In Sint Niklaas the yearly twin town conference is taking place this year. That is where the grouping of five twinned towns: Abingdon, Colmar (France), Lucca (Italy), Sint Niklaas (Belgium), and Schongau (Germany) all send delegates to discuss a theme important for the EU – who help fund the twin town conference.
Michael Matthews who has been involved in twinning since the 1967, and Brian Read, also on the Abingdon and District twinning committee, were interviewed about the conference for regional Belgium television…
The Sint Niklaas 2010 conference topic was about Child Poverty.
Each town presented a paper. Then delegates visited a Red Cross Centre for refugees seeking asylum in Sint Niklaas. Only 1 out of 4 people going through the strict Belgium process become a refugee. Others are just let out on the street and have to find their own way back to their own country or try elsewhere…
Britain, is the only country that does not belong to the same asylum checking process as the rest of Europe where fingerprints and the checking process is shared.
Glad to see you managed a photograph of St NIklaas. What a wonderful statue that is.
I don’t know if others agree but I think it would be really interesting to know more about what Twinning involves – I think there is a perception that it is just social visits but I suspect there is more to it than that. I have just had a look at the Abingdon Twin Towns Society website http://www.abingdonandvaletwinning.org.uk/ and the “Past Events” section gives a good feel for it.
It would be interesting to know more about the paper Abingdon delegates presented to this conference: serious social issues don’t get much publicity here – many people don’t know the extent of child poverty in Abingdon and what is being done to address it.
Well said, Hester. All the more important to voice our opposition to the swathe of council cuts that are going to sweep through this town next year. We’re all going to feel it in Abingdon as, remember, Cameron ‘reassured’ us ‘we’re all in it together’.
Some good stuff here! Lots better than the Herald correspondence. Well done Alastair. However,why have we never had a twin outside the europeanfold ? eg in Zimbabwe??
Zimbabwe don’t want to be associated with such a corrupt country, John. Who can blame them.