WORLD JAUNPIĻA ALLIANCE CONFERENCE 2025

Thank you for being with us! PHOTOS FROM THE CONFERENCE EVENT

We would like to thank everyone who participated in the event - your presence and energy made it special. We hope that the time spent was enjoyable and will be remembered only with positive emotions.

To remind you of the cool moments, we have prepared a gallery with photos from the event. Check them out by clicking on the link below.

HOW DID THE WORLD NEW CASTLE ALLIANCE COME ABOUT?

There are more than 100 cities and towns in the world whose name translates to "New Castle".

John Nicholls of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, had the idea to unite these places and form an international alliance.

In 1998, the mayor of the Japanese city of Shinshiro called for the first meeting, which was attended by only a few representatives from Newcastle.

Subsequent meetings were held in 2000 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, in 2002 in the USA (Newcastle, Indiana and Pennsylvania), in 2004 and 2010 in South Africa, in 2006 and 2010 in the United Kingdom (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) and in 2012 (Newcastle-upon-Tyne), in 2008 in Neuburg, Germany, in 2014 in the Czech Republic (Nové Hradi), in 2016 in Newcastle, Ontario, Canada, and the 20th anniversary conference in Shinshiro, Japan, in 2018. Akhaltsikhe (Georgia), Jaunpils (Latvia), Newcastle, Ontario (Canada) and Newcastle, New South Wales (Australia) participated for the first time in 2012, as well as Nové Hradi. Nyborg (Denmark) participated for the first time in 2014, Nové Zamky (Slovakia) for the first time in 2016 and Herceg Novi (Montenegro) for the first time in 2018. Currently, there are 17 Jaunpilis around the world in the alliance. Every two years, an international conference is still held in one of them, where participants participate in working sessions, share experiences and develop joint projects in the fields of culture, tourism, education and youth engagement.

OUR NEW CITY JOINS THE ALLIANCE

In 2012, the then Chairwoman of the Jaunpils Regional Council, Ligita Gintere, received an invitation to participate in the summit and join the World Jaunpils Alliance.

The invitation was sent by the Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne (United Kingdom) – Jackie Slesenger, through the Chairman of the Latvian Association of Local Governments, Andris Jaunsleins.

Jaunpils responded to the invitation. Ligita Gintere emphasized at the time: “It is important for us to bring small Jaunpils to the world, to promote Jaunpils’ recognition. This is a great opportunity to gain additional experience, promote cooperation ties, and engage in a common alliance that could unite us and promote connections in the field of culture and tourism among the people of Jaunpils.” Vija Zīverte, the then head of the Development Department of the Jaunpils Regional Council, added: “The summit will provide valuable new contacts and cooperation partners in the future, not only among municipalities, but also among residents. There are 22 non-governmental organizations in Jaunpils, and our residents are widely known for their enthusiasm and desire to get involved in the development and promotion of the region. These new contacts will broaden our horizons.”