Chester's International Partnership Working Strategy.

This strategy was approved by the Executive Committee of the Chester International Links Association on the 21^st May 2004, following an investigation into a flexible and responsive structure for Chester's international collaboration.

Principle

Chester will accept its involvement in three categories of formal partnership with communities overseas, ie; as a;

• Twin City       
• Partner City        
• Friendship City

These categories must be clearly related to the aims of the particular relationship

Any international relationship can develop from one category to another

With current resources, it is not possible to sustain a twinning relationship with more than the 3 present twin cities,  at the present level of involvement.  Any new approaches should be considered only as possible Partner or Friendship cities.

Twin Cities

The present twinning arrangements with Sens, Lörrach and Senigallia. are working well. However, the concept of having just twin cities as the only form of partnership has now become dated.

Within present resources Chester would not be able to service adequately further twinning arrangements and so should consider other forms of partnership in the future.

Actions

• Chester maintain a maximum of three formal twin cities: Sens, Lörrach and Senigallia
• Chester draw up and agree, with these current three twin cities, a joint policy for any extension of the present twinning arrangements
• Chesteronly enter into further twinning arrangements under the joint policy agreed by its current twin cities

Partner Cities

Many UK and other European cities have partner arrangements with other cities.  Partnerships are often for a limited period of time (renewable by mutual consent) and are constructed with particular aims in mind.  Edinburgh and Vilnius, for example, had a 3-year Agreement of Co-operation.These cities wished to pursue joint activities to include the exchange of knowledge in regenerating and adapting existing buildings for modern usage within their Old Town areas.  Under such arrangements a detailed agreement is drawn up with clear and measurable objectives.

There is great value in this for Chester in that it could be free to be proactive in seeking out other partners for potentially valuable co-operation. 

Actions

• The concept of Partner Cities for Chesterbe actively promoted, wherever a need is clearly identified.
• Further consideration be given to the creation of a limited number of categories of PartnerCityto take into account special/unique relationships e.g. WorldHeritagePartner City

Friendship Cities

There are demands from communities overseas for links with Chester that do not conveniently fit into the above categories.  These communities may be further away in Asia, Africa, the Indian sub continent and South America or within Europe.

It would be of value for Chester to establish a small number of these international friendship cities.  In particular this would

• enrich opportunity by providing a channel for the development of contacts between peoples
• increase the knowledge of other communities and engender respect for them

Actions

• Friendship Treaties be accepted as a way of formalising these links but they be for a stated period of time, requiring renewal when appropriate.
• The aims and benefits expected to be gained by the association be clearly stated in the Friendship Treaty.