From the Bristol International Twinnings Association - “Award Winning Twinning” Supported by Bristol City Council Twinning Update was written and edited by Alix Hughes, BITA Co-ordinator
WINTER 2015
e-mail : alix.hughes@bristol.gov.uk
European Green Capital This year has seen unprecedented activity amongst Bristol’s seven twinning associations and also between Bristol City Council (BCC) and its counterparts in our twin cities. Some of the increase was due to the European Green Capital status. Both the Georgian and Nicaraguan Ambassadors attended the launch while later in the year the Mayor of Tbilisi (pic centre) brought an environmental delegation to look at improving their use of Parks and Green Spaces as well as collaborating with the Zoo to help create a new Tbilisi Zoo fit for the 21st century. Bristol Zoo outlined its plan to set up a Georgian Wetlands exhibit as part of its new Wild Space with support from Tbilisi. The Bristol Tbilisi Association (BTA) organised a charity auction to raise thousands
of pounds for the victims of the flooding in Tbilisi which had also destroyed the zoo. Meanwhile Mayor Ferguson sent a 2 minute video to Oporto’s Future Cities national conference outlining EGC initiatives which was played on giant screens around the venue. In the autumn, sixteen members of Hannover’s Urban Futures Network came to study the EGC programme and to take part in discussions and project visits organised by Mark Leach from BCC sustainability team and the Bristol Hannover Council
(BHC). The Network represents a dozen campaigning groups, research foundations and green activist NGOs and while in Bristol they also forged closer ties with local Green party councillors.
Trees Make a Difference Global Goals Targetted
Bristol Link with Beira (BLB) continued its tree planting programme in the urban areas of Beira this year through its partnership with the Youth Association in the Macuti barrio and the NGO ADEL. Thousands of trees have now been planted thanks to initial financial support from the Zurich Community Trust. A tree exchange was also initiated by Alex Minshull, head of sustainability at BCC, with Oporto. Councillors Felipe Araujo and Luis Assunciao planted a tree in Castle Park to mark the twinning and the EGC year. Bristol parks team sent a sorbus bristoliensis sapling over to Oporto for their national tree day and we await a Portuguese cork tree in return. left to right Cllrs Wright and Araujo
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Friends of Morazan, the charity which delivers an underfives programme in Puerto Morazan, launched its toilet twinning campaign in partnership with the CREATE centre. Several other organisations and individuals have now taken up the offer to fund a latrine in Nicaragua for a pre-school and twin it with their own toilet here in Bristol. The aim is to improve the hygiene for hundreds of children. As Candida, the teacher from the Barrio Plan preschool said “It is important for the environment to have good toilets. Not just the general environment but also the environment of the school, it makes everything seem nicer. “
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Bordeaux Digital Visit Over thirty representatives of different Bordeaux digital and creative companies visited Bristol to meet counterparts and explore joint ventures as part of the European Green Capital programme. Computer Games companies and the organisers of Bordeaux’s “Semaine Digitale” were also part of the group headed up by Bordeaux City Council officials including Antoine Bidgain. Representatives of Bordeaux university and the Bordeaux Bristol Association were also part of the delegation.
Tbilisi Trade Mission Follow Up Local companies involved in last year’s successful Trade Mission to Tbilisi, were supported by the BTA to supply products for British Week in Georgia. The Embassy in Tbilisi organised the event which was attended by hundreds of local people in Vake Park and achieved a great deal of media coverage. One of the stars was a BTA supporter who has moved permanently to Georgia and is now producing his own cider and stout with financial investment from an American group. During the
Tbilisi Mayor’s delegation to Bristol one local solar energy company progressing a multi- million pound
contract with Georgia, met with Tbilisi City Council’s head of environmental services to outline their plans and gain his support. At the same time the BTA arranged a sold-out wine tasting at the Mansion House for companies involved in the Trade Mission and Georgian wine producers to showcase their products in Bristol, which was attended by the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Georgian Ambassador.
Fairtrade and Nicaragua Fairtrade and Nicaragua received a boost this year thanks to work by the Bristol Link with Nicaragua (BLINC) who arranged a programme for a Fairtrade (FT) Cocoa farmer, Angela Jarquin, to impact on over 2,000 local school students during Fairtrade Fortnight. Angela also took part in the tenth anniversary celebrations of Bristol becoming a FT City. Later in collaboration with
the Bristol FT Network, one of BLINC’s long term partners Fatima Ismael, CEO of the SOPEXCCA network of producer co-operatives in Northern Nicaragua, was the keynote speaker and only voice of the Global South at the international FT Cities conference in Bristol attended by over 300 delegates from around the world.
Fatima with interpreter Alix Hughes
Shorts
Bristol Oporto Association (BOA) are working with the Bristol Guild of Guardians business network
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to plan their programme for a visit to Oporto next year.
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Hannover Junior Chamber enjoyed a varied and exciting four day visit to their Bristol counterparts.
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CULTURE Urban Paint Festival Artists from Hannover and Tbilisi were special guests at this year’s UPFest in Bedminster. Over 25,000 people attended the festival and saw the Hannover Love Tree, decorated with messages of love from the citizens of Hannover to people in Bristol. Top urban artist Mansha and her trusty assistant Mine followed the huge success last year of the PENvolution art project with Hannover. The tree later
appeared at the Central Library and at the welcome ceremony for the new honorary German consul in Bristol. Georgia’s Banksy, Dr Love produced work which included live moss and his image soon went viral on twitter with its environmental theme dedicated to the European Green Capital. The BTA managed to sell several unusual Dr Love paintings which covered the cost of his visit. Dr Love
Top Tbilisi Choir
Iberi, one of Tbilisi’s outstanding male voice choirs, toured Bristol during the Rugby World Cup. Performing in Broadmead, the museum, the Mansion House and Clifton Rugby Club, in their traditional Georgian outfits with ceremonial daggers, the choir created quite a lot of interest. Clifton now want to send their veterans team to Georgia on tour! The choir followed last year’s successful jazz exchange with Andy Sheppard and Beka Gochiashvili.
China Plays and Art The Bristol China Partnership trading as the West of England China Bureau supported the performance of a new play the “Autumn of Han” based on a Chinese timeless legend. BCP members also attended the read through of a second play in production and gave their feedback as part of an interesting discussion with the performers and writer. Meanwhile local artist and BCP member Peter Ford won a prestigious Chinese art award.
His submission was one of over 4,000 for the 5th Guanlan China International Print Biennial exhibition in Shenzhen near Guangzhou. His work was one of 257 pieces selected for the exhibition and he is also one of 11 artists to be awarded a prize of £3,000 plus an all-expenses paid trip to China.
Peter Ford in Guangzhou
Shorts Easton community cinema played host to a series of Georgian films and also a screening of the only Nicaraguan film made this year shown to mark BLINC’s thirtieth anniversary.
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BITA has unveiled a panel at Bristol airport showing all seven twin cities which is seen daily by thousands of visitors. The hand-carved oak Twin Cities Signpost at the Mansion House has
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proved very popular with visiting groups. The BTA arranged a sell-out Georgian style Banquet featuring Borjghali, Bristol’s own Georgian choir.
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EDUCATION Bordeaux Assistants
Oporto Initiatives
As part of an annual programme, six masters students from Bordeaux University were placed in primary schools in South Bristol for two weeks . The students delivered fun French language activities and the schools also took part in a French morning at Ashton Park Secondary where the sessions were led by year 8s.
Henleaze Juniors previous award recipients The Bristol Oporto Foundation offered a grant to the Knowle West based KnowleDGE centre which caters for 187 children aged 6-18 with challenging behaviour, autism and learning difficulties. On the designated Portugal Day, pimary age children were set various challenges such as learning greetings and numbers in the Portuguese language, listening to Portuguese music, quiz, trying typical Oporto food and creating tile mosaics. The BOF has also supported Ana Anselmo from Oporto who is a social work student undertaking a placement with an agency in Bristol.
Bordeaux Students Wine Trip Students from the International Business school in Bordeaux work closely with the BBP to deliver a key module for their course. The 20,000 Euro project sees the students source cases of wine from the chateaux around Bordeaux, charter a sailing boat and auction the wine in Bristol for a children’s cancer charity in Bordeaux and for the work of the BLB with disability groups in Beira. This year the auction took place thanks to support from the Commanderie des Vins de Bordeaux and raised several thousand pounds.
Shorts
Following their popular appearance at the Bedminster Lantern Parade, BLINC’s two Nicaraguan processional giants or “Gigantonas” were invited to the Lawrence Weston carnival and took part in education workshops and the parade. Over forty participants took part in the Bordeaux student exchange this year.
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Local company Balance Stationary which provides resources to schools, donated £1000 worth of educational art supplies to pre-schools in Puerto Morazan. Cotham school undertook its annual exchange with the Goetheschule in Hannover as did the UoB Dental students with their counterparts.
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SPORT Rugby World Cup
Bristol hosted the Georgian squad for the first ten days of the RWC. BTA members set up a working group and liaised with the RWC staff to support the welcome ceremony. BTA was instrumental in making sure Borjghali performed at
the event and they were rewarded when the entire squad of over fifty players and officials gave them a standing ovation, some throwing their RWC caps in the air. The team loved their ten days in Bristol and visited the children’s
hospital as part of their community engagement. Meanwhile BTA members attended the matches in traditional costume as Georgia went on to hit their target of third place in their group and qualification for Japan 2019.
Rowing and Shuttle Diplomacy Jackie Millward and her Bristol Beaufort Badminton Club organised an exchange with Hannover as part of their long-standing link this autumn and Bristol hosted rowers from the Linden Ruderverein Hannover to their partners the Ariel Rowing Club, another very longstanding partnership.
Roller Derby Following the successful hosting of the Oporto women’s team last year, Bristol’s men and women’s teams went to Germany to take on the Hannover Demolition Derby Dolls. Both bouts saw the Hannoverians come out on top and the wonderful programme they arranged for their Bristol guests included a popular visit to the Oktoberfest.
Shorts
South Glos and Stroud College which hosted the Georgian Squad’s training centre, has developed links
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with the Hannah-Arendt-Schule in Hannover, hosting a group of German students this year.
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Plans for junior rugby and hockey links with Hannover are also progressing for 2016.
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VOLUNTEERING & PLACEMENTS Beira and Bristol University The Bristol Link with Beira continued its close links with the Portuguese Department at Bristol University by setting up four month placements for second year students Josephina Kern , Pablo Ruiz and Lewis Blakeman. Josephina worked in the Culture Centre, a women’s organisation (photo right Amai Musananhi) and in a pre-school as well as taking fantastic photos for the 2016 Bristol Beira calendar
Puerto Morazan and Montessori Teacher Laura Mato, a teacher at the Clifton Montessori school spent a month teaching in pre-schools in Puerto Morazan and delivering training sessions for her Nicaraguan counterparts. Our long term relationship with the Nicaraguan Ministry of Education has helped them achieve their Millenium Development Goals in Puerto Morazan. Laura’s partner Jorge also joined her and made a series of short videos of the FoM’s projects including the pre-school new builds, latrine twinning scheme and water filters in classrooms.
Guangzhou Scheme Kevin Tian Yang from Guangzhou City Council’s commercial development department is the 12th officer from GCC to undertake a year in Bristol as part of the West of England China Bureau scheme. UWE waives the tuition fees and Bureau sponsors cover the accommodation costs.
Shorts
The BLINC and Bristol Fairtrade Network’s FT Producer initiative involved a team of 12 volunteer interpreters, drivers, hosts and activity leaders. Nino Beglarishvili from Tbilisi
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GCC officers undertake Masters courses in business as well as involving themselves in the work of the Bureau which includes Chinese New Year celebrations and business networking China Pow Wow events.
City Council will be taking up a placement with Bristol City Council’s international team in the new year. Nicole Friedlein from Hannover is planning an internship with a local
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law firm and charity Shelter. The BBP arranged for accommodation for Bordeaux based Ceramic expert Vanessa Leal to undertake a four week placement in Bristol Museum and M Shed.
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EXCHANGES Citizens Visits The Hannover and Oporto citizens visits this year included cultural programmes as well as tea with the Lord Mayor and an insight into European Green Capital activity. And after much research, a special 50th anniversary reunion was organised by Lynne Evans and Jonathan Radnedge for participants in the 1965 Bristol Hannover exchange.
Oporto Booklets
Paul Hawkins left meets BOA chair Liz Gamlin and Keith Bonham
Bristol Mediawise’s Mike Jempson cowrote a booklet with Oporto’s Publico feature writer AnaCristina Pereira. ‘All the Voices: Diversity and the Media’ is ‘the result of a conversation between two like-minded people in the twinned cities of Bristol and
Porto’. Published as a dual language handbook by Movimento SOS Racismo it reflects upon issues of marginalisation, the Euro-elections, and why inclusion is important in terms of social cohesion and human rights. And also in the new year the Bearpit poet in residence Paul Hawkins is publishing a poetry collaboration with Oporto poet Bruno Neiva called “Servant Drone” supported by the Bristol Oporto Foundation.
Bordeaux Trainee Journalists BBP and UWE’s media course helped set up a venue and a programme for twenty five Journalism students from Bordeaux on their week long field trip to Bristol. BBP provided contacts across a range of issues which the students investigated and wrote up on several blogs, vlogs and websites. Intern Cameron Telford at BCC worked closely with the BBP and offered the group a guided tour of Stokes Croft and some key introductions for interviews.
Shorts
Hannover Mayor Thomas Hermann and Bordeaux Councillor Florence Forzy –Raffard attended the EGC City Leaders Summit. Tbilisi City Council sent five members to Bristol for three day programme organised by Will
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Fawcett from BCC and the BTA looking at transport management, Green Capital issues and Sports facilities management. Radio Bristol worked with the BBP to broadcast live from Bordeaux as part of Mayor Ferguson’s visit and
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included interviews with Mayor Juppe and other BBP partner organisations. The local Cube cinema set up an exchange with Kino im Sprengel in Hannover.
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HONOURS
www.bristol.gov.uk/twinning
Gabi Ciecior Retires Hannover’s legendary head of twinning Frau Gabi Ciecior has retired after 33 years in post. Always keen to promote links with Bristol, Gabi has visited us several times both officially and on holiday with her partner Detlev. She is now looking forward to playing more
tennis and listening to Detlev playing the trumpet. The BHC and BITA contributed to a book of reflexions, photos and recipes for Gabi as well as offering a bouquet of flowers. We will miss her.
Derek Pickup And Roz Payne
A year ago, chairman of the BTA, Derek Pickup was presented with the First Guardian of Tbilisi award by the Georgian Prime Minister in Tbilisi. This year he received the Lord Mayor’s International Medal and was later awarded dual nationality by the Georgian President for his services to the Bristol Tbilisi twinning. At the same ceremony Roz Payne, a trustee of Friends of Morazan was also awarded the Lord Mayor’s International Medal for ten years commitment to the education of under fives in Puerto Morazan, Nicaragua. Roz has been instrumental in developing Montessori education in North West Nicaragua and has changed the lives of hundreds of underfives and their families.
Anne Von Thadden-Schmidt Only the second person from our twin cities to receive the Lord Mayor’s International Medal , Anne (2nd from right in photo) is retiring from her post as chairperson of the Hannover-Bristol Gesellschaft after ten years, having served on the committee for several years before that. A tireless promoter of the twinning, she has been the go to interpreter for every delegation and cultural group over the years and despite ill health managed to join the Hannover citizens visit this summer. We wish her well.
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BHC Executive member Tim Illston has been appointed as the new German Honorary Consul and was installed by Ambassador Dr Peter Ammon
Alix Hughes, BITA co-ordinator was nominated by Bristol City Council for the Fairtrade Advocate Gold award at the South West FT Business Awards and he also
received the Earth Champion award for thirty years’ service to sustainability and internationalism.
“BITA is funded by Bristol City Council as part of its commitment to support all the twinning initiatives and the international agenda”
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