cardiff’s International Food & Drink Württemberg, Europe's leading high- Festival, and participated in an exchange tech region and Germany's strongest of horticultural apprentices in 2005, an commercial metropolitan area. initiative that is intended to be expanded over the course of the coming year. Like Cardiff, Stuttgart is a city of both art and industry. World-famous automotive Stuttgart is also a partner in the ECCE companies and state-of-the-art Innovation project on the Creative academic and industrial research and Industries (see page 12) development facilities exist alongside the state opera and ballet companies and major art collections at the State and Stuttgart Galleries. Secondary, tertiary and higher educational exchanges continue to play a key role in the link, which has expanded over recent years to include sporting, youth, cultural and community activities. There has also been an increase in professional study visits, with representatives from Cardiff taking part in waste management, planning and, community safety visits to Stuttgart. Page 5 Nantes Hordaland County Nantes, the historic capital of Pays de la Cardiff has been twinned with Hordaland sponsor the Christmas tree at Loire region, shares many similarities with Hordaland County since 1996. The the Norwegian Church and in recent Cardiff. Both have a population of around County’s administration is based in years have brought Hordaland County 300,000, a developing knowledge the city of Bergen, Norway’s second musicians to give a public performance economy and thriving universities, an city, the ‘Gateway to the Fjords’ and to mark the lighting of the tree. They are emerging creative industries sector and a home to many of Norway’s major gas also regular exhibitors at Cardiff’s strong tourist offer. and oil companies. International Food & Drink Festival. The link is also characterised by youth The link began with secondary school Despite the relative youth of the exchanges - most prominently 16 exchanges, and a significant number of twinning link, Cardiff has historic links students come to Cardiff each year to secondary, tertiary and higher with the region, exemplified by the study for A/S levels at local schools. educational visits continue to be made presence of the Norwegian Church in to Cardiff each year. In recent years Cardiff Bay, which serves as a focal point A number of professional visits have Cardiff and Nantes Councils have for the relationship with representatives taken place in recent years between our cooperated on horticultural projects from Hordaland County serving on the two cities to share experiences on a wide based around the RHW Spring Show and Church’s Advisory Board. range of subjects including the Rugby World Cup, which have included development of their cruise industry, exchanges of gardening apprentices. planning regulations, human resource After a short break, negotiations are management and cultural tourism. currently underway to reintroduce the annual youth sports exchange with Nantes to give young athletes and their coaches a first experience of international competition, and to develop a similar exchange for horticultural apprentices between the two cities. Cardiff Council works closely with Nantes through the Conference of Atlantic Arc’s Sustainable Urban Development Commission, where Nantes provides the secretariat function and Cardiff is the lead city on the Climate Change workgroup. Cardiff also works closely with Nantes Metropole on the ECCE Innovation Creative Industries project. Page 6 Xiamen In 1983 Cardiff became the first city in the UK to twin with a city in China. The port of Xiamen is in Fujian Province in South East China, across the straits from Taiwan Island, and is one of China’s first Special Economic Zones. It is thus one of the most important ports Lugansk for international trade in China - 36 of Cardiff has been twinned with Lugansk Over recent years the British Council’s the world’s top 500 companies have a since 1958. Lugansk is 560 miles east Donetsk office (which includes Lugansk) presence in Xiamen. of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, and is a have managed a major project which major industrial city and transport hub. included the secondment of British The recent 25 year anniversary served Council Lugansk’s Deputy Director to to reignite activities between Cardiff The industrial base is heavy industries, British Council’s Cardiff office. British and Xiamen, though the cities’ mechanical engineering, and textiles. Council Donetsk subsequently provided universities had kept a close working The State Medical University, Eastern funding for several study visits to relationship. The Council now works Ukraine National University, the Cardiff by city and regional politicians closely with the new Confucius Institute Pedagogical University and Sate and University students. at Cardiff University, which is staffed by Agricultural University are all based in visiting academics from Xiamen Lugansk, as is the Ministry of Internal University, on numerous local projects Affairs of Ukraine. including a programme of Mandarin language taster sessions for Cardiff Despite the economic crisis in Ukraine in primary schools. the 1990s, regular contact was maintained with Lugansk, and a varied programme of school, professional and community exchanges have taken place. Page 7 3 International Networks Participation in international city networks is vital for developing a city’s international activities. Two main benefits flow from Cardiff Council’s membership of city networks: • It strengthens the voice of the city, providing a medium through which the Council can engage in trans-national policy development, the European policy agenda in particular; • It provides the opportunity to bring like-minded cities together