Agenda and minutes

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 11^th January 2012.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 11^thJanuary 2012, be confirmed as a correct record.

Matters Arising

Councillor Kevin Small thanked members of the Town Twinning Network for their recommendation that £500 be awarded as a contribution towards his town twinning grant application.

            The Network considered (a) a report of the Director of Law and Democratic Services listing the Town Twinning Associations and Links in and around Swindon and (b) the following reports from those Town Twinning associations and Links present at the meeting:-

Swindon Ocotal Link (SOL)

Jill reported on the following activities:

·        Karen and Stephen were already in Ocotal and Rita would be joining them on 12^th April.

·        The Rotary project would be successfully completed through the use of a sponsoring rotary club.

·        An artist would be coming to Swindon in October who would like to paint a mural somewhere in Swindon.  It was suggested that SOL liaise with Helen Miah for possible locations.

·        The next meeting would be held on 3^rd April.

Swindon Salzgitter Twinning Association

Roger Gower thanked the members of the Network for their kind regards during his hospital stay.  He was now completely recovered.

The visit to Salzgitter will take place from 13^th - 20^th June 2012 and 10 members would be making the trip.  Transfers to and from the airport and flights had been arranged.  SSTA members would be met at Hannover Airport by bus for transfer to hosts’ homes.  The programme of events would include:-

·        A meeting with the group from the Salzgitter equivalent of the U3A who are learning English.  The SSTA have been asked to give a short talk about Swindon to this group.

·        A tour of Salzgitter

·        A trip to nearby village to visit its castle and museum

·        A trip to Berlin – including the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate and a river trip.

·        A tour of a railway museum to reinforce the connection between our two towns through the historic importance of rail transport.

The SSTA has gained a further 3 members but has lost 4.

Roger has now developed a colour brochure explaining briefly the aims and objectives of the SSTA together with information on the activities, visits and membership costs.  Councillor Dart agreed to place a black and white copy in Councillor’s pigeon holes for their information.  It was also planned to place copies in local libraries and community centres.  Roger reported that he was also hoping to write a short article on twinning between Swindon and Salzgitter for inclusion in the monthly newsletter of the Swindon U£A.

Councillor Wren asked about the difference between this group and the Civic visits to Salzgitter, particularly in light of the Mayor’s visit to celebrate the 60^th anniversary.  Members of the Network were unaware of this visit and it was felt that there should be better communication between the Mayor’s office and the Network and that the Network should be made aware of any Civic visits taking place.

Chattanooga

Andy Lane reported that his contact in Chattanooga was currently unavailable but that he hoped to make progress in the near future.

            The Clerk advised that Cabinet had requested that a review of Town Twinning be undertaken and a report submitted to them.  It was agreed that the clerk would send out an email to all Town Twinning Network members seeking their views on the future of Town Twinning in Swindon and that this would be incorporated into the report to be submitted to Cabinet.