Last week, a Calpe delegation coordinated by the Twinning Council visited the French Sant Laurent du Var and the German Oppenheim with the intention of resuming and promoting cultural and social exchange with these municipalities with which Calpe is twinned,
The trip, as a tool for European integration and cooperation, aimed to consolidate the twinning project with the French town and at the same time, reconnect with the German town, twinned with Calpe for more than 20 years. The initiative is part of the European programme "Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values".
This year, an exchange with a strong musical character has been chosen, with the performance of the Rondalla de Calpe together with the Calpeina soprano Agatha Martínez. The Rondalla and the soprano performed in concerts in their respective municipalities, which were attended by the local authorities.
Given the success of the initiative, plans are already underway to repeat these exchange trips. Both the town councils of Sant Laurent du Var and Oppenheim have already begun discussions to plan various activities over the next few years. The Mayoress of Oppenheim, Silke Rautenberg, took the opportunity to announce that the German city of Oppenheim will celebrate the eighth centenary of the city in 2025 and will count on Calpe for the commemorative events. In the same vein, the mayor of Sant Lauren Du Var, Joseph Segura, announced that he expects to formalize the twinning charter in 2024.
The Twinning Council and BELC are calling on the various local clubs and associations to make proposals for future activities in the framework of European twinning, in order to open up lines of exchange at all levels and encourage the participation of all citizens.
The Twinning Councilor, Marco Bittner, said: "Possible activities include sports exchanges, school exchanges, concerts, conferences, cooperation projects, youth exchanges, vocational training programmes, music festivals, art exhibitions and even business meetings. In addition, the City Council has European funds to make these initiatives a reality