Recent cuts to international aid spending have not stopped U.K. towns from supporting developing countries. One way they continue to foster global cooperation is through town twinning, a formal partnership between two towns in different countries that operates independently of national governments. This scheme gained popularity following World War II as a means of promoting peace and understanding among different nations.

Town twinning enables U.K. towns to help developing countries by providing a pathway through which cultural and technological aid can be donated directly to the places that need it most.

Greenwich and Tema

The London Borough of Greenwich was twinned with the town of Tema, Ghana, in 2000, partially due to both towns being situated on the Earth’s prime meridian line. Since then, annual youth exchanges have enabled students in both cities to experience another culture and share what they have learned with their communities.

In 2005, the Greenwich Council sent a converted bus, filled with books and second-hand computers, to Tema, to be used in local schools. Technological aid from U.K. towns helping developing countries can be vital in improving the quality of life in the recipient town.

Barnet and Pokhara

In 2024, six councillors from Barnet Borough Council traveled to the borough’s twin town of Pokhara, Nepal. They were invited by Pokhara’s mayor, Dhana Raj Acharya. They visited the town’s World Peace Pagoda along with other museums, schools, hospitals, historical venues and environmental landmarks — a week-long delegation aimed at strengthening cultural ties and collaboration.

Their visit followed a devastating plane crash in Pokhara on 15 January 2023, which had prompted an official condolence message from Barnet and the borough’s flag to fly at half-mast at Hendon Town Hall.

Calderdale and Musoma

Calderdale in West Yorkshire established itself as one of the U.K. towns helping developing countries when the town’s council helped pay for an officer from the town of Musoma, Tanzania, to complete a business studies course at the nearby University of Huddersfield. This is an example of educational aid being used to enhance the governance of a town in a developing country, thereby improving its capacity for development. Direct aid has continued through donations of sewing machines to Musoma, all of which were refurbished in Calderdale.

Chesterfield and Tsumeb

Chesterfield open-air market in Derbyshire was used as a model for the Namibian town of Tsumeb’s own market, after some of Chelmsford’s traders agreed to advise the Tsumeb Municipal Council during its construction. The former Mayor of Chelmsford, Adrian Kitch, along with his wife, Inger, also donated funds to help build the Tsumeb Women and Children’s Center. They emphasized the importance of U.K. towns supporting developing countries during their tenure in office.

Bristol and Puerto Morazan

Every year, the town of Bristol in Southwest England hosts Fairtrade Fortnight. In this event, Fairtrade coffee producers from around the world are encouraged to meet and discuss how to operate the industry in a manner that is fair to local growers.

Coffee is a major export across Nicaragua, including in Bristol’s twin town of Puerto Morazán. Local farmers there benefit from programs that help them earn a larger share of the profits from their coffee.

Bristol and Beira

A friendship agreement was signed in 1990 between Bristol City Council and the Southern African Resource Centre (SARC), linking Bristol with the town of Beira in Mozambique. SARC was founded earlier that year by the Bristol Anti-Apartheid Movement as a means of enabling U.K. towns to help developing countries provide aid to deprived communities, outside of the restrictions imposed by pro-apartheid governments.

The towns’ ongoing relationship is currently managed by the Bristol Link with Beira (BLB) group. BLB “currently aims to find funding in the U.K. for at least two projects per year in Beira, each valued at £5,000 [about $6,500],” says the group’s trustee Caroline Pitt in an interview with The Borgen Project. Previous investments have included the “Economic Resilience” scheme that provided “microfinance, small business training and horticultural goods for women farmers.” Another initiative, the “Support for Teachers” program, offered office furniture, computer equipment and ICT training to several schools in Beira.

Pitt says that BLB’s long-term objective is to enable “small-scale projects (that) are aimed at beneficiaries in the poorest country in Southern Africa” to have positive impacts which spread “to positions outside of Beira.” This process enables aid projects targeting individual twin towns to benefit a wider region or country, as those who have received educational or technological assistance utilize their new skills to support others better. Pitt cited one of BLB’s young women mentors, who went on to work as a U.N. Women Peace Champion, as an example of the scheme already having widespread benefits.

In addition to funding aid projects in Mozambique, BLB aims to foster cultural links between Bristol and Beira. This has previously been achieved through a series of civic exchanges, most recently the mayor of Beira Adel Sofala’s visit to Bristol in 2017. BLB also runs an annual photography competition.

The event provides photographers from Beira with the opportunity to have their work displayed in Bristol, thereby gaining increased publicity. It also enables Bristol’s citizens to gain a deeper understanding of life in Mozambique. Pitt says that BLB has also directly benefited Bristol by contributing “to the global citizenship of Bristol through a Schools Teaching Pack.” This aims to improve children’s geographical knowledge and encourages them to empathise with their counterparts across the world.

The Importance of Town Twinning

Future cuts to the U.K. government’s international aid spending may risk damaging relations between the country and many of the developing countries that rely on its aid. It is therefore vital that British towns that intend to improve relations with towns in developing countries have a means of doing so in a mutually beneficial way. Through town twinning schemes, such as BLB, Pitt believes that “we can encourage cities to look outside themselves” and continue to provide international aid, independently of national governments.

– Billy Stack

Billy is based in London, UK and focuses on Global Health and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Pixabay