History of Brock University's Twinning Relationship

The first delegation from St. Catharines to go to Port-of-Spain was headed by St. Catharines’s Mayor MacKenzie A. Chown and included a representative from Brock University, Dr. John Jackson. That was to witness the official ceremony declaring the city of Port of Spain to be Mundialized and Twinned with the City of St. Catharines on August 30, 1968.

The first President of the St. Catharines Twinning Association was Dr. Mayer de Berncastle, a Professor of philosophy at Brock University. On the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Twinning of the cities of St. Catharines and Port-of-Spain, Brock University awarded one full-tuition scholarship to a student from Trinidad.

By the 40th anniversary of the Twinning of these two cities, annual full-tuition scholarships were awarded by Brock University for a period of ten years for students from Trinidad. The Port-of-Spain Twinning Association has actively participated in the Brock University scholarship program by notifying the various high schools in Trinidad of the availability of the scholarship and in the vetting of candidates.

On an ongoing basis since 2008, the St. Catharines and Regional Niagara Twinning Association has made grants to a bursary fund at Brock University for the benefit of any Trinidadian student in need.

For many years Twinning Association invited all Trinidad and Tobago nationals studying at Brock University to a luncheon on the first Saturday after school commences in September. This allowed students to socialize with new arrivals, renew old friendships, and get to know the Twinning members who advise that they are the “Aunties and Uncles” for the students while they are in St. Catharines. The luncheon has now evolved to a meet and greet for Students, Faculty, Staff and Twinning members to socialize as part of a Republic Day celebration at Brock.

Due to the long established relationship between Brock and UWI, under the leadership of Brock's then President Gervan Fearon and then Vice Chancellor, UWI Sir Hilary Beckles in 2020 the Canada-Caribbean Institute (CCI) was established creating a foundation for greater collaboration and opportunities in research for member institutions across both regions.

At the international office at Brock University, the International Student Services reception desk was named after Philip Atteck, founder of St. Catharines Twinning, in memory of his contributions to developing international education relationships.

St. Catharines & Regional Niagara Twinning Association believe in enabling students to achieve their dreams through university education and celebrate their accomplishments in partnership with Brock University – where students can become a better version of themselves.