Dear friends of Eurojumelages,

In 2023, as in the previous year, we will again offer you numerous interesting events. With the following travel report of the "Douro Cruise - Grape Harvest and Wine Tasting" in September 2022, we would like to awaken your desire to travel.
As the German poet Wilhelm Busch recommended:
"O man, be wise, pack your bags and travel".
We, as well as the organisers, will be very pleased with a high number and a lively participation in Eurojumelages events in 2023.

Eurojumelages was ahead of its time

The formal foundations for Franco-German friendship were laid exactly 60 years ago.

Three years earlier, a Frenchman and a German, Alexandre Chappé and Hans Winkel, had already launched such a friendship, today's Eurojumelages: this is documented in thereport "Remembrance of 9 November 1959, the birth of our Jumelage movement". Eurojumelages celebrated its 60th anniversary at the General Assembly in Hendaye, in 2019.

After centuries of war, people longed for peace and friendly relations and the Élysée Treaty made this a reality.

The visit of French President Charles De Gaulle to Bonn was legendary.

On the afternoon of 4 September 1962, President de Gaulle addressed German citizens for the first time, speaking in Bonn's market square in front of a crowd numbering between 20,000 to 30,000 people. To everyone's surprise, he spoke impromptu and in German. Pesident De Gaulle thus set an example of his special bond with Germany; he had gained most of his knowledge of the language during his time in captivity as a German prisoner of war during the First World War, after the Battle of Verdun in 1916.
In the address, de Gaulle thanked the "great German people" for the warm welcome and assured them that a wave of friendship was rising in the hearts of all French people who at that moment would look to Bonn. His speech ended with the closing words:

"Long live Bonn!
Long live Germany!
Long live Franco-German friendship!"

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.