Association des Communes Jumelées de Nouvelle-Aquitaine

description of organisation

The “Association des Communes Jumelées de Nouvelle-Aquitaine” (Association of Twin Municipalities of Nouvelle-Aquitaine), named until 2018 “Association des Communes Jumelées du Limousin” (former administrative region in north-eastern Nouvelle-Aquitaine), was born in 1987 thanks to local politicians from the former Limousin region.

They wanted to create a network of twin municipalities to show that twinning was more successful and stronger when local representatives and citizens worked hand-in-hand, to share values of twinning charters, and so that twinning entities have an interest in the European integration. Therefore, it has gradually become clear that political commitment, active citizenship and living-together were three essential elements for the functioning of a twinning.

After the merger of French administrative regions in 2016, the “Association des Communes Jumelées du Limousin” had to adapt to this territorial evolution by opening up to the whole territory of the new Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. In November 2016, other municipalities from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region could already join the association, but it’s really from March 2018 that the association became the “Association des Communes Jumelées de Nouvelle-Aquitaine (ACJNA)”. Its office is located in the municipality of Isle, in Haute-Vienne (in the inner suburbs of Limoges).

Currently, ACJNA is the unique structure of this kind in France. Twin municipalities join ACJNA, but the association works also in very close collaboration with twinning committees (twinning associations linked to the municipalities). Thus, the municipalities are represented in different decisive bodies of the association, both by local representatives and by volunteers involved in twinning committees : this composition is a national specificity.

Objectives of the association :
- Developing the European spirit and the international dialogue within twinning entities,
- Participating in the initiatives of twin municipalities at the international level,
- Defining together the best means to realize the objectives of twinning charters,
- Providing trainings for the successful implementation of various actions,
- Helping members in exchanges between twin municipalities.

Main tasks :
- Providing an information platform about twinning for the public and the relevant stakeholders,
- Training the stakeholders involved in twinning activities (citizens, volunteers, local representatives), in particular about European programs (Europe for citizens, Erasmus+, European Solidarity Corps…), so that they can submit projects in several fields at the European and International levels,
- Helping twin municipalities and twinning committees in the preparation of grant applications within the framework of calls for proposals (European for citizens, Erasmus+, European Solidarity Corps, OFAJ…),
- Providing a technical, administrative and cultural support,
- Helping the members of the association in the follow-up and the creation of new twinnings,
- Promoting the coordination and the visibility of twinning activities through existing communication tools,
- Organizing unifying projects in order to propose new activities for twinning entities and to increase the innovation capacity of each one.

Examples of events and activities :
- Organization of youth exchanges (thanks to OFAJ funding) between 2012 and 2016 with German and Polish partners, so that twin municipalities have the opportunity to promote youth mobility,
- Co-organization of the International Meetings of Twin Cities in the former Limousin region between 2003 and 2013 (85 cities, 11 countries),
- Annual seminars of best practices, between the members of the association on a predefined theme,
- Participations in national and international seminars,
- Implementation of a Christmas ephemeral shop with products from our twin cities,
- Promotion of the film “Mademoiselle Marie”, in particular for young people from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region,
- Organization of the Twinning Initiatives Trophy in order to promote innovative projects,
- Orders of German products for local Christmas markets in Nouvelle-Aquitaine…

The ACJNA is also an information point for the Franco-German Youth Office (OFAJ) and works with volunteers within the framework of a national civic program (Service civique).