Greetings for Christmas 2022

Dear friends of Eurojumelages,

During the Christmas period and the coming of the new year 2023, the longing for security and peace is growing among us.

The year 2022 will, unfortunately, go down in history as a year of crises.

The Russian war of aggression on Ukraine ended the longest period of peace in Europe, a period that lasted for 77 years.

Furthermore, the Corona pandemic with its consequences for health systems is also not over, climate change is far from being overcome and energy shortages and inflation are causing many people great concern and even suffering.

Nevertheless, let us, Eurojumeleurs, also look back at this year with gratitude. We were able to organise more activities than in the previous years which were overshadowed by the pandemic. We were fortunate to experience many beautiful moments together in the Eurojumelages community.

These memorable experiences demonstrate the colourful and diverse offerings of "our" Eurojumelages: Spanish language course in Girona, French language course in Lyon, Friendship Week in Bucharest, meeting in Fintel/Northern Germany, river cruise in the Douro Valley, Boule tournament in Strasbourg, OSCAR in Val Joly/Ardennes, to name just a few events.

I would like to most sincerely thank all the organisers of events, whether at country or section level, for their commitment and work. I would also like to thank the numerous authors who have brought us closer to the traditions and customs of their city/region with interesting reports on the homepage. 
A cordial thank you also goes to our "reporters" who always write detailed reports on Eurojumelages activities.

All the joint activities of the Eurojumelages create solidarity. In Eurojumelages, the feeling of European solidarity has been alive for more than 60 years. Let us strengthen this feeling of solidarity in the new year 2023. 

Our common goal must be to inspire as many people as possible within Europe to embrace the ideals of Eurojumelages: European understanding among nations. 

The war in Ukraine shows us every day how important international understanding and cohesion are. A strong Eurojumelages makes its small but nevertheless important contribution towards this. 

Finally, I would like draw your attention towards the Eurojumelages programme of events for the coming year. May I suggest to you to always keep an eye on the homepage of the Eurojumelages website!

I wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and, hopefully, peaceful 2023.

With European Christmas greetings
Peter Backes

Michel Morel, President of UNJPT honoured

Michel Morel, president of the Union Nationale des Jumelages Poste et Télécoms (the French federation), was awarded the gold medal of Jumelages during the General Assembly of this organisation, held in September 2022 in Tregunc (Brittany).

The Honorary Presidents of the UNJPT, Marie-Paule Richonnier and André Szypura, together with the President of Eurojumelages Peter Backes were present for the award.

Michel Morel is one of the founders of the Association of Jumelages de la Loire in 1976 and was responsible for relations with Germany. He occupied the post of President of this association for 17 years.

Michel was elected to the UNJPT board in 1996 at the general assembly in Hauteville-sur-Mer under the presidency of Claude Giroux. He is the initiator of the event which sees members walking the Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James); these walks have been organised successfully for 5 years and attracted many participants.

From 2003 to 2006, Michel was Secretary General of the Union under the presidency of Marie-Paule Richonnier. In 2006, he became President and since then has been piloting and leading the noble and worthy twinning movement in France.

Michel Morel has been the UNJPT representative at Eurojumelages, the European Twinning federation, and has occupied the post of vice-president of this organisation for several years.

The gold medal awarded to him recognises and celebrates the 46 years that Michel Morel has worked on a voluntary basis within the twinning movements.

 Dear friends of Eurojumelages,

Easter is the celebration of hope, the hope for peace.

The terrible events in Ukraine - in the heart of Europe - have pushed the Corona crisis into the background, even though it has not yet been overcome.
The terrible images of destruction in Ukraine and the horrific suffering of the Ukrainian people caused by a brutal, inhumane war of aggression brought before our eyes every day move us all deeply.
Many Ukrainian people have been forced to abandon their homes and have become refugees, facing an uncertain future.
It is precisely here that the European countries, primarily Poland and Romania, are showing great solidarity with the people who have fled the devastation. This is international solidarity and understanding in action!
In these troubled times it becomes more important than ever to actively promote the ideals that Eurojumelages stands for: "Let us build Europe's house of peace together“. The idea that unites us expresses itself our Eurojumelages Anthem.
Despite the upheaval in Europe caused by the war, we must try to continue to live our lives whilst helping our brethren. Our Eurojumelages calendar of activities for 2022 is both interesting and extensive and nothing would give me more pleasure than seeing as many Jumeleurs as possible take up one or more of the offers and actively participate in the events.
I would like to thank the organisers most sincerely for always giving us events of the highest level with great commitment and making them a wonderful experience for the participants time and again.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I wish all of you and your loved ones a happy and blessed Easter.
Stay healthy!

Sincerely,
Peter Backes

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traditions and customs

Dear Eurojumelages friends

Every country has its own very special traditions and customs. Most go back to the culture and history of the individual countries and towns. They have been passed on from generation to generation and continue to shape people's lives.

Cultural monuments are also part of the identity of a town or region as cultural heritage.

Within this context, we would be delighted if you could present a tradition, a custom or a cultural monument of your town or region on the Eurojumelages homepage using photos and a short text, in connection with your personal experiences, so that the Eurojumelages community can appreciate the members’ individual heritage: awareness of traditions, festivals, historical monuments, etc. certainly contributes to our ideals of cultural exchanges and international understanding.

In my region, the Rhineland, for example, carnival is currently being celebrated, a tradition that goes back to the ancient Germans.

Now let your creativity run free!

Please send us your photos (as a JPEG file) and the accompanying text by clicking on this link

Please also briefly confirm that you own the rights to the images and agree to their publication free of charge on the Eurojumelages website.

Contributions so far: Cologne Carnival, Holy Week in Mendrisio, Europe Day in Bonn, Diamond Hill - more than a hill walk. 

We are looking forward to many more contributions!