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Twinning

The Twinning or Sister city concept developed in Europe following the Second World War. It was seen as a way of removing old enmities which had developed in the war years and it is now grown to such an extent that it covers not just the European mainland, where it began, but also the United Kingdom, Ireland, United States, Asia, Africa and beyond. Cork is currently twinned with six cities.

The objective of twinning is to help develop links in: cultural, educational, social, tourist, technical, scientific and economic areas. It is hoped that the development of such links would have benefits for all communities involved.

Twinning Grants 2025

Cork City Council is delighted to announce the launch of the 2025 Twinning Grant Scheme and invites interested individuals or organisations who wish to partake in a project with one of Cork’s twinned cities to apply online by close of business 7th February.

Cork is currently twinned with Cologne, Coventry, Rennes, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Swansea. Projects involving Cork’s partner cities of Wuxi, Hangzhou and Shenzhen are also eligible for support under this grant.

Cork City Council’s twinning grant gives organisations in Cork City an opportunity to develop international ties or internationalise an aspect of their work. The nature of the activity or project may be community-based, voluntary, social, cultural, educational, sporting or of general social and economic benefit. There is no pre-requisite to travel to the twinned cities and virtual interactions will also be considered.

Speaking ahead of the launch, Lord Mayor Cllr Dan Boyle said:

"As a city, we embrace internationalisation to bolster our status as a globally connected, innovative, socially progressive, economically vibrant and culturally rich city.

Since the introduction of the twinning grant many years ago, it has provided opportunities for Corkonians to develop meaningful connections with our international partner cities.

I would encourage all interested organisations and groups within our community to “Think Global and Act Local”, and consider submitting an application to the scheme."

Applications must be submitted online here with the closing date for submission of application before close of business 7th February.

Cork City Council’s International Relations Office are available to those interested to answer any questions on the application process, and can be reached at international_relations@corkcity.ie

Twinning