Online participation still possible
We are pleased to have received so many expressions of interest. Please note if you or your partnership have submitted an expression of interest and have not received a positive response: The places for participation in Presence in Dresden are already fully booked. We hope that you will still be able to experience the conference and cordially invite you to participate virtually on Tuesday, 20 September 2022. Register now and participate from the comfort of your office or home.
Smarter partnerships: Creating sustainable digitalisation together
The Service Agency Communities in One World cordially invites you to the 5th Conference of Partnerships between German and African Municipalities, which will take place in from 20 to 22 September 2022. The conference takes place every three years. This year, together with the Dresden-Brazzaville partnership we will be particularly pleased to welcome you to beautiful Dresden (Germany).
Together with you, dear delegates from German-African municipal partnerships, we will be addressing the topic of sustainable digitalisation in municipalities. In doing so, we will link the topic of municipal digitisation with municipal partnership work, and would like to discuss with you what steps are necessary for sustainable digitisation at the local level in Germany and in African countries. Let us discuss what contribution international municipal cooperation can make to this. At the same time, you can use the conference to share your lessons learned with other engaged municipalities. Get to know exciting partnership projects that are already working on digitalisation issues, or in which digital technologies are being used particularly successfully for sustainable development.
As the places on site are already fully booked, we look forward to your virtual participation on 20 September!
Your Online-attendance
We have put together an exciting programme for you. On Tuesday, 20 September from 10h00 to 13h00 (German time), experts from African countries and Germany will discuss which steps are necessary for sustainable digitalisation at the local level and what contribution German-African municipal partnerships can make. The discussion will focus on the following issues and questions:
- Partnerships for sustainable development. What impact can municipalities achieve together? Discussion with the mayors of Dresden and Brazzaville, SKEW and national development cooperation actors.
- Smarter cities - smarter SDGs? Where municipalities really need to invest. Discussion between German and African actors from the administration and experts in the field of digitalisation and information technology.
We cordially invite you to participate together online as a municipal partnership. This means that you can join us live, experience the programme and, as time allows, some of you can contribute to the introductions and the panel discussion.
Programme for Tuesday, 20 September 2022
from 09h30 CEST: Log in and technical check
Arrive virtually and test your technique.
10h00 CEST: Official opening - conference trailer On-and offline presentations by country
Opening discourse: Partnerships for sustainable development. What impact can municipalities achieve together?
- Anja Wagner, Head of unit „States and municipalities“ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Germany (tbc)
- Dirk Hilbert, Mayor of the City Dresden, Germany (confirmed)
- Dieudonné Bantsimba, Mayor of the City of Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo (confirmed)
- Dr. Stefan Wilhelmy, Division Manager, Service Agency Communities in One World, Engagement Global, Germany (confirmed)
11h45 CEST: Panel debate: Smarter cities – smarter SDGs?
What municipalities really need to invest in
- Minister Hon. Prof. Blessings Darlo Chinsinga, Minister of Local Government, Malawi (confirmed)
- Hon. Elizabeth N.K.T. Sackey, Mayor of Accra (confirmed)
- Anna-Greta Tsahkna, Vice President Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications (ITL), Estonia (confirmed)
- Karl-Heinz Land, author & digitalisation expert, Germany (confirmed)
To whom is the conference aimed at?
The Germany-wide partnership conference is primarily aimed at delegates from German municipalities and their partner municipalities in Africa. Other committed actors, such as migrant and civil society groups who are involved in shaping the municipal partnership, are also cordially invited to save the date. We would particularly like to encourage municipalities with new or emerging partnerships to attend the conference.
Further information on the agenda
Have we aroused your interest? Then click on the link to our conference website at the bottom of this page. There you can find out more about the conference agenda and the topics, and read the latest news.
The conference team will be happy to answer any questions you may have at any time. We look forward to welcoming you to Dresden.
