05.05.2024, Reading time 2 minutes
NEW: With detailed programme in D, F, SLO. It’s time again – Neu-Anspach invites you to an exciting town meeting under the inspiring motto “Changing Perspectives in Europe”. This time we welcome the citizens of our twin towns Saint-Florent-sur-Cher in France and Sentjur in Slovenia. Together we want to look beyond our own backyards and exchange views on the diversity of European cultures and perspectives.
The programme for this meeting promises to be a rich and enriching experience for guests and hosts alike. We start with an ecumenical travelling blessing and a drink where we can celebrate the reunion with our friends and have initial discussions.
The next day, we head to Europe’s largest cold-water geyser in Andernach. Firstly, we visit the modern and interactive museum. This is followed by a short boat trip on the Rhine, which takes us to this extraordinary natural spectacle.
On Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, we will be hosting an information stand at the Bürgerhaus Neu-Anspach to provide information about the European elections on 9 June. With a wheel of fortune, quizzes, prizes and numerous brochures for all ages, there will be plenty of new things to discover. The highlight of the meeting will be the closing evening, where we will celebrate the diversity of our home countries.
This citizens’ meeting is the perfect opportunity to strengthen our partnerships, gain new perspectives and strengthen our ties as European citizens. We look forward to warmly welcoming our guests from France and Slovenia and sharing unforgettable moments together.
01.04.2024, reading time 3 minutes
NEW: programme in GERMAN, FRENCH AND SLOVENIAN.
On 5 May 2024, it’s off again! 48 young people from Saint-Florent-sur-Cher, Sentjur and Neu-Anspach will come together for 6 days to learn, have fun, see further than the end of their noses, communicate with their hands and feet, discover their love of the forest, feel the power of water, cross borders and boundaries through sport, games and art, and experience Europe at first hand.
This is only possible thanks to the town of Neu-Anspach, our cooperation partner – the Adolf-Reichwein School – and the donors and sponsors who contribute financially and provide ideas, suggestions and creative solutions.
Many thanks to the organisers, the schools, the committees and the municipalities of Sentjur and Saint-Florent-sur-Cher!
We would like to make a special mention of the Klaus-Tschira Foundation, which is giving its strong support and encouragement to our project.
Spring is not only the time of new beginnings in nature, but also at the Association for the Promotion of International Relations.
On 7 March, the association gathered for its annual general meeting, and it was a meeting of encounters and exchanges!
With beaming faces and full of enthusiasm, important decisions were made and exciting plans forged to take the association’s activities to a new level this year.
New and familiar faces on the Executive Board
The members of the association voted in favour of a number of new board positions. Silke Jeltsch-Strempel was confirmed as deputy chairwoman, while Hartmut Klein took over as treasurer. Ulrike Redlich was also confirmed as secretary. In addition, Ute Chandoni-Goebel, Manfred Bletz, Klaus Hoffmann and Paul-Werner Geis were elected as assessors. Together with Helga Feller as 1st Chairperson, Andreas Braum as Deputy Chairperson and Mario Graser as Assessor, they form the newly composed Board team. A big thank you goes to the two Board members Christa Malik and Oliver Dittberner, who left the Board for personal reasons.
Exciting events in the pipeline
In addition to the board elections, there are two exciting events coming up. Firstly, the citizens’ meeting with friends from Šentjur and Saint Florent sur Cher promises to be an unforgettable experience. The programme also includes the trinational youth project with young people from the Adolf Reichwein School, the Collège Voltaire and the Osnovna šola Dramlje under the motto “Changing Perspectives in Europe”. As with previous youth projects, the patron of the youth project is Holger Bellino. 🌍
Call to members and friends of the association
But wait a minute! The association still needs hosts for the citizens’ meeting! It is a unique opportunity to welcome guests from the twin towns of Saint-Florent-sur-Cher 🇫🇷 and Sentjur 🇸🇮 and to gain intercultural experience. Anyone interested can register via the website of the Neu-Anspach Association for the Promotion of International Relations.
A key to the diversity and unity of Europe
The Association for the Promotion of International Relations firmly believes that town twinning is the key to diversity and unity in Europe. Let’s show Europe at its best together and build bridges between cultures!
And what else? Here is an outlook on further activities and a call for participation!
All those interested in Europe should make a note of the Taunusmesse in Neu-Anspach on 13 and 14 April. We will be there with our wheel of fortune to provide information about the European elections on 9 June 2024 and encourage voter turnout.
Also make a note: On 4 May, this year’s Europe Day of the Hochtaunuskreis will take place in the municipality of Schmitten, where we will present and celebrate our town twinnings.
We would like to thank everyone who attended the General Assembly and are ready for an exciting time full of intercultural encounters and new adventures!
11.02.2024, Lesezeit 3 Minuten
Neu-Anspach invites you from Ascension Thursday, 9 May to Sunday, 12 May to the civic meeting with our French and Slovenian friends and to the trinational youth project from 5 to 12 May 2024.
This year’s motto “A change of perspective in Europe” is also the programme in which participants from different generations will discuss issues relating to environmental protection and nature conservation, the responsible use of resources and the associated European dimension.
So here’s another appeal: Be a host with an (international) heart!
Open your doors and let us deepen the enriching contacts with our French and Slovenian friends together.
Register now as a host. You will find the contact form below. Simply click on the green button, download it, fill it in and send it by email or post to the board email or postal address. Of course we can also answer your questions in advance by phone or e-mail.
Good to know – Here’s an overview of how the weekend went:
The guests are expected to arrive on Thursday afternoon (9 May 2024). There will be an optional guest welcome in Neu-Anspach together with the hosts in the Catholic community centre. This will be followed by dinner in the host families.
On Friday, 10 May 2024, the guests will go on a full-day excursion, which will also include lunch.
The Saturday morning is either at leisure with the guests – there may be an optional event in Neu-Anspach.
In the evening, the closing evening takes place in the community centre in Neu-Anspach for guests and hosts.
As in previous years, the Slovenian guests are expected to return home at midnight. The French guests will depart at around 9 a.m. on Sunday, 12 May 2024.
You still need a few arguments in favour of your commitment? Then simply take a look at the “Association” section of this website. In the Frequently Asked Questions section you will find 5 good reasons to take part in town twinning meetings. Enjoy reading!
„Together in joy!” – “In Freude vereint!” – „Ensemble dans la joie”
Trinational Youth Project 2023 in Šentjur
The Slovenian organisers have created an absolutely fitting motto for the 13th town twinning youth project: “Together in joy!” This includes a multifaceted programme that has been assessed and financially supported by ErasmusPlus, the EU’s mobility programme for young people. With great hospitality, various activities and lots of fun, 24 Slovenian hosts – pupils from the primary and secondary school in Dramlje (Šentjur) – await the 12 young people from Neu-Anspach and Saint-Florent-sur-Cher in France. This time, the tutors from Germany are Michaela Schmidt for the Adolf Reichwein School and Andreas Braum for the Association for the Promotion of International Relations. From France, Sandrine Gatinois and her colleague Caroline Alger from the College Voltaire will accompany the pupils. The organising team of the Slovenian school is the headmistress Mirjana Aužner and the two teachers Mitjar Logar and Simon Hebar, who are supported by the staff of the Youth Centre in Sentjur Lara Zmaher and Ines Zelič.
One of the young people from Neu-Anspach, Fianna Gubisch, reports:
The first thing that was done on arrival in Dramlje, a district belonging to Šentjur, was of course a photo of all the exchange partners together. As everyone was exhausted from the journey, which partly took place overnight, the rest of the day was spent with the host families, as in the previous year.
When it finally started on Monday, everyone got to know each other better through various games and discovered the school. At noon, we had a honey picnic where we could taste different types of honey.
The following day, after a short warm-up programme, we went into the workshops: Cooking, using herbs for cosmetics and food and creating a barefoot park. Unfortunately, the following hike could not take place due to heavy rain, but was replaced by the preparations for Saturday. On Saturday evening, the hosts and the guests of the civic encounter and the youth project met for the common evening event, where they ate, danced, sang and simply celebrated.
A very special guest gift was developed by Ines Zelič and Lara Zmaher from the Šentjur Youth Centre. With a lot of commitment and creativity, they created a photo book of all the youth projects so far.
For those who want to discover the highlights and activities of the twinning youth projects since 2009, go to the digital photo album here.
Every year since 2009, 48 young people from the 3 twin towns of Saint-Florent-sur-Cher, Sentjur and Neu-Anspach meet to spend a week experiencing Europe, getting to know other cultures, working together in workshops and having fun.
Financially supported by ErasmusPlus, the European mobility programme for young people, participants incur only low costs. Thanks to the voluntary work of the members of the Association for promotion of international relations (VzFiB), the comitees for town twinning in Sentjur and Saint-Florent-sur-Cher, the cooperating schools Adolf-Reichwein-Schule, Collège Voltaire and Osnova Sola Hrusev, Osnova Sola Dramlje, the municipalities and the students themselves every year a great program is created, organized, executed and evaluated.
56 pages give an overview of the projects and show the highlights during the encounters.
18.03.2023, Usinger Neue Presse / Local, Reading time: 3 minutes
In the past year, the Association for the Promotion of International Relations (VzFIB) Neu-Anspach again had a positive development. As chairwoman Helga Feller reported, there were finally numerous events again in the year of the celebrations with 40 years of town twinning with the French Saint-Florent-sur-Cher and 15 years of ring twinning with the Slovenian Sentjur. Above all, the citizens’ meeting, which had been postponed several times because of Corona, and the youth project in France finally took place.
The cooperation between VzFIB and Adolf-Reichwein-School (ARS) was officially sealed by contract. In Neu-Anspach, several actions and especially the large German-French caricature exhibition in cooperation with the city and the trade association aroused interest for the association.
Also via Facebook and the new homepage, the VzFIB is constantly raising awareness of the European idea and how it is lived in Neu-Anspach. Not only did the number of members rise again to 149, but the number of boules players is also on the rise.
Contributions are increased
After the cash report by Christa Malik and the discharge of the board, supplementary elections were on the agenda. Helga Feller remains chairwoman and Andreas Braum one of her two deputies. After the retirement of Christian Scheer, Oliver Dittberner and Mario Glaser were elected as new assessors.
After a brief discussion on whether children and young people should pay dues at all, the members decided on the new dues regulations with one vote against and one abstention. This provides for an increase in annual dues to 20 euros for adults, 10 euros for children and youth, and 40 euros for families. Since the founding, this is only the second increase in dues, since 2002 adults paid 15 euros annual dues.
In the already started year, after the presence at the Open Day of the Adolf Reichwein School in January, the participation at the Europe Day in Kronberg on May 6 is on the program. The focus this year is the meeting over Ascension Day with the French and Slovenian friends.
The adults will travel to Sentjur from May 18 to 21, and the young people will leave already on May 14 for a youth project. On August 26, the boule tournament will take place in Neu-Anspach and on October 3, a joint trip of the club members to Hambach Castle. As in the previous year, a lecture with Christophe Braouet, the managing director of the Franco-German Society, is being planned.
Big birthday party with partners
The board also looked ahead to next year. Then the VzFIB will invite its French and Slovenian friends over Ascension Day to the partnership meeting and youth project in Neu-Anspach. The Thalgauer should be there then also. The partnership with the Austrians, which has its origins in Westerfeld, will have existed for 50 years next year, but Thalgau had not joined the ring partnership.
Mayor Thomas Pauli (SPD) told the board that the big anniversary celebration for 750 years of Anspach and Westerfeld in 2024 is also to take place over Ascension Day, from May 9 to 12. The document of the first mention of Anspach dates back to May 8, 1274. It is planned to plan the big anniversary in the context of the partnership meeting. The associations are to find out more details at a meeting the week after next.
Following the resignation of Mayor Nicole Progin in mid-January, the municipal council of Saint-Florent-sur-Cher elected Marie-Line Cirre, who had been the eighth deputy until then, as mayor at the end of February. The new head of the town hall was previously responsible for cultural affairs in the Neu-Anspach partner community. She now received 24 of the 29 votes cast and prevailed over a competitor from the left camp.
Marie-Line Cirre has also been a departmental councilor in the canton of Chârost since 2021 and is associated with the Union of Right and Center. The cornerstone of her policy will be the continuation of the even closer cooperation sought by Progin with the Fercher Pays Florentais association of nine municipalities founded in 2000. This has its administrative headquarters in Saint-Florent-sur-Cher. The partner community is also struggling with the effects of inflation. One of Cirre’s tasks will be to reduce the town’s operating costs. In doing so, according to press reports from the municipality, it plans to launch an ambitious investment plan with a strong environmental focus. A possible use of the tax lever for is unthinkable for her.
Several VzFIB members already got to know the new mayor of the partner municipality last year in France and at the second anniversary celebration in Neu-Anspach. Mayor Thomas Pauli (SPD) has since also established personal contact with her and her family and is convinced: “She will do our town twinning good.” evk
Source reference: Usinger Neue Presse from 18.03.2023, page 21
19.03.2023, reading time: 3 minutes
More than 40 participants – members, friends and supporters – gathered at the association’s general meeting in the Bürgerhaus Neu-Anspach on 16 March to learn about the activities of the past year and upcoming projects.
In 2022, the year of anniversaries, there were finally numerous events again. On the one hand, there was the town twinning with the French municipality of Saint-Florent-sur-Cher, which has been in existence for 40 years, and on the other hand, the 15-year ring twinning with Šentjur in Slovenia. Above all, the citizens’ meeting, which had been postponed several times due to the pandemic, and the trinational youth project in France finally took place.
An important milestone was the signing of an official cooperation agreement between the VzFiB and the Adolf Reichwein School (ARS)..
Ute Chandoni-Göbel, assessor, recalled the anniversary celebrations. These included several activities in Neu-Anspach and, above all, the large German-French caricature exhibition in cooperation with the town and the trade association, which aroused interest in the association among the citizens of Neu-Anspach and beyond.
The VzFiB also emphasises and reinforces the European idea and how it is lived in Neu-Anspach via Facebook, Instagram and the new website in English, German and French. Not only did the number of members increase again to 149, but the number of pétanque players is also on the rise.
Helga Feller remains chairperson of the board and Andreas Braum one of her two deputies. Christa Malik will continue to look after the finances as treasurer. Following the departure of Christian Scheer, who resigned for professional reasons, Oliver Dittberner and Mario Glaser were elected as new assessors.
Contribution rules and adjustment
After a short discussion on whether children and young people should pay dues at all, the members decided on the new dues regulations with one vote against and one abstention. It provides for an adjustment of the annual fees to 20 Euros for adults, 10 Euros for children and youths and 40 Euros for families.
This is the second fee adjustment since the founding of the association; since 2002, adults have paid an annual fee of 15 euros.
The new contribution rules will come into effect in 2024.
In 2023, which is already underway, after the presence at the Open Day of the Adolf Reichwein School in January, participation in the Europe Day in Kronberg on 6 May is on the agenda. Together with the young people of the Europa-AG, the city partners of the Kleeblatt community will be celebrated with culinary offerings. The smell of homemade crêpes will provide French flair, and Europe can be celebrated with non-alcoholic cocktails refined with Monin flavours from Bourges, which are known all over the world.
This year, the focus will be on the Ascension Week meeting with our French and Slovenian friends.
The adults will travel to Šentjur from 18 to 21 May, the young people will already set off on 14 May for the 13th town twinning youth project.
With a short and warm video greeting, Mitja Logar, teacher in charge of the project at the host school in Dramlje (a district of Šentjur), invites them to visit. He takes those present on a virtual tour of the classrooms, the sports facilities and the spring-decorated school foyer.
On 26 August, the association will host the annual pétanque tournament in Neu-Anspach. Everyone who enjoys relaxed sporting competition is invited, as well as those who like to watch players practising the French national sport in the Taunus region.
Hinauf, Up, up to the castle!
This is the motto of the excursion to Hambach Castle, considered the cradle of democracy in Germany, on 3 October, the day of German unification. Both members and friends of the association are cordially invited to take part in a time travel to 1832 with the freedom fighters.
As in the previous year, a lecture with Christophe Braouet, the managing director of the Franco-German Society, is being planned.
Big anniversary celebration with the partners The board is also already looking ahead to next year. Then the VzFiB will invite its French and Slovenian friends to Neu-Anspach over Ascension Day 2024 for a partnership meeting and youth project.
Following the resignation of Mayor Nicole Progin in mid-January, the municipal council of Saint-Florent-sur-Cher elected Marie-Line Cirre, who had been the eighth deputy until then, as mayor at the end of February.
The new head of the town hall was previously responsible for cultural affairs in the Neu-Anspach partner community. She now received 24 of the 29 votes cast and prevailed over a competitor from the left camp.
Several VzFIB members already got to know the new mayor of the partner municipality last year in France and at the second anniversary celebration in Neu-Anspach. Mayor Thomas Pauli (SPD) has since also established personal contact with her and her family and is convinced: “She will do our town twinning good.”
Finally: A big thank you to Evelyn Kreutz for the detailed article which was published in the Usinger Neue Presse of 18.03.2023, page 21 and is published here in a slightly modified and abridged form. The original article can be found in the press section of the website.
The general meeting of the association will take place on Thursday, 16 March 2023 at 8 pm. Members, as well as friends and interested parties, are invited. In accordance with the statutes, the agenda will be sent to the members in advance.
In addition to a review of the past year, the following topics will be discussed:
Make a note in your calendar!
The board is looking forward to seeing you again.
Saturday 10 a.m. in Neu-Anspach: OPEN DAY at the Adolf Reichwein School on 28 January 2023. As a cooperation partner, we are happy to be there again. With the photo show, books, and especially the professional crêpes platter, more than a touch of France will be wafting through the school’s foyer. And with the fantastic T-shirts created and printed by the Europa-AG, a greeting of friendship also goes to Šentjur, the Slovenian twin town. The anticipation for the trinational youth project in May is rising.
Amitié! Friendship! Prijateljstvo! Friendship! Friendship!
