German Twinning
Signing of the Twinning Charter in Meiningen on October 7, 2006
In 2006, from October 6th to the 8th, a delegation from Bussy St.- Georges was welcomed in Meiningen, Germany, to participate in the twinning ceremony. The delegation included the Mayor, Hugues Rondeau, members of the Town Council, and representatives of the Bussy Twinning Committee. Without going into detail about the many festivities that Dominique Bijard describes so well in his article, I do want to mention the excellent and warm welcome that the French delegation received during their visit. Perhaps it’s because our friends in Meiningen, a town in former East Germany, were deprived of contact with western Europe for 50 years that today they have such strong desire to communicate, dialogue, and get to know more about their European neighbors. The neighborly love that they kept locked in their hearts for so long, has been offered to the residents of Bussy, an enormous gift for all to enjoy. A great feeling of congeniality colored our first meeting and it has not weakened over the year that has gone by. On the contrary, it has grown stronger with each new encounter, so much so, that today we feel like old friends. This recent, but very solid, friendship is an excellent foundation for encouraging exchange between our two towns, and ensuring a long-lasting twinning.
Jean-Louis Denis
Discourse in French
Discourse in German
Photo Gallery
Website of the town of Meiningen: www.meiningen.de
Signing of the Twinning Charter in Bussy on May 12, 2006
The town has just signed on for a new friendship! On May 12, Hugues Rondeau welcomed the Mayor Reinhard Kupietz, for the signing of a Twinning charter with Meiningen, a historical town in Germany. The city planned out all the events for our friends’ three-day stay, beginning with the official twinning ceremony on Friday evening, to kick off festivities. Accompanied by a dozen people from Meiningen Town Hall, Reinhard Kupietz joined Hugues Rondeau, Dominique Bijard (Marie-Adjoint in charge of Twinnings), and Jean-Louis Dennis, President of the Twinning Committee, for the unveiling of the twinning sign in Bussy. Then there was a musical welcome, performed by the junior harmony group of Bussy’s Jean Sebastian Bach Conservatory, in Maurice-Koehl hall. The delegation was then joined by Mr. Kordasch, a representative from the German Embassy. He sat in front to listen to the discourses given by municipal officials before the mayors signed the charter that seals the ties of friendship between our two towns.
Afterwards, children from the Town Children’s Council gave out gifts and medals, and then a buffet dinner concluded the first evening. Saturday morning there was a tour of our municipal structures and equipment, and the afternoon was reserved for exploring Paris. On Sunday, Château de Ferrières, a magical and prestigious place, opened its doors to give us a guided tour. Before they left, everyone gathered in the Council room to share a final meal, setting up a meeting in Meiningen for next October.
Mayor’s discourse in French
Mayor’s discourse in German
Discourse by Mr. Dominique Bijard
Photo Gallery
Negotiations for a Twinning
Jean Louis Dennis is the ex-director of a subsidiary of the German group MANNESMAN DEMAG, now located at the Gustave Eiffel business park in Bussy St.-Georges. Retired in 2004, and a Bussy resident for the past 5 years, he decided to put his knowledge of Germany and the German language to work for the town… and he visualized the creation of a Franco-German twinning.
Bussy was already twinned with towns in both the UK and Israel, but no contact had been established yet with Germany, even though 350 students were learning German is Bussy schools.
The Twinning Committee’s first focus is to help students progress in foreign language learning by fostering exchange programs. But the committee can organize sporting and cultural events for adults as well, and can even serve as an intermediary with German business groups who might be interested in opening their French subsidiaries in Bussy… The search for the right town to twin with was actually quite difficult. Most of the towns in West Germany have already been twinned with other French towns for the past 20 or even 30 years! The negative responses just kept coming in. So we had to look a little farther, out to the new “Laender” that is the former East Germany. Then one morning, at the end of April 2005, a call came in from a French professor in Meiningen, a lovely little town in Thuringia. His call was the affirmative answer we had been waiting for. The France-German Twinning Committee was created with the precious aid of Mr. Kou, President of the Franco-UK committee, who brought with him his experience in this kind of association. The German teachers of Bussy, Ms. S. Brion, Sainz, Havo, and Mr. Sarafian and Ms. Strugen from the Siemens company immediately offered their help with the association.
Discussions went on for several months before the Mayor of Meiningen, Mr. Kupietz, officially confirmed that his town was interested in twinning with Bussy. Then the Mayor of Bussy officially invited the Mayor of Meiningen for a visit by the German delegation of the Town Council, scheduled for September 24 and 25. On the agenda: A tour of the schools, and discovery of the town and its surroundings.
Let’s get ready to give them the best of welcomes!
FRANCO-GERMAN TWINNING COMMITTEE FOR BUSSY SAINT-GEORGES ET MEININGEN (COMITE DE JUMELAGE FRANCO–ALLEMAND ENTRE BUSSY SAINT-GEORGES ET MEININGEN)
Association loi 1901 Declaration of establishment N° 0771014474, Septembre 21, 2005
Mairie of Bussy Saint-Georges Place de Verdun F-77600 BUSSY SAINT-GEORGES Tel: 06.24.03.75.69 email :jumelage.bussy.meiningen@wanadoo.fr
- MEININGEN