Redditch town twinning event hailed a success

THE TOWN-TWINNING showcase at Redditch Library on Saturday has been hailed a success after more than 1,200 people visited on the day.

There were a variety of activities on offer, including stalls with information on Redditch’s five twin towns, exhibitions and displays, film screenings, food from some of the countries and live entertainment.

Among those performing were local renowned artist Otis, the Bromsgrove and Redditch Ukrainian dance group ‘Myria’, Tanzanian gospel singer Bubele, who belted out songs in Swahili and sitar player Irfan Shah who is from Redditch.

Redditch has five twin towns – Auxerre and Gruchet-le-Valasse in France, St Elizabeth in Jamaica, Mtwara, Tanzania and Gujar Khan in Pakistan.

The event came about when One World Link – Redditch’s Jamaican twinning group – got together to discuss next year’s 40th anniversary. Members wondered what was going on with the other twinning groups so contacted them and they all agreed to hold the day to shed light on their activities.

They were also celebrating receiving £2,000 funding from Redditch Borough Council’s ReNEW scheme for the Redditch Twinning Legacy Project.

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That will see stories and pictures of the twinning activities over the years collated into a collection and stored at the library for future generations.

A spokesperson from One World Link said: “We were over the moon with the interest generated by both the event and the project as a whole.

“It was great to see so many people come down and be part of the day.”

Redditch MP Chris Bloore, who also attended the event, said the celebration was a ‘wonderful showcase of our town’s international connections and diverse cultural heritage’.

“From musical performances to food displays, the event demonstrated the vibrant relationships we maintain with our partner towns in France, Pakistan, Tanzania, and beyond.

“It was particularly heartening to see so many local residents coming together to celebrate these long standing friendships.

“Events like these remind us that Redditch’s strength lies in its community spirit and openness to different cultures and traditions.”

Mayor of Redditch, Coun Juma Begum, gave a speech and said: “The concept of town twinning, born in the aftermath of the Second World War, remains a vital initiative for fostering peace, understanding, and mutual respect across borders.

“During my recent visit to Gruchet-le-Valasse, I saw first hand the impact of these long-standing partnerships, where friendships between people have blossomed over the years.

“Moving forward, it is important that we build on these relationships by creating more opportunities for collaboration between schools, industries, and communities across our twin towns.

“By connecting students and local businesses with their counterparts abroad, we can share knowledge, experiences, and innovation that benefit everyone involved.”

Each link-up has its own story behind it.

The twinning with Gruchet began in the early 1990s when the people of the French town found out the Cistercian monks who started their local abbey in the 12th Century came from the Bordesley Abbey in Redditch.

A group encompassing the Gruchet mayor, schoolchildren and history society members headed over to Birmingham, thinking Bordesley Abbey was there.

When they could not find it, they went to Central Library and the librarians did some research and sent them to the site in Redditch.

When the group arrived in the town, the people in Redditch did not know what to do.

It was mentioned the then headteacher of Abbey High School, Eric Halsall, spoke French and shed some light on Bordesley Abbey.

It was then agreed to send a party of schoolchildren and history group members from Redditch to see Gruchet’s abbey and that took place.

A friendship link was formed in 1993 and progressed to become an official Town Twinning in 2007.

The Auxerre twinning was started after the war when a French woman married a man from Redditch and started the link. That has now been running for more than 70 years.

Town-twinning with Mtwara came about when representatives from Redditch wanted to link up with an African area.

Mtwara was chosen as, at the time, it was a new town in Tanzania, similar to the way Redditch came to being in England.

And the St Elizabeth and Gujar Khan link-ups came about when residents from those towns settled in Redditch – both post-war and in the 1960s – when jobs needed to be filled and there was an opportunity for people to start new lives in the UK.