MEET THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SHERBORNE DOUZELAGE COMMITTEE
KEVIN WATERFALL
Kevin Waterfall has his roots and family in and around Sherborne and although his career with Shell took him overseas for 27 years , when he retired in 2007 there was no doubt that he and his wife would return to Sherborne where they had kept a home for many years. Given the international dimension of his work, Kevin soon found himself interested in the activities of Douzelage in Sherborne; he became Publicity Officer in 2007 and then Deputy Chairman and last year, in 2010, he became Chairman of Douzelage with a three year mandate.
This month, Douzelage is holding a big international conference in Sherborne. Read the complete interview with Kevin and find out more about Douzelage and its work below:
Q: A lot of people in Sherborne probably don’t know what Douzelage is all about, or don’t think it is relevant to them. Can you define it for us?
KW: Douzelage links up 27 small towns across Europe – and Sherborne is the UK representative – creating an enabling body that allows people to make contact with like-minded people across Europe on a range of subjects. It could bring together the Historical Societies from different towns in Europe or the Art organisations; we tend to work more with schools and young people so that they can work together on projects within similar age ranges, dealing with issues such as global warming and what to do about it. However we encourage all ages to make contacts between the towns.
Q: What happens as a result of these events?
KW: Issues are defined and discussed and a paper written about it. These papers are then submitted to local government, the national government and even sent to the EU for their information. Initiatives from these papers are selected and enacted as and where it is found appropriate. Last month, there was a meeting in Athens where all the different arts opportunities in the different towns were discussed. This allows the sharing of ideas and best practice and many representatives will go home and put into place or adapt ideas they have heard about.
Q: Is there a particular theme or topic for these meetings?
KW: Yes, certain topics are selected for discussion or action each year. This year is the International Year of Volunteering and Sherborne will be leading a series of meetings on this theme. In fact, we kick off this month, in August, with an International Youth Volunteering conference and workshop. Volunteering is something that the British are particularly adept at, it’s ingrained into our society, but we have to remember that this is not the case in many other European countries, particularly the Eastern European nations. You may be surprised, but volunteering was actually illegal in countries like Lithuania until the fall of communism, on the premise that it was denying employment to people. Our experience can really help nurture the ethos of volunteering as well as to deal with the practical aspects of charity and volunteer work. We can also get some ideas from the experience of other countries.
Q: Where do these ideas for topics come from?
KW: Well, different countries can submit proposals to the Douzelage International Committee for consideration. In 2012 there are three projects under consideration: a football competition – a more social exchange submitted by the Czech Republic; an Arts & Creativity project put forward by Slovakia; and the improvement of our Youth projects, talking of societal topics in Poland. We hope to work together on all of these so that we can understand things from more than the local perspective.
Q: What about the funding of Douzelage – who pays for it all?
KW: On the whole, it is a self-funding organisation paid for through its events and activities. However, the big projects are submitted to the EU for funding and if they are successful then the established criteria will be examined and checked by a monitoring team from the EU. We are also extremely grateful to Sherborne Town Council who have for several years paid for or contributed to our EU subscription fee.
Q: How can people in Sherborne get involved if they want to? Is it a membership organisation?
KW: No, anyone in Sherborne can attend our meetings and events. The member is the town and the people of Sherborne - everyone living here is actually a member and it is up to each individual as to whether they wish to participate or not. Some people are happy to accommodate our international guests when they visit, others attend our social events and yet others become involved in the projects themselves. Our list of local events is published on http://www.sherbornetown.com/directory/sherbornedouzelage.aspx and further information is available on www.douzelage.org
Q: What about other groups or societies in Sherborne? Can they become involved?
KW: We would love to help special interest groups to make contacts with similar groups in Europe. For example, if the town museums would like to exchange experiences on how they are run, how they deal with exhibitions and so on, we could help facilitate this. To date, there has been fairly limited adult involvement.
Q: Kevin, if you had to write a mission statement for Douzelage what would it be?
KW: It would have to boil down to something like: “The exchange of inter-European ideas uniting citizens’ opinions” but the underlying ethos is to help people have a broader understanding of Europe through things they like doing. People who get involved inevitably create lasting friendships and that is a very satisfactory outcome.
Q: You have been part of Sherborne for many years, even if you were based overseas for many of those. What do you like most about the town?
KW: I like the historical aspect of the town, with its small, independent shops, and the people of Sherborne are so welcoming and friendly. It’s also easy enough to see the surrounding countryside.
Q: How do you think Sherborne has changed over the years?
KW: Well the physical expansion of the town, with multiple architectural styles, has been good for the town. However, it is a town of wide social divides. We are lucky to have the Gryphon School and its sixth form – it’s extremely good. I think there has been more cohesion with the public schools that we have, getting them more involved in the town. Sherborne is lucky in that there is so much going on.
One of the most lamentable aspects of the town is the lack of public transport to link the surrounding villages with Sherborne. All in all, we are lucky to live in a lovely part of the country.