Major changes to Frome’s twinning objectives

Frome Town Council is engaging in a major new initiative to promote international economic partnership through its town twinning links.
Frome has been twinned with Chateau-Gontier in France since 1975 and with Murrhardt in southern Germany since 1983.  There is now significant economic potential in gaining European Union grant aid following the admission of the Polish town of Rabka-Zdrój to this existing twinning scheme. 
The major changes to the objectives of town twinning between the four partners was discussed at the quadripartite twinning meeting attended by representatives of Frome Town Council and Frome Twinning Association in Murrhardt in July.
Mayor of Frome, cllr Alvin Horsfall, wants to ensure that public money spent on twinning activities brings long-term economic benefits back to Frome. “The council recognises that up to now the civic links have tended to lack focus and official visits often did not have specific objectives.
“We want to develop our town twinning into international partnerships that will have a strong impact on economic development, inward investment, town image and tourism.”
The mayor went on to explain: “The impetus for town twinning after the Second World War was to promote peace and reconciliation, bringing together countries which had previously been in combat. The focus for this twinning centred on family exchanges with a substantial cultural content. 
“While this is still an important part of twinning activities, the four town councils recognise that the focus has now to be more orientated towards involving the relevant council members and officers, with community and business representatives in exploiting our current links more effectively.  This will include exchanging best practices, knowledge and expertise with our twin towns, with the aim of winning economic development and regeneration benefits from twinning.
“The European Union actively encourages cross-border economic development by part-funding multi-national projects at local level throughout the EU and we all want to work in our new quadripartite to ensure that some of that money now comes to us to fund projects in our four towns. 
“In Murrhardt we were given an outline of some of the projects that have been successful in attracting EU funding, and if we work collaboratively, our twining quadripartite could apply for up to 40,000 euros for some projects.
“Youth is seen as a key element of twinning.  Frome Town Council is already developing an application for EU grant funding for an international youth band concert as part of next year’s Frome Festival.
“We have agreed that other projects will need to be ones which can attract European and other funds into our respective towns that contribute to the town’s regeneration, are deliverable and affordable.  We need to concentrate our efforts on joint working with our twins in order to get most benefit, culturally and economically from twinning activities.
“With this change in emphasis, there is also a need for a change in how the business of twinning is administered.
“Frome Town Council is now finalising an agreement with Frome Twinning Association, whose primary focus will now be on the social exchanges, with the co-ordination of all formal town twinning activity now under the town council”.