Town twinning is a subject which the public at large seem to know very little about.

There is an assumption that twin towns exist to give council representatives a nice away day in the name of civic duty. But the reality of the modern twinning arrangement is different.

The first formal twinning arrangement was made in the 1920s between Keighley in West Yorkshire and Poix-du-Nord in northern France.

Despite this early partnership, it wasn't until after the Second World War that twinning really took off. Links were forged by returning service men who had grown attachments to towns in France, but often the connections made a humanitarian statement which acknowledged the joint suffering of communities. Coventry twinned with Dresden and Volgograd (Stalingrad), a link which remains to this day.

Twinning received another boost in 1973, when Britain's introduction to the European Community encouraged a growth in activity.

Similarly, the European Union's 2004 expansion led to many British towns seeking twins which represented new immigrant communities from Eastern Europe. Even though councils are now looking further afield for twin towns, 75% are still in either France or Germany.

Traditionally, twin towns agree on a charter which formalises their agreement, and the friendship can often remain in place with little maintenance.

However, Susan Handley of the Local Government Association describes modern twinning as ‘no longer a marriage without divorce, but a practise of municipal promiscuity'.

Indeed, an official charter is often no longer used, with municipalities preferring to have a less formal friendship agreement which may be dropped when joint initiatives are completed.

A twinning link was traditionally seen as a useful economic and trade partnership, but modern agreements are often used as a forum to share information or experiences of a shared issue. For example, in 1995, Croydon initiated the Edge Cities Network, a group of municipalities located on the outskirts of large cities.

Now comprising 10 members from as far away as Argentina, the network has allowed members to share knowledge on issues ranging from economic development and sustainability to deprivation and social exclusion.

Indeed, knowledge-sharing may be where the 21st century twin town arrangement really comes into it's own. Where better for a British town to learn about the nuances of a strong recycling system than their German twin town, which will have had stringent environmental infrastructure in place for the last couple of decades. In turn, British councils have expertise in emergency planning and race relations that is sought after overseas.

Young people can also benefit hugely from twinning agreements. In 2005, Lewisham LBC sent more than 40,000 books to schools and libraries in Ekurhuleni, South Africa, a town with which the authority shares a friendship link.

A Lewisham primary school, St Winifred's, is now twinned with the Elizabeth Blunt school in Monrovia, Liberia. The school twinning was set up as part of the BBC's World Class scheme, and allows children from both schools to learn about life in a different country.

Both examples show the enormous potential for cultural exchange that twinning offers. Whether it's sporting exchanges with towns in Europe or learning about a partner school in Africa online, the opportunity to broaden the experiences of young people is one good twinning arrangements grasp with both hands. The only thing that is certain about twinning today is it has changed beyond recognition from its post-War roots.

A well-managed twinning link is the first step in international co-operation, and should no longer be regarded as a fuddy-duddy institution.

Modern twinning relationships offer participants the opportunity to learn from, and work with, their twins to make their local communities better places.
The Municipal Year Book includes details of who is twinned with who, alongside a host of other useful facts and figures. To order your copy, call 020 7973 6694, or e-mail customer@hgluk.com quoting reference DM241.

Dean Wanless is acting editor of the Municipal Year Book