On September 12, 2020, the III national Boxing tournament "Ring Pazardzhik"was held in Pazardzhik. The tournament is organized by the Trakiyets boxing club of the sister city. The competition was attended by athletes of the Republic of Bulgaria of various ages and weight categories. Representatives of the city of Pazardzhik, who won six prizes, performed well during the tournament.

To reduce environmental pollution, the city of Beziers uses innovative technologies for waste processing. Special autoclaves for fermentation of bio-waste are installed in two school canteens of the sister city. As a result of processing of food residues, fermented organic sediment is formed, which subsequently turns out to be methane gas used in urban economy.

The city of Des Moines hosts an international festival of music and food from September 12 to 20. Residents and visitors can enjoy performances of local musicians, art master-classes, and markets of products from Iowa manufacturers. For the first time, an online guide to national cuisines, as well as video recipes for cooking famous dishes, is presented.

In the sister city of Zhenjiang, located on the banks of the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal, a special water supervision and duty station has been opened to ensure safety during the rainy season and prevent the consequences of flooding. As many large vessels, cargo, ships and boats are based in the port of Zhenjiang, the main task of the services is to monitor the situation during the period of rising water in the river.

In the sister city of Yerevan, an inclusive development center was opened for 200 children. The goal of the center is to integrate children aged 2-7 with disabilities into society. The center has offices for speech therapists, psychologists, special teachers, and occupational therapists, and two separate gyms for children’s training. There is also a special course for parents in the "Profession for mothers of disabled children" program.

In early September of this year, the first qualifying stage of the "Innovative Jiangsu" scientific and technical development competition on the topic "New materials" was held in the sister city of Changzhou. Initiated for the purpose of further business development with the use of scientific technologies, the competition attracted more than 5 thousand startup teams. To provide investment support to small and medium-sized enterprises in the resumption of production, representatives of banking and financial institutions were also invited to the event this year.

The International football tournament for orphans left without parental care will take place in the city of Perushtitsa (Republic of Bulgaria) in the period from 14 to 18 September. According to the results of the qualifying competitions, the national team included three representatives of the sister city of Pazardzhik. To participate in the tournament, athletes will undergo a two-week training.

The current year is successful professionally for the young dancers of the sister city of Beziers. Zhanna Bouvier, a student at the city's Dance center, entered the prestigious choreographic school at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, after which she will receive a diploma as a professional ballerina. Also twelve-year-old dancers of the sister city Claire Renaud-Favier and Lea Amadour became the winners of the difficult first stage of the national competition for admission to the choreographic school at the Paris Opera. The city of Beziers is proud of the successes of its talented youth.

A series of advocacy training workshops will be organized in the sister city of Des Moines in the period from 15 to 24 September. Within the framework of the seminar program, the issues in the field of providing urban infrastructure, supporting small businesses, developing human resources, etc will be discussed. In connection with the difficult epidemiological situation, the events will be held online.

Visitors can visit the renovated Changshan Rainbow Town Park, located in the sister city of Zhenjiang. The amusement park covers a total area of 233.3 hectares. In the course of the reconstruction, the park was transformed into a complex cultural tourist town, on the territory of which there are hotels, entertainment establishments, a zoo, and rare plants. The official opening of the park will take place a little bit later and will be timed to coincide with one of the public holidays of the PRC.

The Mayor's office of the sister city of Yerevan is consistently working on the implementation of separate collection of household waste in practice. Recently, a division of the municipal organization Greening and Environmental Protection took over the sorting of cardboard, solving one of the most important environmental problems in the capital. Cardboard waste, which makes up about 5% of the total waste in the city of Yerevan, is collected and transported to the recycling site. It is also planned to open a station for sorting plastic waste. Recycling of waste entails new revenue to the budget, which will facilitate the purchase of appropriate equipment.

On August 14, 2020, the sister city of Changzhou officially launched the Grand Canal Cultural Tour 2020 online initiative for Overseas Chinese Youth living abroad. The program interactively presented both modern scenic spots of the city of Changzhou, located on the banks of the canal, and historical sights. The event was attended by over 10,000 students.

The National modern pentathlon championship was held in the city of Shumen (Republic of Bulgaria) in the period from 15 to 16 August, 2020. During the competition, representatives of the sports club "Champion" of the city of Pazardzhik had a great success. Athletes from the sister city won prizes in individual matches, as well as three cups in the team event.

The traditional Feria festival took place in the sister city of Beziers in the period from 14 to 16 August, 2020. This year, during the events, special attention was paid to the observance of sanitary safety measures. The performances of the famous professional equestrian troupe “Gruss”, a traditional bullfight, a rugby match in Béziers-Toulouse and a citywide marathon were organized as part of the holiday program. Residents and guests of the city had the opportunity to take part in the flamenco festival, various conferences, exhibitions and meetings, as well as attend the performances of musical groups.

The six-week online sessions were organized in the sister city of Des Moines as part of the national campaign "Make It OK" aimed to support citizens with reduced ability to perceive the environment and social adaptation. The main goal of the initiative is to expand knowledge about mental health. The information on the possibilities of supporting mental health, as well as the basics of interaction with relatives and colleagues and within communities will be presented as part of the panel sessions.

The initiative "Night economy" is being implemented in the sister city of Zhenjiang in order to support the recovery and development of the tourism industry. The sightseeing programs, orientation and entertainment events will be organized at night. On weekends volunteers also work at the main attractions of the sister city, providing various services for tourists and visitors.

The implementation of a program on replacement elevators in apartment buildings continues in the sister city of Yerevan. A decision to replace 500 elevators was made in 2020. The new installed elevators are adapted for people with disabilities, and are also equipped with a UPS system, which, in the event of a power failure, allows the elevator to stop at the nearest floor and open the doors. The elevator replacement program will continue in the coming years.

The international communication on the route "Changzhou - Osaka (Japan)" was resumed at the airport of the sister city of Changzhou on 07 August, 2020. It was the first flight since the suspension of international traffic in April this year due to Covid-19. Changzhou Airport has met the necessary sanitary and quarantine requirements for the resumption of flights. Several foreign airlines are currently also considering opening international routes to Changzhou.

From 08 to 09 August, 2020 the city of Pazardzhik hosted the European Badminton Championship among athletes aged under 19 years old. Representatives of the sister city had a great success in the competition. The participants won two silver medals and also scored points in the international ranking of athletes.

Within the framework of participation in a professional competition of the interactive entertainment industry, a group of students from the «CIME Art» school of the city of Beziers (10 people) developed a new video game using images generated by electronic equipment. The presentation of the computer program will take place in early October 2020. The video game is currently being tested.

The webinar for entrepreneurs

In order to support entrepreneurs in modern conditions in the sister city of Des Moines, a free webinar dedicated to investment issues was organized. The event will include three panel discussions, during which topical issues related to the pandemic will be discussed, best practices for attracting investments, as well as the experience of successful representatives of the local business community will be presented.

The results of the III International Calligraphy contest "Cup to myth" were announced on 08 August, 2020in the sister city of Zhenjiang. Due to the difficult epidemic situation in 2020, the contest was organized online. More than 80 institutions of Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Anyang took part in the qualifying rounds. The created online platform is seen as an innovative way to exchange the art of calligraphy.

A press conference of the mayor of the sister city of Yerevan, dedicated to the development of the capital of the Republic of Armenia, took place at the beginning of August this year. During the event, topical issues of urban planning and land use were highlighted. Particular attention is paid to the implementation of the city improvement and greening program.

An agricultural certification system, which allow to track food production information is introducing in the sister city of Changzhou. Certificates are issued to manufacturing enterprises, farmer cooperatives, private agricultural producers in paper format or as a barcode. All products entering food markets, supermarkets and grocery stores must be certified or pre-tested.