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Twinning

Green Light Festival 2011

Wrexham County Borough – Märkischer Kreis, Germany – Racibórz, Poland

Wrexham County Borough is twinned with two European districts – Märkischer Kreis in Germany and Racibórz in Poland.

Background to the Twinning

The first Twinning was established on 17th March 1970 between the former Kreis Iserlohn and Wrexham Rural District. Its early success ensured that, after local government reorganisation in both countries in the mid-seventies, the Twinning was taken over by the new Councils of Märkischer Kreis and Wrexham Maelor Borough Council and, in 1996, by Wrexham County Borough Council.

Well over 25,000 visits have taken place over the years with over 40 different groups being involved. The Twinning has been awarded the European Flag of Honour and the European Plaque of honour for its contribution to European understanding. Apart from official visits and exchanges between clubs there have been countless private visits and friendships and even four weddings.

The Twinning had mainly been one of cultural and sporting exchanges, with exchanges of schoolchildren, scout groups, drama groups, sports clubs, (tennis, golf, swimming, football, karate, judo), youth clubs, choirs, bands, musical groups, professional contacts (police, hospital staff, college lecturers, architects, engineers, driving schools, fire service, farmers), voluntary organisations (Red Cross), plus many private exchanges. Young people have been able to visit their Twin districts on work experience placements and others have taken part in joint workshops and performances in music, dance and visual arts including exciting joint projects such as the Welsh-German Youth Orchestra.

In recent years, however, the Twinning has seen several new initiatives such as the exchange of exhibitions, the establishment of business and economic links, and participation in joint European projects involving Wrexham, Raciborz and Märkischer Kreis.

All these activities have fostered friendship and a real understanding between people from different parts of Europe, who discover they have a great deal in common. It has been customary to hold celebratory events marking the anniversary of the Wrexham / Märkischer Kreis Twinning every five years, the most recent being the 35th anniversary celebrations in 2005

In 2001 Märkischer Kreis entered a Twinning arrangement with Racibórz (Ratibor), a county in Poland, which was formerly part of Silesia, Germany. In September 2002, a delegation from Racibórz visited Wrexham and began initial discussions about possible co-operation which led, eventually, to the signing of Articles of Twinning between Wrexham and Racibórz in March 2004

Underpinning the aims and objectives of the new Twinning was the recognition of two main points, namely:-

The significant links between County Borough residents and Poland
Poland’s accession to the EU in 2004

Green Light Festival 2011

Green Light is a British Council-funded twinning project which links Wrexham local authority with Racibórz local authority in Poland. Our Victoria Young People’s Centre is also twinned with the Culture House in Racibórz and Ysgol Clywedog is twinned with Gimnazjum Nr 3, one of Racibórz’s secondary schools (other Wrexham schools are twinned with Racibórz schools through their own twinning programmes).

The purpose of the project is to share good practice in environmental education. The first year of the project (last year) involved photography, music, art and environmental workshops taking place at The Victoria Young People’s Centre in Wrexham and Ysgol Clywedog (and its feeder primary schools).

As part of year 2 of the Green Light project we will be holding a Green Light Festival in Wrexham from 20th June – 1st July 2011. This will be a week-long event which will raise awareness of the importance of environmental education for young people and will include a public showcase to communicate this with the wider community of Wrexham. The festival also supports Wrexham’s corporate priority of reducing its carbon footprint as well as the community strategy and waste strategy obligations and the Wrexham Year of Culture.

Performance Event and Environmental Marketplace, Friday 1st July 2011

Venue: Queens Square, Wrexham
Date: 1st July 2011
Time: 10am-3pm
Audience: Schools / Public

This event brings together performances of dance, drama, music and song from schools and youth groups across Wrexham, all on an environmental theme. There will also be an environmental marketplace, where local groups and organisations can showcase the work they do to promote environmental education.