The concept of “twinning” towns or cities—pairing them in close association with the goal of fostering human contact and cultural links— is centuries old, but is being encouraged today to promote the reduction of disaster risk.

Twinning dates back to the 9^th century, when the first recorded twinning was between the Westphalian town of Paderborn, Germany, and the French town of Le Mans. Following World War II the practice was encouraged throughout Europe to promote peace and understanding, and to encourage cultural exchanges and cross-border projects of mutual benefit.

The 12^th Twin Cities Convention, recently held in Bangkok, Thailand, had as its theme “Be Prepared for Emergency: Disaster Preparedness and Risk Reduction.” One of the convention’s goals was to “revitalize cooperation among Twinning Cities, Friendship Cities, and other partners in the continuous efforts to strengthen existing relationships and move forward with innovative actions in various areas of mutual interest.”

During the convention it was announced that Melaka, a Malaysian port city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, “is making considerable efforts to reduce the disaster risks that it currently faces from climate-related catastrophic events” such as increasing lethal seasonal floods.  The city has established twinning relationships with various cities and provinces since 1984 including: Lisbon, Portugal; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Valparaiso, Chile; and the provincial capital Nanjing and Jiangsu Province in China. The mayor of Melaka said, “Melaka intends to meet and inspire others around the world to engage in essential actions that reduce disaster risks. These include investing in and maintaining critical infrastructure, regularly assessing the safety of schools and health facilities, and ensuring education programs and training on risk reduction.”

The UN office for International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) is also actively encouraging this twinning process.