Hackney, meet your new sister: Austin, Texas

Hackney and Austin, Texas have been officially declared sister cities.

The pairing was declared by Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell at the launch of Hackney House Austin – the borough’s popup campus in the heart of the South by Southwest festival.

It makes Hackney Austin’s 13th sibling – the fourth in Europe – and by far the smallest.

The special relationship

Austin’s family of siblings spans six continents, featuring the likes of Peru’s Lima, Turkey’s Antalya and Japan’s Ōita, Ōita.

But Hackney is the first sibling not to be a full city or province, marking the special nature of the relationship.

Big sibling

Meanwhile, Hackney is twinned with towns in France, Germany, Barbados, Grenada, isreael and Russia – making Austin its first actual sister city.

It marks a step up for Hackney, and one immediate scheme to benefit from the relationship is the Millennial Mentoring Programme.

Students from Hackney Community College will be visiting and learning from their equivalent college in Austin – and vice versa.

Meet and greet

Mayor Leffingwell told the Hackney House audience he had visited the London borough and met plenty of the startups in houses.

He said his experience made him very excited about the partnership.