Le Conseil Général mène un partenariat avec plusieurs régions d'Afrique et d'Europe. Depuis 1993 avec la Province du Houet au Burkina Faso et depuis 2003 avec le Wilaya d’Adrar en Algérie et la Voïvodie de Poméranie Occidentale (Szczecin) en Pologne.
Par ailleurs, il organise un Concours Citoyenneté Européenne en partenariat avec l’association France-Libertés Gironde et l’Inspection d’Académie de Bordeaux et s'engage auprès des associations girondines pour fédérer des projets autour du Sénégal, de la Turquie et du Maroc, trois pays ayant une forte communauté en Gironde.

Fifteen years ago, the Conseil Général de la Gironde was one of the first French local authorities to sign a protocol of agreement with a Regional authority from the South, Houet Province in Burkina Faso. At that time decentralised cooperation initiatives tended to be organised around the concept of aid "to underdeveloped countries" and "humanitarian operations" based on the initiatives and the generosity of numerous associations and NGOs from the regions of the North.

At the present time, the fundamental problems faced by these regions - access to drinking water, to renewable energies, to healthcare, the essential conditions of the right to education and training - still remain.

Our concern for these continuing issues is today also affected by the changes occurring in contemporary societies and the new challenges inherent in the protection of the planet, as well as by the interdependence of local development both in the North and the South. For these reasons, the notion of solidarity is no longer a simple question of humanitarianism but has become the key motor for change in the living conditions of the women and men of our planet.

The Department of the Gironde, is particularly committed - thanks to its tradition of hospitality, its commitment to Sustainable Development and its Agenda 21 undertakings - to openness towards the heritage and know-how of the different regions of Europe and of the world, and considers that it has a duty to support initiatives promoting the emergence of the regions of the South as well as exchanges with the European territories, which are essential in promoting economic and cultural enrichment for our Department and its inhabitants.

It is imperative that this commitment to international solidarity and sustainable development, both in favour of the Gironde and of our foreign partners, be readjusted regularly within the framework of a continuously refocused cooperation policy, with clear objectives and precisely defined concrete actions. These should be fully integrated within our global objectives and in accordance with the priorities of our Assembly and those of the European cooperation networks.

Today, our Department's Twin Town Cooperation should be considered, both by the officials of our local authority and by our fellow citizens, as a central policy for the social and cultural development of the Gironde.

The Conseil Général de la Gironde's Twin Town Cooperation is organised around three official territories:

Houet Province in Burkina Faso:

The Conseil Général de la Gironde will honour the undertakings entered into with regard to investments in the Karankasso-Vigue Secondary School (for children from 11 to 15 years of age) and the Koundougou Medical Centre, as well as the grants awarded for the activities of the associations.

It will give priority to actions permitting access to fundamental needs - water, renewable energies (solar), healthcare - as well as initiatives in favour of future generations with the Collective of Youth Associations of Houet Province and professional training (training for educators, organisation of socio-cultural activities - BAFA diploma for youth group leaders and workers - sport, professions linked to the arts and cultural fields).

The Gironde's associations, institutions and secondary schools are contributing to the fulfilment of these objectives, within the framework of projects in which they have been involved since their inception.

Adrar Province (Wilaya):

Within the framework of the cooperation agreement signed in November 2005, the Department and the Province (or Wilaya) are engaged in an encouraging partnership, based upon the exchange of skills and know-how.

Skills, in particular, support for the establishment of the National Centre of Manuscripts at Adrar, for the restoration of documents and the training of future archivists - in partnership with the Archives départementales (Departmental Archives). Another part of this exchange consists in the organisation of exchanges of students and lecturers within the framework of the agreement signed with the IUFM (University Institute for Teachers Training) and the African University of Adrar, as well as between several of the Gironde's secondary schools and their Algerian counterparts.

Finally, in the field of social integration and disabilities, the Conseil Général and its partner associations are strengthening a cooperation initiated in 2008 with the Adrar School for partially sighted and hearing-impaired Young People.

West Pomeranian Voivodeship:

The agreement signed in 2004 serves as a framework for exchanges between secondary schools, organised around European projects supported by our Assembly. It thus plays a part in supporting the French language and French-speaking cultures in secondary educational establishments and also within the framework of a partnership with the "Alliance française" organisations of Bordeaux and Szczecin. Official cooperation has also been established between the University of Szczecin and the IUFM (University Institute for Teachers Training) of Bordeaux Aquitaine.

A number of Polish territorial officials made professional working visits to the Conseil Général, for work in the fields of the environment, sustainable development, sanitation, waste treatment and tourism planning. The two respective working groups in West Pomerania and the Gironde are establishing a relationship of exchange of experiences, which is proving fruitful for the local development of both territories.

The economic relations desired by our partner will supervised by the relevant Department in cooperation with Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

This cooperation with a European local authority is part of the Conseil Général's policy for raising awareness among young people, particularly secondary school pupils, of the European issues and challenges of today and of the future.

Informal friendship projects with other territories

The presence in the territory of the Gironde of numerous Moroccan, Senegalese and Turkish nationals, offers an opportunity for elaborating clearly defined, solidarity-building projects, in the areas of education, professional training and Culture, in close collaboration with the Department's relevant associations. In particular A Turkish season in France and in the Gironde, coordinated by the Conseil Général de la Gironde, has been organised in this context, between July 2009 and March 2010.

The European Citizenship Competition

Organised as a joint-initiative by the association France-Libertés Gironde and the Conseil Général, in partnership with the local schools inspectorate of Bordeaux, the competition is held every year, within the framework of the National education week against racism.

Presentation of the competition

Two of Europe's writers, selected by the organisation, compose a text. In this text they explain how they see Europe, and its effects upon their lives, and the personal ways in which their sense of belonging fits together at the different levels of their town and region of origin, place of residence, nation and State within the European area.
This text, written in French and translated into the languages of the participating European secondary schools, is published on the 15th of January each year.

Between 15th January and 15th March, secondary school pupils and teachers of French, history and geography, amongst other subjects, work on, compare and use these texts.

At the time of National Education Week Against Racism (the third week of March in France), the two authors are invited to secondary schools, over a two-week period between 15th March and 31st march.
They are thus welcomed as guests for days at participating secondary schools, where they follow programmes elaborated by the latter. They meet the classes and answer questions, prepared with the teachers, about their work, country and biography etc. They also have the opportunity of taking part in other types of meetings aimed at the public at large.

Following these meetings with the authors, the pupils are invited to write texts expressing their personal ideas about their own relationship to the European area. The texts, individual or collaborative, are selected in advance by the secondary schools and passed on to the organisers before the 15th May.
A panel of judges made up of representatives of the Conseil Général, France-Libertés Gironde and the Local Schools Inspectorate is convened within the following fifteen days.
At the beginning of June, an official prize-giving ceremony is held in the presence of the President of the Conseil Général de la Gironde and the department's Chief Inspector of Schools.

Who can take part?

The competition is open to secondary schools for children from 11 to 15 years of age (collèges) of the Department of the Gironde already participating in the programmes, partnerships and European pairing schemes. Since 2005, secondary educational establishments of the same nature from the European Union can also enter the competition.

 The priorities set out in terms of international and twin town cooperation, as well as the instruments which have already been, or are being put in place, are designed to contribute to and encourage more equitable intercultural exchanges between the local authorities of Europe, Sub-Saharan and Mediterranean Africa. These policies, implemented in consultation with the other French and European local authorities, are aimed at contributing to the improvement of citizens' living conditions, on a medium and long-term basis. It is hoped that they may also contribute to reducing the level of human migration caused by real economic distress.

This active policy on the part of the Conseil Général constitutes an instrument for development in its own right, for everybody who is determined to put the values of openness, active tolerance and solidarity that motivate us, into practice in a concrete and sustainable manner.

Contact

For further information, contact the Twin Town and Decentralised Cooperation Department (Mission de Coopération Décentralisée) on 05 56 99 35 94.