The French city of Angers and the city of Osnabrück(1), located in Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany, have been twinned for over 50 years. The two cities have developed a solid decentralized cooperation. We met with Jean-Marc Minier, president of the “Maison de l’Europe Angers” and the head of the Osnabrück twinning office to talk about their vision of such a cross-border cooperation, currently very much focused on youth.
Missions Publiques. You are revamping EU town twinning with innovative programs, in particular with your full-year youth exchanges. How can twinning strengthen the sense of belonging of European citizens, and of young people in particular, today?
Jean-Marc Minier. In 1968, the city of Angers set up a system of exchange of young ambassadors with its twin cities. Each year, three young people from Angers are chosen to represent the city in Osnabrück in Germany, Wigan in the United Kingdom or Pisa in Italy. The ambassador chosen to work in Osnabrück becomes an employee in the municipal services of the German partner city for one year. He or she is responsible for actively contributing to the development of the twinning. In return, Angers receives a young person from Osnabrück for the same period. In Angers, more than 1,000 people benefit from this activity every year. The ambassadors of the twin cities contribute to making their country, its culture and its way of life better known to young people in Angers. It is an opportunity for them to become aware of what Europeans have in common, but also of the wealth and richness of their diversity. It is also an opportunity for them to discover what a European experience elsewhere can bring.
Jens Koopmann. It is precisely the young people who, as ambassadors of the cities, also have an official function, who can bring the twinning – and thus the theme “Europe” – to life with their work, their ideas and their creativity. Because of their age, they have a very good access to young people and thus strengthen the direct exchange (e.g. during school visits: presentation of the twin city and the country as well as of European topics and active participation in foreign language teaching). And this is where town twinning comes in as a bridge between people: meetings, projects and exchanges enable people to experience something together, to break down prejudices and to build trust, also on European topics.
« It is absolutely necessary in the future to maintain dialogue and to offer young people opportunities for active participation.
Jens Koopmann
Missions Publiques. On this subject, your two towns participated in the Conference on the Future of Europe. 60 inhabitants of Angers and Osnabrück formulated proposals for action. What did you learn from this?
Jean-Marc Minier. Three major aspirations come to my mind: a good convergence of these proposals on the themes of education and European values; mobility and youth exchanges for a better mutual understanding and the expectation of a communication of the European Union better targeted to young people… Our proposals on the theme of “The future of European youth policy” targeted in particular a better presence of the European Union on social media and more communication around the European civic service.
Jens Koopmann. It turned out that the topics of Europe, peace, political participation, the rule of law, democracy, environmental protection and sustainability could be addressed directly in the context of the citizens’ dialogue. It is absolutely necessary in the future to maintain dialogue and to offer young people opportunities for active participation.
« As regards to many Franco-German twinning arrangements, some of them should be renewed to adapt them to the expectations of young people by encouraging even more exchanges in both languages for young Germans learning French and young French people learning German.
Jean-Marc Minier
Missions Publiques. The Elysée Treaty will soon celebrate its 60th anniversary. What is your vision for twinning in the coming years? What are the major issues and challenges?
Jean-Marc Minier. To perpetuate twinning, it is important that young people get involved. For that, we have to be creative to invent forms of exchange and dialogue that suit young people. Joint projects can help to facilitate a better knowledge and common understanding. Organizing joint visits to the European Parliament with the twin cities and meeting MEPs of the territories of these cities can contribute to forging a European consciousness. As regards to many Franco-German twinning arrangements, some of them should be renewed to adapt them to the expectations of young people by encouraging even more exchanges in both languages for young Germans learning French and young French people learning German. It would be useful for their respective teachers to be involved in the twinning activities.
Jens Koopmann. Town twinning will continue to play a decisive role in the future: to get citizens to exchange with each other and, through common experiences, to reduce mistrust and build confidence, to create new networks and to bring citizens from different countries even closer together through tri-national or multilateral projects. I agree with Jean-Marc, we must especially address young people and get them more involved so that they can commit themselves and develop a European consciousness. How do young people experience Europe? What do they think of Europe, where borders that seemed to have been overcome are being erected again? Or how can young people commit themselves to a united Europe? And what about our democracy in Europe? What is our historical awareness? Town twinning – including Franco-German twinning – is always marked by different external influences and changing social conditions. All actors must react flexibly to this. New creative projects and exchange formats must be developed. For example, joint visits to European institutions or increased promotion of the other language could be considered. Twinning schemes must remain attractive, especially for young people, so that they continue to be involved and thus contribute to their continuation.
