We have made some progress in 2025 towards our goal of setting up town twinning relationships for both boroughs – including a breakthrough in getting a like-minded district of Berlin to offer itself as a twin for Wandsworth. We decided at the start of the year that the strongest foundation should be community-led twinning associations, and ran campaigns on that basis in both Wandsworth and Merton: we wrote to all secondary schools and all councillors, and to business associations in the two boroughs, to generate interest in forming an association to drive forward the idea.
We will encourage the parties contesting the May 2026 London local elections to raise the prospect of a European partnership, and in the meantime will step up our efforts to build on the initial interest that came from the head teachers and heads of languages that we approached this year.
Following up a keen interest in starting a new twinning arrangementment from the Pankow borough in Berlin, we then held a really constructive meeting in-person in October with Svenja Arenz, the lead officer from that district in Germany. Also present was Alan Mockford, from the Richmond in Europe Association, to lend his experience from many years of educational and cultural exchange between that borough and Fontainebleau (France) and Konstanz (Germany). We agreed that twinning with them could very valuably focus on youth exchange and cultural opportunities: with the extra boost shortly afterwards of the UK’s imminent return to the Erasmus+ programme, we have a strong proposition to put to schools and colleges, and are now sharing an Education Sector briefing we have drawn up on the case for twinning.
We remain determined to set up a twinning association in each borough, and would welcome any support from members in getting things moving in this coming election year.
European Movement in Wandsworth and Merton 