West meets East
In the 1990s the nations of central
Europe began tearing down the Iron Curtain. The dark tensions of nuclear deterrence
between "east" and "west" faded into the background. Those who had
campaigned for peace and freedom in the west could breathe a sigh a relief. A new start
was needed. Graham Mayhew, Mayor of Lewes both in 1991 and in 2000, called together people
from the various campaigning groups in the area. From this Lewes Links was born, an
organisation to encourage links between people here and people in central and eastern
Europe. Over the next eight or so years there were many different kinds of activity.
Each year open meetings offered talks and discussions about a current topic. Visitors from
eastern Europe were welcomed and hosted in family homes. Practical projects ranged from
arranging for local government professional staff to gain experience of our local
democratic systems, to a campaign to raise funds to buy new livestock and equipment for a
village near Dubrovnik which had been destroyed by Serb forces.
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Arts and culture
Cultural exchanges have included music and art
exhibitions. To celebrate the 11 hundredth year from the foundation of Hungary there was a
major exhibition in Lewes House and in the Star Gallery of Hungarian artists. In 1997 Lewes
Links arranged the first exhibition in the UK of artists from Belarus, and a second
Belarus exhibition followed in 1999. Artists from Lewes and Newhaven have in turn been
invited to Veszprém and Balatonfüred in Hungary, and during the 1997 Lewes Festival
there was an exhibition of folk woodcarving from the mountainous county of Orava in
northern Slovakia, together with works by Lewes artists who had visited central
Europe.
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East Sussex
and Veszprém, Hungary
A close relationship has been developed between the
county of Veszprém and East Sussex, especially with the signing of an Accord between the two counties in 1996. This reflected the
political and economic opportunities of working together within European initiatives. Lewes
Links also wants to encourage young people to get involved. A group of young
people from Lewes and Brighton, who joined an international youth camp at lake Balaton,
were shown round the city of Veszprém, and young people from that city have also joined
in an extended "twinning" summer camp with youngsters from Uckfield and four
other countries. In May this year the President of Veszprém County came with an
expert delegation to explore common topics with East Sussex. Click here for more
about the visit in May 2001.
Links to other sites:
Veszprém city
and visitor information
Veszprém county
government
Economic initiatives and
opportunities
East
Sussex CC Europe Office |
 Gateway to Veszprém Vár |
Lewes Links welcomes approaches from places in other
central European countries
which would enjoy similar links.
We
would always welcome the development of more contacts in other countries. There is no set
method of doing this. We believe it works well when links can start at a level of
friendship between key people in a region complementary to our own in Sussex. Within a
town or region we would hope to engage the confidence of local government officials, who
would be vital to enabling groups from the local community to respond to the opportunity
of linking. Once friendly contacts are established, exchanges can be developed in art,
education and other cultural activities. Occasionally we have helped with introductions
for professional training, and for commercial and business links, though Lewes Links
would not normally remain involved beyond the process of research and introduction.
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