Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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City twinning – an effort to build a peaceful world
The twinning movement’s aims of solidarity, support and reconciliation remain as valuable as ever, says TONY CONWAY
A view of The Motherland Calls, at dusk the centre of the monument-ensemble 'Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad' on Mamayev Kurgan, in Volgograd, in 2018 (left). Rising From Adversity, an installation of 100 trees with musical composition set in the ruins of Coventry Cathedral, part of Coventry UK City of Culture's signature event on Saturday June 5, 2021 (right).
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
THE City Twinning Movement was really started after the second world war. Other cities had twinned before, but the movement was galvanised by the demand for peace made by ordinary citizens that the horrors of the war never happened again.
This of course hasn’t happened. There have since been major wars, and it is reported that there are around 40 ongoing wars and conflicts at the moment.
Despite these conflicts, the twinning movement has stood strong. Coventry, my home city for the last 40 years, is now twinned with 26 other towns and cities, and this number has grown since the last world war.
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