At the Council meeting on February 7, 2018, a majority of the Council approved the submission regarding the recognition of "municipal development cooperation" as an area of responsibility of the City of Wolfsburg in the sense of a cross-sectional task. This was a particularly important milestone for subsequent steps in the area of development policy project work and a signal in favor of international engagement.
The City of Wolfsburg was one of the first five municipalities in Germany to take part in the four-year "Coordination of municipal development policy" project to establish a staff position. The project was funded from 2017 to 2020 by Engagement Global gGmbH as part of the Service Agency Communities in One World program with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In Wolfsburg, the focus of the department's development policy activities is on the topic of "development partnerships" in line with the 2030 Agenda and its global sustainability goals.
Numerous Wolfsburg stakeholders, associations, institutions and companies are already engaged worldwide in favor of fair access to resources, educational opportunities, reconstruction after disasters, in the health sector or for cross-border exchanges and environmental awareness. The range of activities and commitment is very wide and admirable!
In the future, the forum will meet on an event-driven basis.
Are you interested in a network meeting to share experiences from your projects or would you like to get tips from other actors? Or would you like to get involved in one of the Wolfsburg projects?
If you are interested, please contact us at any time:
Sophie Wilmanowski
E-mail: anne-sophie.wilmanowski@stadt.wolfsburg.de
Phone: 05361 28-2851
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In addition to the development policy project partnerships and the Development Cooperation Forum, further emphasis is placed on development policy information and education work. The aim is to look beyond the end of one's nose and to link local with global responsibility in order to both raise awareness of global interrelationships and sustainable development and to further promote locally anchored commitment to development policy. The range of topics is very diverse here and includes all areas that are also addressed within the 2030 Agenda with its global sustainability goals.
Review of the initial project "Municipal Knowledge Transfer" Wolfsburg and Jendouba
Since the end of 2016, the city of Wolfsburg has been cooperating with its partner city Jendouba within the program "Municipal Knowledge Transfer Maghreb-Germany". This is implemented and financed on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), by the Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW), Engagement Global and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ). With the aim of promoting the exchange of municipal knowledge and experience in the form of development partnerships, small projects in Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria are supported in the field of municipal development, measures are jointly conceptualized and implemented in the Maghreb.
Wolfsburg supported Jendouba until the beginning of 2020 in the planning and construction of a district park with the participation of local residents. The project idea and cooperation were initiated on Jendouba's own initiative due to a lack of youth meeting places and as part of the municipal reform processes. Since then both communities have been in contact. Regular project group meetings in Wolfsburg, with the participation of the municipal departments, facilitate the exchange of experiences. The learning effect on both sides is very great. International cooperation, training through country-specific workshops and the involvement of civil society actors benefit the integration measures on the ground and the strengthening of intercultural competencies of all participants. As a result, the twinning agreement was sealed in March 2019 and the planned neighborhood park was completed in January 2020.
Follow-up project: "Municipal Cooperation Maghreb-Germany
Wolfsburg and Jendouba are now participating in the follow-up project "Municipal Cooperation Maghreb-Germany" until the beginning of 2024. The aim of the new project is to gain in-depth knowledge of the respective municipal structures and challenges and to use further exchanges of expertise and experience to jointly develop solutions in the field of urban development. The department of Representation, International Relations is in charge of the development policy project within the city administration. At the same time, the project participation contributes to Wolfsburg's Agenda 21 as well as in the sense of the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development.
The follow-up project will run from March 2020 to February 2024 on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and will be carried out by the Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW) of Engagement Global in cooperation with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ).
Wolfsburg and Jendouba cooperate in waste management
A delegation of experts from Wolfsburg recently traveled to the Tunisian twin city of Jendouba. The five-day stay in Tunisia served to further develop the joint partnership project on site and to deepen municipal relations.
Through the cooperation of both cities within the federal project "Municipal Cooperation Maghreb-Germany" for the design of a district part, expert exchanges in the field of leisure and green space design, child and youth participation as well as citizen participation could already take place since 2016. The cooperation led to the deepening of contacts at the city and civil society level. In the current project, the two cities are working together on the topics of composting and waste separation with the involvement of Wolfsburg Waste Management and Street Cleaning (WAS). The aim is to reorganize municipal waste management in Jendouba. In order to establish composting facilities, it is first necessary to sensitize the population to waste separation.
Mayor Weilmann is therefore committed to bringing the international cooperation between the two municipalities to life: "With the project partnership in the field of waste management, the city of Wolfsburg would like to contribute to the strengthening of democracy and municipal development in the Maghreb within the framework of the "Municipal Cooperation Maghreb - Germany" program. This partnership is becoming particularly important in coping with the current global crises."
The colleagues from Jendouba and Wolfsburg have already been working together in the field of composting since mid-2020. Due to the pandemic situation, the colleagues exchanged their ideas and conceptions in virtual technical discussions since the start of the project. Dr. Herbert Engel, member of the WAS board, and Holger Ikas, head of the waste management department, accompanied the exchange of experts to Jendouba. In addition to visiting the depot and the landfill site, the experts had the opportunity to talk to the governor, the mayor and those responsible for waste management in Jendouba. It became clear that the population is very committed to combating the waste problem, but that support is needed from politics and administration.
The experts were also able to talk to citizens during a workshop on composting. It became clear that composting can only succeed if the waste is cleanly separated. Responsibility for good waste disposal therefore starts with the people who produce the waste. In Wolfsburg, too, educational brochures will continue to be published and the benefits of clean waste separation will be pointed out in kindergartens and schools. Good municipal waste management is therefore a perpetual process of environmental education.
Additional information:
The partnership project is part of the municipal development cooperation of the city of Wolfsburg. It is carried out by the German Society for International Cooperation in Tunisia (GIZ) and Engagement Global with its Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The intention is to promote the exchange of municipal knowledge and experience in the form of development partnerships by supporting small-scale projects in Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria in the field of municipal development, jointly conceptualizing measures and implementing them in the Maghreb. The project costs are covered by GIZ and SKEW.
As one of twelve project partnerships between German municipalities and municipalities from Southeastern Europe (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo), the city of Wolfsburg was involved with the Friendship City of Sarajevo within the pilot project, which was implemented and funded by Engagement Global with the Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Over a two-year project period, the partner municipalities systematically addressed the 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda in order to anchor them within municipal processes.
Within the program, exchanges and secondments as well as the implementation of a project measure and event could be realized. Each project partnership defined its own focal points and focused on a further sustainability goal in addition to Sustainable Development Goal No. 17 "Global Partnerships to Achieve the Goals" and Goal No. 11 "Sustainable Cities and Communities": Wolfsburg and Sarajevo chose Goal No. 4 "Education for Sustainable Development".
Current
C2C LearningBoxes
With five specially developed "Cradle to Cradle" LearningBoxes, Wolfsburg has a new learning tool in the field of "Education for Sustainable Development". With this, the city of Wolfsburg concludes its project work within its "Municipal Sustainability Partnership". The LernBoxes will be available to interested parties and schools (interdisciplinary, from year 10) for loan or as a bookable educational offer in NEST from fall 2018.
The future-oriented school of thought C2C calls for a consistent recycling of used materials. By modeling business on nature, considering cycles, and rethinking production methods, humans can recover resources used, avoid waste, and leave a positive footprint.
In May 2019, there was the first opportunity to reorder the LernBoxes for external interested parties. Further teacher training courses are being planned at NEST.
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Current
2020
Although the year 2020 was strongly influenced by the Corona pandemic, Be Your Own Hero e. V. was able to provide valuable support in the South African community of Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma Local Municipality. Young people were supported and the reconstruction work at the Reichenau Mission Primary School has progressed successfully in the meantime. In addition, valuable new contacts were made in order to expand the network.
Further information and impressions of the project work of Be Your Own Hero e. V. in South Africa can be found here: https://www.beyourownhero-ev.de/
Review
September 2019: Wolfsburg's commitment in South Africa
Most recently, Lord Mayor Klaus Mohrs visited the Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma Municipality (Dr. NDZ for short) in South Africa to hold talks with the community leaders. In addition, projects were visited as part of the long-standing commitment of Be Your Own Hero e. V..
The largest building project of Be Your Own Hero e. V. is at the Reichenau Mission Primary School. Up to grade 7, the elementary school provides free education. Together, a generous donation of 700 euros was handed over to the principal on behalf of the Ratsgymnasium. Pupils of the Wolfsburg grammar school had organized a "Back-to-School" campaign after the vacations for the benefit of the partner school.
Together with Dr. Rüdiger Lotz (Deputy Ambassador to South Africa), the group was also impressed by the so-called "Future Compass" of Be Your Own Hero e.V.. Cultural, sports and workshop offerings were combined in an integrative meeting place with a sports field to promote networking, educational opportunities and ultimately personal development.
The day before, the small Wolfsburg delegation accepted the invitation of the municipality Dr. NDZ for talks at the administrative headquarters in Creighton. "It is important to us as a city to also promote project-based development partnerships. We are very pleased to have found an open-minded and interested partner for exchanges in the community of Dr. NDZ. For sustainable development, the involvement of local participants is of particular concern to us," said Mayor Mohrs, summing up the talks. The visit to the community was rounded off by a tour of a future training facility and a community service center.
July 2019: South African delegation on trade visit to Wolfsburg
Due to a high number of school dropouts, few training opportunities and the alarming unemployment rate of around fifty percent (especially among young people), the delegation also showed great interest in measures and opportunities to support children and young people through sports and (educational) programs. In this area, there is a close connection with the projects of the Wolfsburg association.
September 2018: World Children's Day
This year, on the initiative of Almut and Dr. Christoph Stein and with the support of the City of Wolfsburg's Department of Representation and International Relations, volunteers from Wasser für Kenia e. V. (for Kenya), Be Your Own Hero e. V. (for South Africa) and Aisosh Ethiopia! e. V. (for Ethiopia) made themselves available for classroom visits to elementary school during the week of World Children's Day. Under the motto "How do children in Africa live?", the Bunte Schule, Fallersleben, Käferschule and Sülfeld elementary schools and the Evangelische Grundschule Waldschule Eichelkamp elementary school took up the offer with a total of 14 fourth-grade classes.
February 2018: Project development trip
To further develop support opportunities within the BYOH projects in the region around Underberg, Nora Mühling accompanied a short project trip as coordinator in February 2018. Together with Uwe Cohrs and Gustav Achtermann, both on the board of BYOH South Africa, numerous discussions were held and the stocktaking on site was continued in order to identify cooperation opportunities based on the conditions and needs on site.
During the project visit, among other things, appointments were arranged for the current and following construction measures of the association in the Reichenau School as well as on the grounds of the orphanage (Clouds of Hope). Sports and cultural activities are important components to promote the talents of the children and youth and to strengthen contacts between the orphanage and the communities. A visit to the low-cost areas in Underberg and Himeville was also on the agenda. Here, the association supports safe houses that offer important protection to those in need in emergency situations.
November 2017: Lord Mayor Klaus Mohrs informs himself about projects of BE YOUR OWN HERO e. V. in South Africa
As part of the annual project trip, supporters and board members of BE YOUR OWN HERO e. V. visited the association's Kwa Sani project in South Africa together with Wolfsburg's Lord Mayor Klaus Mohrs. As patron of the initiative "Wolfsburg builds a class house", the head of the city informed himself on site about the current situation, the project components and upcoming measures. The association's project has been dedicated to the accommodation and education of disadvantaged children in a very rural region of South Africa for more than ten years.
"It is highly exciting how the original idea has evolved. In addition to the initial provision of emergency accommodation, projects are now being successfully implemented right through to the education of the children and young people. If the appropriate commitment is there, a great deal can be achieved with little money," explains Mayor Klaus Mohrs after the trip, impressed.
Lord Mayor Klaus Mohrs laid an important milestone in this regard during the school visit by sealing the school partnership for the fifth to seventh grades of the Ratsgymnasium Wolfsburg with the Reichenau Mission School in South Africa. School principals Nombuso Mkhize and Jennifer Voß had signed the partnership document in advance. The cooperation will start with the joint project "Me and my environment".
Together with our Mexican friendship city of Puebla, the city of Wolfsburg is taking part in the ninth phase of the "Municipal Climate Partnerships". The city of Wolfsburg has maintained friendly relations with the Mexican city of Puebla, which also has a Volkswagen plant, since 2011.
Following an application phase in the spring, eleven partnerships were selected to take part in the ninth phase of the Municipal Climate Partnerships. In this project phase, German municipalities work together with Latin American or African municipalities in the project over a period of two years. The aim is to strengthen and further develop the partnership in the field of climate protection and climate impact adaptation and to utilize municipal knowledge on both sides. To this end, a concrete action program is to be developed during the project period, in which goals and measures are defined. Of course, the cooperation should not end abruptly after the project phase: Long-term commitment to climate protection is the goal, and the action programs form the basis of this commitment. They will be developed in a participatory process involving various groups from administration, politics and civil society.
Representatives from Puebla and Wolfsburg took part in the project's international kick-off workshop in Essen from November 7 to 11. The kick-off workshop brought together ideas and inspiration on municipal climate protection from countries that could hardly be more different. Small municipalities in Senegal, Ghana or Saarland are just as concerned with the consequences of the climate crisis as large municipalities from Mexico, Congo and North Rhine-Westphalia. During the workshop, there was also time to hold intensive working discussions with colleagues from Puebla and to exchange information about ongoing projects. Puebla and Wolfsburg have to deal with similar challenges such as heavy rainfall, climate-related changes in the urban forest and periods of heat.
Following the kick-off workshop, the delegation traveled on to Wolfsburg for further discussions and a closer look at the conditions. A view from the roof of the city hall brought the realization that although the Volkswagen factory occupies a large area, Wolfsburg is a very green city with its many green spaces and the city forest.
Project background:
The project "Municipal Climate Partnerships" has been implemented by the Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW) of Engagement Global in cooperation with the State Working Group Agenda 21 NRW (LAG 21 NRW) since 2011. The German Association of Cities and Towns, the German Association of Towns and Municipalities and the German Association of Counties support the project. The client is the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The project costs are covered by SKEW.
Within the project period of two years, three reciprocal delegations at the administrative level are planned in order to jointly develop the action program. In addition, there will be network meetings between the participating German municipalities. These meetings will also provide an opportunity to exchange information about the activities of their own municipalities in the areas of climate protection and climate impact adaptation.
Wolfsburg and Chattanooga work together to implement the 2030 Agenda
Cities are playing an increasingly important role in international contexts. They work together in partnerships and collaborations, network internationally and exchange knowledge and expertise. They make a key contribution to international understanding, peacekeeping and joint work on global goals. This commitment is to be further promoted by the "Urban Diplomacy Exchange" project of Engagement Global gGmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and in particular to contribute to Goals 11 (sustainable cities and communities), 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) and 17 (partnerships to achieve the goals) of the 2030 Agenda.
Together with our U.S. partner city Chattanooga, the City of Wolfsburg is participating in the "Urban Diplomacy Exchange" project, which gives German-U.S. municipal partnerships the opportunity for technical and political exchange. The project team consists not only of Chattanooga and Wolfsburg, but is supplemented by the city of Hamm, which also maintains a partnership with Chattanooga. The city of Wolfsburg has maintained friendly relations with the US city of Chattanooga in the state of Tennessee, which also has a Volkswagen plant, since 2011.
After a virtual exchange between the participating German and U.S. cities in spring 2022, the HamWobNooga project team, along with seven other German cities, was also selected to participate in the presentation conference in Washington DC in October 2022. There was great joy about this and the US-American colleagues were already in the starting blocks with their travel plans.
After applying for visas and planning the follow-up trip to the partner city, the time had come and nothing stood in the way of participation in the Urban Diplomacy Exchange partnership conference. The Wolfsburg administration was represented by a representative from the department Data, Strategies, Urban Development and by a representative from the department Representation, International Relations.
Over the course of three days, we were able to exchange ideas with other German and U.S. colleagues on city diplomacy, sustainable and climate-friendly urban development, and climate diplomacy across partnerships. Even though the participating cities could not be more different in demography, structure and size, the parallels in the topics were surprising again and again: Worldwide, cities are asked to deal with similar challenges and to find the best solutions for them.
The cities of Chattanooga and Wolfsburg also face similar challenges: In Chattanooga, there is an option for Volkswagen to build a new factory for e-vehicle production, public transport should be better accepted by the citizens* and conversion areas should be used sustainably and made more attractive in the future (North Head Quarter in Wolfsburg).
During the conference, there was also time for intensive working discussions with colleagues from Chattanooga and Hamm. While we were discussing our partnership in 2030 with Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly at the American College of Law in Washington DC, his Wölfe app went off: Goal for Wolfsburg in the cup match against Braunschweig. The fact that Chattanooga's mayor is a big fan of VfL Wolfsburg was something we were to realize once again during our stay in Chattanooga.
The partnership conference offered the opportunity to talk with other cities, to network and to be inspired by activities of other cities.
After the conference, the delegation traveled on to the twin city of Chattanooga in Tennessee to hold further talks and take a closer look at the conditions, for example, of public transportation, mobility services and the educational landscape.
In addition to discussions with representatives of the city administration, a guided tour through the city hall with explanations of the organizational structures and a conversation with the mayor, the delegation also had the opportunity to visit an American high school with a musical, orchestra and theater focus and the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. The conversation with the chairman of the EPB (Wolfsburg: LSW) also remained in the memory: For example, 25 gigabits of Internet capacity are available to the citizens of Chattanooga. Chattanooga is thus one of the leading cities in the USA and is becoming increasingly important as a location for tech companies looking for a climate-sensitive location. Only in terms of electric mobility can our twin city not yet keep up with Wolfsburg: The e-car quota is less than 1%.
We left Chattanooga with many new ideas and impressions and are looking forward to continuing the partnership activities within the Urban Diplomacy Exchange project. The discussions in presence showed once again that the professional exchange via digital programs is good and result-oriented, but cannot replace personal encounters. In spring, the project may welcome a delegation from Chattanooga to Wolfsburg for a professional exchange on mobility, resilient and sustainable cities and urban development.
Urban Diplomacy Exchange is carried out by the Service Agency Communities in One World of Engagement Global in cooperation with the German Association of Cities and Towns and is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. The project costs are covered by the listed institutions.
The professional exchange is designed through a structured exchange of expertise at the administrative level on global issues within the framework of the 2030 Agenda. In addition, global and foreign policy issues are to be exchanged and discussed. The framework for the project activities is the 2030 Agenda with its 17 goals for sustainable development and for strengthening democracy. Through events, expert exchange trips and consulting, the project supports cities in strengthening their relationships with cities in the USA, establishing knowledge exchange on specialist topics so that they can network with each other and cities can more easily represent municipal interests at national and international level.
Publications:
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Shaping the future with municipal development policy: Success stories from 20 years with the Service Agency Communities in One World
Bonn, October 2021
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A dossier by ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL in cooperation with the editorial office WELT_SICHTEN (Issue 09/2018 "Connected in partnership. Cities, municipalities and rural districts engage together in Germany, North Africa and the Middle East - for a more livable future."
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DIALOG GLOBAL: Series of publications by the Service Agency Communities in One World (Issue No. 50, April 2018).
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welt-sichten: Magazine for global development and ecumenical cooperation (Issue 4/2018 "Global politics from below")
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DIALOG GLOBAL: Series of publications of the Service Agency Communities in One World (Issue No. 9, March 2018).
p. 41-42: Education and science (Wolfsburg-Sarajevo municipal sustainability partnership)
P. 45: From the field: Cooperation between the City of Wolfsburg and the City of Jendouba in Tunisia. -
Council resolution on "Municipal Development Cooperation
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der gemeinderat (Issue No. 5/2017):
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"INNENSTADT" (Issue 2/2017 - Staff newspaper of the City of Wolfsburg)
- P. 45: Wolfsburg: Municipal development policy firmly established as a cross-cutting task
- p. 14-15: It's going to be a citizens' park! Jendouba and Wolfsburg fill their community development partnership with life
- AGENDA 2030 VOR ORT: Municipalities in Lower Saxony show how it's done
- P. 44-46: City of Wolfsburg: Municipal Development Cooperation and Development Partnerships
- Cities help each other
- Partner für Eine Welt - Gestaltung und Nutzen kommunaler Partnerschaften. A practical guide
- The entire council bill can be found here.
- Mayor Klaus Mohrs interviewed about municipal development cooperation
- Local & Global - Developing together
- Flyer of SKEW, 2018: "Municipal Knowledge Transfer Maghreb-Germany".
- Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
- Engagement Global - Service for development initiatives: Offers from A to Z
- Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW): Information on the initiative "Coordination of Municipal Development Policy" as well as a map of all German coordinators.
- SKEW flyer, 2017: "Municipal Sustainability Partnerships".
- Documentation of the DStGB, 2015: Municipal Development Cooperation: German Cities and Municipalities Active for One World
Development partnerships of the city of Wolfsburg
The global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda are taken into account in all activities. This is because development partnerships also aim to find a common approach to sustainable development and develop solutions for global and local problems.
With the combination of local and international activities as well as the interdisciplinary cooperation, the project partnerships in Wolfsburg are also a cross-sectional task that relies on the involvement of committed individuals and experts.