Twinning - Project ACTION
The ACTION Project - Declaration by Erika Bertazzo, Councilor for Twinning of the Municipality of Este
“We joyfully welcomed around one hundred friends from our twin cities, creating a positive network with schools and local associations. Guests were involved in various activities within the ACTION Project and also had the opportunity of taking part to the kermesse of “Este in Fiore”. The town twinning framework is wonderful because it actively engages our citizens, creating long-lasting friendship bonds. Special thanks go to everyone who cooperated for the success of the event: the active members of our Twinnings Committee, Este’s Culture Office, citizens and families who have been cooperating with the Committee for years to welcome our guests in the best way, making them feel at home and, obviously, to all the project partners and the administrators participating. Twinnings are an important driving force touristically, socioculturally and economically speaking, an opportunity to promote our territory’s traditions and high quality beyond national borders”.
Erika Bertazzo
Councilor for Twinnings
Municipality of Este
The project ACTION
From 19th of September 2024 the Twinnings Councilor of Este officially started the European Project ACTION, financed by the European Union in the framework of the CERV Program. Together with the City of Este as project coordinator, amongst the partners appear: the Province of Padua, the City of Granze, the Cities of Bad Windsheim and Tapolca and the Twinnings Commitee of Pertuis.
The first conference, which took place on the 20th of April, dealed with the concepts of “belonging feeling to the European Union” and of “European identity”, what being active European Union citizens means, the discussion on the democratic future of the Union, citizens rights and values, the democratic, pacific and respectful cohabitation of EU and non-EU citizens on the European territory”.
The main speaker was Dr. Samuele Barbieri, European Union Law Researcher for the Law Department of the University of Ferrara; he discussed the concept of “European identity” from a certainly innovative point of view. On the topic intervened the project’s partners, italian and foreign students, local territory associations and local and foreign representatives.
Click here to download all the material from the Action conference on 20th of April 2024.
According to the project’s plan, among the participants at the conference, there where also people coming from Este’s twin cities or linked by a friendship bond: Croatia (Rijeka city), England (Leek City), Palestine (Betlemme City) and the USA (Fredricksburg). The project, in fact, wants to promote and solidify the twin towns network adding more partners and activating multipliers to reach widest possible audience, also to expand the group of cities, ONGs and other local organizations participating in the project.
The conference has been broadcasted live streaming and can be rewatched any moment at the following link: click here
From the 17th to the 20th June the second European meeting will take place in Tapolca City (Ungary), while in Bad Windsheim (Germany) it will take place in occasion of Altstadtfest, the third event from the 5th to the 8th of July.
Toward the end of September our friends from Este’s twin cities will have the possibility of coming back to Italy for the traditional European Festival hosted in our city, as well as for the European Project ACTION international meeting organized by the Province of Padua.
The ACTION Project in Tapolca
The second twinning meeting took place in Tapolca (Hungary) from the 17th to the 20th of June.
To welcome the delegations, the City organised an opening ceremony at the edge of the beautiful thermal pool of Tapolca, in which guests dined all together, warmed by the Mayor’s greeting.
Next day guests took part to “Lessner’s System Winecellar” visit, located next to the Old Synagogue, which represents one of the most important renovation and conservation projects of the City's heritage, from a historical, cultural and religious point of view.
The participants further visited the “Lake Cave Visitors Center”, where visitors could participate in a boat excursion that navigated through the underground of Tapolca. The context of the Balaton-felvideki Natural Park shows how the city cares for the preservation of its territory.
Then, they travelled to the beautiful Mill Pond, where they were able to connect with the roots of this place: glancing at the near square, the visitor can see that its frame is made of medieval buildings and the old mill can still be seen. The pond never freezes, not even in winter, thanks to its 18 degrees thermal spring located under the city; this is where the City takes its name from: Tapolca, from the slavic “hot water”. After a peaceful walk though the City center and lunch, the delegations enjoyed the beautiful baroque castle in Keszthely, where the Festetics family lived for 200 years.
At the end of the day, after this immersion in the history of Tapolca, dinner was served in the Culture House of Tapolca-Dieszel, a tipical hungarian village. On the 19th of June delegations participated in the conference organised by the City about “Europe and democracy”, with the active participation of students from elementary and secondary local schools (Batsányi, SZISZI).
In the first afternoon participants went to Lake Balaton, immersing themselves in its splendid waters.
The trip to Tapolca ended with a special dinner at the Tapolca-Dieszel Culture House, matched by Hungarian folk dances.
The ACTION Project in Bad Windsheim
From the 5th to the 8th of July the third meeting took place in Bad Windsheim in the framework of the Action Project, founded by the European Union.
The delegations were welcomed in the Twinning City of Bad Windsheim and were placed in host families and in hotel facilities. The first visit by the guests concerned the local fest Altfränkischen Zunftlager (Old Franconian guild camp) at the Holzmarkt, where the first dinner took place, with friends and colleagues of the twin city, in a festive athmosphere matched by live music.
The next morning, on Saturday the 6th, the delegations participated in the Workshop “The European Union needs you!” at the local Business School. The students organized a presentation on the “junior elections” followed by a discussion on the results of the European elections. The participants to the workshop had the opportunity to carry on with the discussion during the catered lunch, specially organized. The ones who did not participate, had lunch with host families or in the Altstadtsfest, in contact with the culture and tradition of the City.
In the afternoon delegations met at the Reichsstadtmuseum in the Ochsenhof, where they had the honour to see the opening parade of the Altstadtsfest that walked through the City, followed by the speech of the Mayor Jungen Heckel in the Market Square. On Sunday, both to respect one’s religious beliefs and as a cultural experience, everyone was given the opportunity to attend the ecumenical church service at the Holzmarkt. After that, delegations went to the Climbing Centre Sport!, where they visited the climbing and bouldering sites and could also train assisted by professionists.
After lunch either in the host families or at the Altstadtsfest, everyone went to the Open Air museum of Franconia for a visit to the exhibition “Home is where you get enough to eat” on the topic of migrations. The visit was followed by a walk through the Kurpark, which claims the largest listed thermal area in Bavaria. The trip to Bad Windsheim ended at the Goldenes Kreuz restaurant with a dinner together, where the twin cities exchanged the usual gifts through delegations.
The ACTION Project in Este
From the 26th to the 30th, Este hosted the fourth twin cities meeting in the framework of the European Project Action, meeting organised by the Province of Padova in collaboration with the City of Este. 70 people reached Este from contries of project partners (City of Tapolca, Twinning Committee of Pertuis, City of Bad Windsheim and Municipality of Granze) and from other Twinning Cities.
Upon arrival, the delegations were accompanied to the Passaparola restaurant in Este for a welcome greeting. All participants had dinner together.
On the following morning, in Chiostro delle Consolazioni took place the main conference on the themes of the Action Project, specifically “Democracy and EU values” lectured by professor Gianluca Bonato in the first part of the morning and “Geopolitics and non-EU borders” lectured by professor Matteo Zanellato in the second part. Each delegation had the opportunity to intervene and make a speech about their perspective on the topic (download the conference material here). Before having lunch, the delegations were officially greeted by the present local authorities and the traditional gift exchange occurred. Students and teachers from local High Schools (G.B. Ferrari, Euganeo and Atestino Institutes) also participated in the conference.
In the afternoon, guests visited the City of Padua, in particular the City center and Santo Stefano historical Palace; then dinner was served in Spiller restaurant in Padua. On Saturday 28 September the delegations took part in the traditional weekly market in Este. In the afternoon, instead, guests visited the Praglia Abbey, residence of a community of Benedictine monks, who sell typical products made by them. After dinner at the Passaparola pizza restaurant, delegations attended the 90s music concert by the Rewind '90 group in Piazza Maggiore.
On Sunday 29th of September, delegations attended the 19th-20th century historical re-enactment event "The woman with the hat" in Piazza Maggiore, created by Mrs. Luisa Rosina. The event is made magical by associations of figures, in period clothing, who walk around the City recalling the wonderful and carefree Belle Époque. A distinctive sign of the day is a themed hat, which participants can wear to also become protagonists. At the same time, the day of the National Archery Competition in historical dress took place in the Castle Gardens, organized by the Compagnia Storica Atestina.
After to the opening of the event, guests visited “Gabinetto di lettura” and had free lunch in Este. In the afternoon, guests were brought to the path of the seven churches in Monselice and, in the frame of ACTION, they exchanged good practices in Villa Emo with the young members of “Giovani Euganei”, part of the project for youth politics. Others guests attended the escape room that young people from “Laboratorio delle Idee” set for them in Palazzo Sartori-Borotto in Piazza Trento.
In the last part of the afternoon, participants from abroad performed typical folk dances from their countries in Piazza Maggiore.
By having dinner in Villa Contarini in Monselice, delegations completed their journey through the historical Cities of the Province of Padua and went back to their countries. Once again the world of twinnings offered the opportunity to enrich everyone’s cultural baggage.
Comment of Paola Martin, Councilor of the Province of Padua with mandate on European Politics: “We welcome with enthusiasm this institutional meeting with authorities and representaties of European and non-European cities. The program provides an occasion for all participants of acquaintance and exchange of perspectives, since its main goal is to strengthen the existing bonds between twin towns and contribute to build the future European citizenship, placed in the international context. We are beyond happy to host these people and to guide them through the discovery of our beautiful territory and our historical identity. We wish each and every one of them a pleasant stay”.
Erika Bertazzo, Twinnings Councilor for the Ciy of Este, declares: “We attend now the 4th meeting of this important European project, linked to the twinning world. The participation of all these friends from the twin cities makes us feel honoured. Guests will be able to take part to the planned activities, visiting places and beautiful sites part of the Province of Padua. Our friends from twin towns will be hosted in the accomodations of the area. Twinnings brighten up, as always, the social-cultural structure of the City and represent a positive driving force for our territory touristically and economically speaking. I want to thank everyone who participated, directly and indirectly, to make this fouth meeting possible, specifically the Province of Padua, Este Culture Office and Este Twinnings Committee, project partners, Youth Politics Service of Monselice Municipality and everyone who voluntarily cooperated to this event: the young people of “Laboratorio delle Idee” coordinated by the Youth Politics Councilor Silvia Bottaro, Este Rugby Association, host families and citizens that have always been cooperating with friendship and passion in the context of twinnings”.
