Welcoming speech on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the twinning with Novo mesto

Langenhagen, novembre, 14th 2008.

"Honorary ambassadors" - this is what the former German Foreign Minister, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, called the citizens who are involved in twin town programmes.
Many people from Novo mesto and Langenhagen have become such ambassadors. Many active participants have brought so much life to our partnership so that we are now already able to celebrate our 20th anniversary. Therefore, I am very pleased to be able to welcome you, Mr Muhic, my counterpart and you, dear friends from Novo mesto, to celebrate this wonderful occasion in Langenhagen.

I would also like to welcome many people who were there "at the start" this evening, in the name of the Town of Langenhagen. They include, without being exhaustive, our then Mayor, Waltraud Krückeberg, the former Town Director, Ivo Longar from Novo mesto and Dr Klaus Rosenzweig from Langenhagen, as well as representatives from Novo Mesto, Ms Stasa Vovk and Mr Joze Florijancic. I am particularly pleased that, after a long time, it has once again been possible to host delegations from all the twin towns and linked towns of the town itself as well as its localities. Thank you all for accepting our invitation.

I would like to welcome Town President Jan Zubowski from Glogau in Poland with his delegation and Mayor Eliza Mann from Southwark in the United Kingdom with her accompanying representatives. The delegation from Joinville in Brazil, led by their mayor Marco Antonio Tebaldi, as well as our German friends from Rodewisch, with their mayor Erhard Meier, are also warmly welcome. Furthermore, I would like welcome Mayor Mico Micic and his delegation from Bijeljina in Bosnia Herzegovina as well the delegation from Le Trait in France with their mayor, Jean Marie Aline. And last, and by no means least, a warm welcome to out friends from Stadl Paura in Austria with Mayor Alfred Meisinger and his delegation.

Before I turn to the occasion in hand I would, of course, not wish to neglect welcoming everyone else present here in the Langenhagener Theatersaal. I am pleased that so many citizens have accepted our invitation. Honourable guests, dear friends! Let's go back in time 20 years. We're writing Friday, 28 October 1988. At exactly 1130 in the Slovenian town of Novo mesto the twinning of both towns is sealed. Those present from Langenhagen include representatives from the council and town administration as well as people from the areas of youth, senior citizens, sport and culture.

That is now 20 years ago. In this time relations between out two towns have grown stronger and stronger and - far more importantly - contacts between the citizens of both communities have grown stronger and stronger too. Particularly the clubs and associations of both towns - for example, the Slovenian cultural and sport club KRKA - or also individuals such as Aute Lampe, who has unfortunately since died, from RC Blau-Gelb have made intensive contributions here. The ambassadors who were there at the very beginning, office holders such as Franci Sali and Waltraud Krückeberg, such as Town Director Ivo Longar and Klaus Rosenzweig as well as many other citizens from our two towns, had the right message and they have implemented it with success. They were all infused with the wish to get to know, understand and appreciate others, across borders and more than 1150km away. They built bridges with considerable diplomatic skill which have proved to be stable and reliable and which many people from both our towns have crossed since then. They have set a great deal in motion, the people from both our communities, who made our twinning strong from the beginning and who are involved today and I would to thank all of you for this most sincerely. I can just envisage what an incredibly moving moment it must have been when the delegation from the Town of Langenhagen were guests in Novo mesto on the occasion of the signing of the treaty on 28 October 1988.

Dear friends, I would therefore like to emphasise this, because today we have to be aware initially of what the times were like in 1988 and what was agreed in the treaty at that time. Anyway, Slovenia was a member of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It was not simply just a normal town partnership - no - international history was written here. Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, it is perhaps not so unusual in Slovenia and Germany to maintain partnerships with towns from our countries. After all, Slovenia has also been an EU member since 2004. It looked somewhat different then, when the first contacts were initiated between both towns. This was rather special for the mayors and citizens who were supporting the scheme. They were - similar to pioneers - moving into new territory to find new paths to each other and finally to break new ground as durably as possible. We can assert together that the common aim, which seemed to be a remote utopia back then, that this aim of a functioning partnership was achieved. Thus we can all be proud of this town partnership. At the same time it is a spur to work in the spirit of this treaty in the future too in a targeted manner. Therefore we will strengthen our partnership once more this evening by signing a new - that is, a supplementary - partnership charter.

Ladies and gentlemen, It was always a special wish of our partnership to encourage our youth in particular to visit each other in order to find out more about the culture, traditions and way of life of both our countries in this way in order to contribute to international understanding and peace between the peoples of the world. After all, our youth personify the future!

Therefore, I am particularly pleased that we were accompanied by the Langenhagen Youth Brass Band on the occasion of the celebration of the town anniversary in Novo mesto on 7 April of this year. Almost 60 boys and girls and their accompanists had prepared themselves intensively for this journey and a joint concert with the young people from Novo mesto. Finally, alongside the town anniversary, the first part of our joint jubilee was also celebrated. And I can assure you that it was a wonderful festival with a fantastically successful concert by this first mixed youth brass band from both our towns.

This proves once again that music knows no borders. I think that the young people from both our towns will definitely be able to confirm this. This musical cooperation was then, as your will no doubt remember, continued immediately in May during the International Music School Festival in Langenhagen when the return visit took place and the people of Langenhagen were also witnesses to this cross-border musical teamwork. And we can also look forward to an international music evening together today because the delegation from Novo mesto has also brought young musicians from our twin town who will play for us. But the older generation are also keeping contacts and exchanges alive intensively. Just last month, for example, the Workers' Welfare Association had a successful journey to Novo mesto. By the way, for anyone who has not been there I can only recommend making the trip. Novo mesto, founded on 7 April 1365 and named after its founder, the Austrian Duke Rudolf IV, with the official name Rudolfswerth, is a beautiful town in the south west of Slovenia in the valley of the emerald green River Krka - in one of the most beautiful regions of Slovenia - namely Dolenjska.

This region is strewn with vineyards and white churches and is criss-crossed by fertile valleys and meandering rivers. Take some time to learn about this beautiful town, look in our library or in the internet - or simply go there. You will be impressed by the country and its people! If you find you would like to learn more about this or also the other partnerships and friendly links of our town, or if you would also like to add something in person, then please speak to me or my employees, whether today or in the Town Hall. It would be nice if we could succeed in bringing to life a long term partnership committee for the town centre, as has been successfully achieved for the Godshorn and Krähenwinkel districts. After all, a partnership can only exist in the long term and remain alive if citizens are included intensively.

Therefore, I am particularly pleased that so many of the citizens of our town are participating this evening. It would be nice if we have aroused your interest or made you curious. Dear friends, The upper political echelons do not always have to be involved where international relations are concerned. Towns of our size can also be engines for European unity, above all in direct cooperation! This is what the founders of our town partnership envisaged, this is the message that many people from Novo mesto and Langenhagen have successfully implemented over the past 20 years. And together we can achieve even more! Yes, I think we still have lots of plans - our town partnership is not only looking back on a 20 year history today but is also looking at a very promising future!

Thank you.
(Friedhelm Fischer, Major Langenhagen)