Loerrach International

Loerrach International e.V. (registered society) is an association of cittizens, educational, sport and cultural institutions, service clubs, municipal administration and local council with the goal of fostering relations with Loerrach‘s partner towns. Its structure long has been a model for similar town partnership organisations in other European cities.

Foundation and Function

At the suggestion of Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer the then mayor of Loerrach Egon Hugenschmidt founded the first partnership with Sens in France in 1966. Under mayor Rainer Offergeld the partnership with Senigallia in Italy followed and in 1986 and under mayor Gudrun Heute-Bluhm in 2003 with Chester in England. Further partnerships have been established with Meerane in Saxony, Vyshhorod in the Ukraine und Lubliniec in Silesia. A special feature is the friendship with Edirne in Turkey, which arose from a citizens‘ initiative.

Loerrach International was founded by Gudrun Heute-Bluhm as President and Manfred G. Raupp as Chairman on the 22nd of September 2004. The various fractions in the city council were each asked to nominate a representative and a deputy to the extended board of the society.

Working groups

 France Sens, Frankreich AG Sens
 Italy Senigallia, Italien AG Senigallia
 Germany Meerane, Deutschland AG Meerane
 United Kingdom Chester AG Chester
 Turkey Edirne, Türkei AG Türkei
 France Village-Neuf, Frankreich AG Village-Neuf - Lörrach-Haagen
 Ukraine Vyshhorod, Ukraine AG Osteuropa together with Lubliniec
 Poland Landkreis Lubliniec, Polen AG Osteuropa together Vyshhorod

Working groups were set up for Sens, Senigallia, Chester, Meerane, and Eastern Europe, and the youth organisation SAK Lörrach, the town band, its schools (Hans-Thoma-Gymnasium Lörrach, Phaenovum Schülerforschungszentrum Lörrach-Dreiländereck) and the technical college DHBW Loerrach, sport and culture organisations and service clubs were invited to collaborate. On his election to mayor in 2014 Jörg Lutz became ex officio president of the society. In September 2016 Susanne Daniel succeeded Manfred Raupp as chairperson.[1][2][3]

Since the society‘s foundation around 50 events involving the partner towns take place every year., the majority involving schools and youth groups from the partner towns.

Structure

The structure of the society brings together interested citizens, educational institutions, the local council and city administration. The president is ex officio the current mayor and the secretarial duties of the management committee is the responsibility of the representatives of the various town partnerships, but all other activities are carried out on a voluntary basis by those elected by the approximately 140 members.

Honorary members

Literature

Presentations

References

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