The first conference of the Chemnitz twin cities has come to an end. Under the title “Town twinning in challenging times” delegations of the Chemnitz twin towns Düsseldorf, Ljubljana, Lodz, Manchester, Mulhouse, Tampere, Timbuktu, Usti nad Labem and Volgograd were guests. The Twin Cities Conference was dedicated to the main topics of urban development, culture, citizen participation and the application for the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz2025.
After two days full of discussions in panels and various workshops, Mayor Sven Schulze drew a conclusion: “Learning from each other and networking with each other was our goal and I think it worked out well! I would be pleased if we would soon continue what we started in Chemnitz: in joint ideas and projects – we will come up with a lot of ideas to make this more lively”.
The participation of the citizens of a city in the change processes was the central theme of the conference – “Cities about people”. “Change can only happen with people”, the participants summarized. “Our livelihoods should be the focus of our actions. And we must become even more aware of the qualities of our cities,” emphasized Building Mayor Michael Stötzer.
This afternoon, the heads of delegation from the twin cities signed the city’s Golden Book.
The topics of the conference included culture as a strategy for an integrated
sustainable urban development. The focus was also on rethinking and redesigning public spaces as well as citizen participation and the resulting new cooperation between administration and citizens. The design of river courses in the city is, for example, a topic not only in Chemnitz, but also in Düsseldorf, Ljubljana, Volgograd or Muhlhouse.
In addition, the participating cities have agreed on a regular exchange on these issues for the future. They see themselves as ambassadors across national borders, building bridges between countries, cultures and above all people.
Mayor Sven Schulze, who opened the conference yesterday, also emphasized the importance of the proverbial look beyond one’s own nose: “Mutual interest and friendships do us good. The fact that so many of the twin cities accepted our invitation shows that the partnership is just as important to them as it is to Chemnitz. In times when debates seem to be irreconcilable, cohesion is important.” In addition, he had invited the participants to get their own impression of the city during the two days in Chemnitz. One of the opportunities was a city tour with building mayor Michael Stötzer.
Dr. Martin Böhringer, co-founder of the Chemnitz Internet company Staffbase, passionately promoted Chemnitz as a location and internationalism in the keynote speech at the conference on Wednesday: To the often-heard question “Why only Chemnitz?” his answer was: “Here we have room for ideas, living space and short distances. In addition, internationality has long been the norm in his company, where employees from 18 nations work: “It makes us richer in every respect,” the entrepreneur continued.
Yesterday evening, at a “Welcome reception” in the foyer of the city hall, the participants had the opportunity to meet the guests of the
EUROCITIES cultural forum. A prominent guest of the evening was Katarina Witt, figure skating Olympic champion and honorary citizen of Chemnitz.
The three cities currently applying to become European Capital of Culture have agreed on joint projects and exchanges on the way to the title. Ljubljana and Chemnitz will compete for the title in 2025, the Finnish city of Tampere the following year.
The city of Chemnitz has agreed with its German twin city Düsseldorf to make regular exchanges of trainees possible. This tradition already existed in the early 1990s. The current conference was the occasion to revive this.
The guest with the longest journey was Abdoulaye Kalil Ascofaré from the Malian twin city Timbuktu. He reported today on the still difficult conditions in the war-torn city. The crime rate is high, and the most basic necessities of life such as schools and health care have to be rebuilt. Support was needed here. This is one of the reasons why he is glad that Chemnitz is a twin city and carries Timbuktu in its heart.
The conference was the first meeting of this kind among Chemnitz’ twin cities. In addition, the city traditionally maintains regular contact with its sister municipalities abroad, for example in the areas of sports, music, student exchange and with meetings of the cities’ fire brigades.