What is Town Twinning?
Town twinning, also known as partnering towns or sister cities, refers to the concept of pairing cities across the globe as a way to foster human and cultural links among nations. The first official town twinning happened in 1930 between the cities of Klagenfurt, Austria and Wiesbaden, Germany. However, it wasn’t until after WWII that town twinning actually became a popular practice. Developed in Europe as a way of creating friendship ties and understanding between the countries affected by the war, town twinning quickly spread to other continents as well. In 1944, Vancouver became the first city to be paired with a transatlantic sister city, when it was linked to Odessa, in Ukraine. The pairing was a great way for both cities to provide support to each other during the war.
