The East of Scotland local authorities currently have 81 live twinning and area partnerships in Europe. Some date back over 400 years (Culross’ links with Veere in the Netherlands) and some are more recent by comparison. The background to these links is varied but often linked to trade opportunities and cultural exchanges.
More information about these links can be found using a Google map listed on our website or from the following link.
Staff Exchanges
Members of the North Sea Commission can participate in a work shadowing exchange when employees temporarily transfer between organisations, preferably within a similar service or department for between a week to 3 months. Fife Council has calculated that this scheme offers a cost effective means for staff development and training. The participating authorities continue to pay salaries of their employees as well as covering accommodation for the duration of the exchange.
Staff exchanges occasionally occur between areas with development or twinning links on areas of common interest. Please get in touch with us if this is something that you are interested in exploring.
Inward visits
During the course of the year a number of authorities play host to a wide range of overseas visitors. These are occasionally organised in conjunction with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Scottish Government, COSLA or ESEC. ormally these are expected to present an example of best practice in the field of service delivery. We have helped organise a number of “regional” visits where international delegations take in a number of local athorities and other sectors during their visit. If this is of interest, do feel free to contact us with an outline of what it is you want to gain from your study visit.
Schools and Young Persons Links
Individual schools have over the years built up close links with partner schools, some of which are in twin towns. In most local authorities the Education Department manage these links internally and do not have much involvement of the International and European units.