Statement of purpose
Our core objectives are to:
- help the people of Bury become global citizens;
- support businesses in Bury in a global economy; and
- influence EU policies in favour of large towns like Bury.
What we do
Various individuals in Council departments are responsible for leading and co-ordinating the Council’s European and international relations activity, from school partnerships, support for trade, European information and civic visits.
The Bury Metro Community Twinning Association has delegated responsibility for our partnerships with European and US twinning partners.
We work closely through our twin and partner cities and towns across the world, within international networks, and with national and regional government.
Our twin and partner cities and towns are listed below.
- Angouleme, France
- Datong, Shanxi Province, China
- Schorndorf, Germany
- Tulle, France
- Woodbury, New Jersey, United States of America
We work with our partner cities and towns across a range of areas.
1. We work with schools to introduce young people to European and international experiences through the school curriculum and through school partnerships. We promote international professional development for teachers and reciprocal exchange visits.
2. We also work with business support services locally and regionally, in particular the Chamberlink International Trade Centre, to find fresh opportunities for trade and to promote inward investment. We are able to use our relationships in local authority networks and in our partner cities and towns to facilitate good contacts for local business, especially for SMEs.
3. The international relations work in various council departments encourages the exchange of best practice with our various partner cities and towns. In some cases, projects may take place with external funding from the European Union or the Department for International Development.
Key priorities
We aim to continue strengthening ties between Bury and Datong China in the fields of Education, Business and Culture.
The Bury Metro Community Twinning Association aims to strengthen ties with our EU and US twin towns.
