At the beginning of June, a delegation from Gorizia and Nova Gorica, representing EGTC GO, experts and associations working in the area, and citizens participated in the Double cities Dialogue forum organised in the twin cities of Frankfurt (Oder) and Słubice.  The forum is financed within the framework of the BorderLabs CE project in which EGTC GO is a partner, funded by the Interreg Central Europe Programme.

In addition to the twin cities of Nova Gorica - Gorizia and Frankfurt (Oder)- Słubice (Germany - Poland), Esztergom-Štúrovo (Hungary/Slovakia) was also present.

In 2025 and 2026, the European double city Frankfurt (Oder)- Słubice, together with the European University Viadrina Frankfurt, has planned two dialogue forums about the challenges of “dealing with difference”. In this first Double Cities Dialogue Forum participants discussed and learned about how people from very different contexts manage to live together and deal with differences constructively - with the goal to generate insights not only for other double cities, but for European societies in general.

Double cities as a unique setting

Citizens of double cities are predestined to talk about how to deal with difference, as they have specific experience in being confronted with the different perspectives and truths of “the other side” within their double city. What makes the setting of the forum unique is to combine the participants’ existing experience of cross-border dialogue inside their own double city context with the exposure to unfamiliar and unknown dialogue partners from other cities. By doing so, we want to create a place where stories of dealing with difference can be shared and dealing with difference can be experienced.

The motto: “Dealing with difference”

"Dealing with difference” has two sides. On the one side, it can be a source of insecurity or even threat in these times of crises. On the other side, it can also be a great resource on how to approach social challenges within urban societies - and especially within double cities. We believe that the ability of dealing with difference is crucial when facing today’s multiple challenges of living together, especially in times when the public dialogue culture becomes increasingly confrontational, and it seems harder and harder to actually talk with each other about our differences. The dialogue forums wants to be a platform where we can address our different perceptions in a respectful way.