

Twinning is a formal, substantive collaboration between two organizations. Twinning encourages civil society organizations to collaborate and form partnerships with like-minded organizations in other countries or regions and provides a platform for the exchange of knowledge and strengthening of capacity.
ICAD’s twinning program has promoted the development of HIV/AIDS partnerships between Canadian and overseas organizations. Our involvement began with the publication of Beyond Our Borders, a step-by-step guide which introduces community-based HIV/AIDS organizations to the twinning model.
ICAD is proud to be launching a new twinning project as part of CARE Canada’s Southern African Nutrition Initiative (SANI). SANI is a four- year project being implemented through a partnership between CARE Canada, CUSO International, McGill University and ICAD and is funded by Global Affairs Canada. ICAD’s twinning initiative within SANI will build the capacity of civil society organizations in Canada, Malawi and Zambia to address the intersections between gender, nutrition, food security and HIV.
What is twinning? Twinning is a formal, substantive collaboration between two organizations seeking to achieve a common goal. Twinning encourages civil society organizations to collaborate and to form partnerships with like-minded organizations in other countries or regions and provides a platform for the exchange of knowledge and strengthening of capacity. Twinning is not a new concept. Many cities around the world have engaged in twinning for decades. In more recent years, organizations working in the fields of international development and HIV have joined forces through twinning projects.
Building on ICAD’s extensive history of twinning, knowledge exchange and capacity development, Addressing HIV in Canada and Globally offers us programmatic approaches, insights, and lessons learned in responding to complex social and structural factors that continue to disempower and drive HIV infection rates globally. While the focus of these case studies often speaks to HIV programming, the lessons presented here can easily be applied to other sexually transmitted and blood borne infections (STBBIs) and settings, including in Canada, to ensure that no one is left behind. This resource features innovative projects led by ICAD members including, Rooftops Canada, Handicap International, Help Lesotho, CARE Canada, and World University Service Canada (WUSC).
The purpose of this toolkit is to assist Canadian organizations working with international partners to effectively engage in their work. An evaluation report of the NPT communications project has already been prepared; this toolkit focuses primarily on the partnership model rather than the content of the workshops.
The Benefits of International Twinning Projects for HIV/AIDS Programming in Canada and for Canadian Organization reports the lessons learned by 20 ASOs who participated in twinning projects with organizations working in HIV/AIDS in developing countries. The report provides convincing arguments as to how ASO programming in Canada has been improved by exposure to international twinning opportunities.