France/Comité de jumelage de Luz-Saint-Sauveur: bridges to strengthen friendship and understanding for 50 years

Twinning between towns in different countries, which in the past have sometimes been at loggerheads, contributes to understanding and friendship between peoples. For almost 50 years, the Luz twinning committee has been working to keep the partnership between Luz, Höchberg in Bavaria, and Bastia Umbra in Italy alive, which is not always an easy task. The association recently held its general meeting under the chairmanship of Jean-Claude Leborgne.

A notable event for 2024 was the eight-person trip to Bastia Umbra, at the invitation of the town council, for its major international agricultural fair (which even included the Italian Minister of Agriculture), from April 4 to 7. The trip also coincided with celebrations to renew the twinning pacts between Bastia Umbra and Höchberg, as well as between Bastia Umbra and Karancslapujtő, a town in Hungary.

"At this fair, our German friends run a beer stand. Why don't we, in turn, showcase the expertise of our local producers, especially as the location would be donated? The producers' association will be contacted as soon as possible, as time is running out", notes the association.

At the Luz chop fair, mayor Annie Sagnes-Lagrange had invited the German and Italian delegations to join the twinning committee, but this was not possible. However, this summer's Tour de France could provide a great opportunity to make this meeting a reality.

The project was greatly facilitated by the presence of Italian-speaking parish priest Benjamin Martin, who attended the general meeting. In October, he organized a meeting in Pays Toy: a delegation of six people spent three days in the valley, and a project for a camp for young Europeans is currently being studied.

A new member

Sibylle Balmer, passionate about European exchanges, has joined the association. An English teacher in the CM1 and CM2 classes at Luz school, she initiated a pen-pal exchange with German pupils and organized a greetings card-making workshop, sent to Italian children. Jean-Claude Leborgne also visited the school to present the European exchange project and motivate the pupils. They were very receptive and curious, asking many questions.

However, like Jean-Claude Leborgne and several founding members of the committee, many of the members have been with the association since its inception, and are now older. It would now be desirable for younger members to get involved in the project, a need shared by many associations.

Source: www.ladepeche.fr/