The Leamington International Twinning Society (LITS) is a voluntary organisation, run by a committee elected by its members.  The Society organises the twinning of Royal Leamington Spa on behalf of the Town Council and receives funding accordingly.  The Society's objectives are to encourage a greater understanding of the value of international contacts and to foster friendship between the people of Royal Leamington Spa and people of our twin towns in France, Germany and the Netherlands.

Royal Leamington Spa was twinned with Sceaux, France, in 1969; Brühl, Germany in 1973; and Heemstede, Netherlands in 1987.  Royal Leamington Spa also  has friendship links with Leamington in Canada and Bo in Sierra Leone.  The Bo link was established to formally recognise the links that have been developed at a community level since the visit to that country by the then Mayor Councillor Bill Evans in 2001  (see below).

The Society promotes friendship and understanding by:-

• Introducing organisations of similar interests to one another and supporting them in their friendship links.
• Arranging annual exchange visits with its twin towns - visits which are usually led by the Town Mayor.
• Supporting those organisations within the Town which wish to develop international links with other countries

During these exchange visits, members of the visiting party stay with host families, an arrangement that is reciprocated when the host families visit the following year.  In 2010 LITS members visited Sceaux in May, and played host to a delegation from Brühl in June.  The next exchange visit will be to Heemstede in April 2011.

FRIENDSHIP LINK FORGES AHEAD

On the 13th January 2005 former Mayor, Councillor Mota Singh, formally signed a common bond of friendship between Royal Leamington Spa and Bo Town in Sierra Leone.  The agreement, co-signed by Doctor Wusu Sannoh on behalf of Bo Town Council, marked the culmination of a two week long visit to the West African country.  The Mayor, who was accompanied by Councillor Bill Evans, Chair of One World Link (Warwick), representatives of Warwickshire County Council and the Kayoma Women's Development Association, was honouring a long standing commitment to formalise the bond between the two Towns since a Friendship link was established between the Districts of Bo and Warwick in 1982.

Following his return to the United Kingdom, Councillor Singh said, "My visit was extremely interesting but also quite humbling.  Sierra Leone is a poor country that has been ravaged by a bitter civil war.  I visited many people throughout the Town and District of Bo in their homes, schools, hospitals and meeting places.  The impression that I was given was that despite their recent experiences and the poverty, people remain welcoming, cheerful and optimistic".

The Mayor was accompanied by representatives of the One World Link, an organisation which has worked unceasingly to raise the profile of Sierra Leone and to direct resources and help where it is most needed.  If you would like to know more about the "Bo Link" or the work of One World Link, contact the Town Council or visit the One World Link website at www.oneworldlink.org.uk 

Councillor Mota Singh and Dr Wusu Sannoh signing the Friendship Agreement between Royal Leamington Spa and Bo at the offices of Bo Town Council, Bo, Sierra Leone on 13th January, 2005.

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