Twin city

What is the twin city all about?

Twin cities are cities or city-like areas through which the national border passes. Imatra and Svetogorsk (formerly Enso) have a long common history. After the war, the border divided the beginning of Vuoksi, called the "Finnish Ruhr" between Finland and the Soviet Union. The border began to break down in the early 1970s with the massive renovation project of the Svetogorsk paper mill, which was contracted by the Finnish-Russian "Finstroi" company. At the time of Finstroi, at its peak, even more than a thousand people used Imatra every day to work in Svetogorsk. Now Imatra and Svetogorsk are a twin city, like there are others in Europe. The closest twin city is Narva-Ivangorod on the border between Russia and Estonia.

Cooperation

Since the 1990s, Imatra and Svetogorsk have implemented numerous joint EU projects. For example, in the 1990s, underground pipes and wires in Svetogorsk were repaired. Imatra's role was to provide expert assistance. Funding was sought from the regional funds of the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, Russian national funds and the EU. Between the schools, there has been foreign language teaching on both sides, as well as numerous teaching development seminars. Camp schools, border courses and student exchange have been part of the cooperation. In cultural cooperation, the longest continuous form of cooperation is the music and dance event Vuoksi-gala organized twice a year, which has been held in both Imatra and Svetogorsk. Companies have also wanted to be attracted to take advantage of the opportunities brought by the border. Many companies have settled down to operate in the business park located on the surface of the border due to its advantageous location at the gateway to the EU and Russia.

Imatra and Svetogorsk development projects

The strengthening of civil society and the revitalization of cross-border cooperation were supported Step Up - Cross Border City in Action in the project. In the project that lasted until the spring of 2014, cooperation was developed in the fields of culture, education, sports and youth activities.
Cooperation with social services was developed Empowerment of Families with Children - project. The focus of the project was supporting families with children on both sides of the border in a multicultural operating environment. The project lasted until the spring of 2014.
Border logistics was developed by Imatra and Svetogorsk: TWO-WAY RAILWAY CARGO TRAFFIC VIA IMATRA/SVETOGORSK BORDER-CROSSING POINT Cargo Business Network (CBN). The project ended in the fall of 2012.

City Twins Association

Several twin cities are located on the outer borders of the member states of the European Union, which in many cases have almost grown together. Despite the proximity, there is a border between two states between them, which makes it difficult to interact normally in the middle of the city and sometimes even creates two very different realities geographically in the same city. The network of twin cities was born as a result of the City Twins Co-operation Network project led by the city of Imatra between 2004 and 2006. In 2006, the "City Twins Association" (CTA) was founded. As a result of the project and the association's activities, the exchange of experiences between the twin cities increased and the best practices of twin city cooperation were shared. The association sought to develop the cooperation of its member cities and promote their interests in European decision-making. In 2013 and 2014, the association implemented an EU-funded youth exchange project, where young people get to know life in different twin cities and reflect on the identity and development of their own region. At the moment, the association has no activities.

The cooperation network has included:

Imatra - Svetogorsk (Finland - Russia)
Narva - Ivangorod (Estonia - Russia)
Frankfurt (Oder)-Slubice (Germany - Poland)
Görliz -Zgorzelec (Germany-Poland)
Valka - Valga (Latvia - Estonia)
Tornio – Haaparanta (Finland – Sweden)