Highlights of the Sub-Saharan Africa partnership conference

Focussed collaboration over three days – on 11 September, the sixth partnership conference for municipalities from Germany and Sub-Saharan Africa concluded to huge applause. The atmosphere was good and the message was clear: German and African municipalities are closely linked and are defying the global trend of isolationism and division. Significant work was also undertaken on a wide range of municipal topics, on joint projects and on recipes for success in collaboration based on the principle of partnership. Our written review can be found below with images from the conference.

Municipalities embrace multilateralism - this is the enduring message from the review of the sixth partnership conference between municipalities from Germany and Sub-Saharan Africa which took place from 8 to 11 September 2025 in Giessen. Once again, it was clear that municipal partnerships are a success story and are making a real difference in municipalities in African countries and in Germany. Team and project work is delivering a higher quality of municipal services. Adapted solutions are being found for municipal challenges which have their origins in a global context. Cohesion is being embraced.

Every three years, the partnership conference is a highlight for those involved in German-African collaboration based on the principle of partnership. On this occasion, the host municipalities were the City of Giessen and its partner municipality Swakopmund in Namibia, along with the district of Giessen and its municipal partner Mubende in Uganda. There was huge interest in the conference again this year. The rooms of Giessen University were filled with around 180 participants from 18 African countries and from Germany, all of which are linked together via 47 municipal partnerships.

Right at the start of the conference, keynote speaker Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General of the African section of the World Organisation of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), addressed the changing geopolitical conditions directly to the audience in the room. In his view, there is an acute risk of international solidarity disappearing. Agreements such as the United Nations' 2030 Agenda, the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the Paris Climate Agreement were shaped with the expectation of increasing multilateralism. Now, however, there is increased isolationism and competition between states for resources, information and markets. Crises and wars have multiplied and the effects of climate change and environmental destruction are leading to further challenges linked to many instances of human rights violations, explained Elong Mbassi.

In this situation, municipalities and their partnerships play a leading role in preserving international solidarity. They are also the key stakeholders in overcoming these crises. Local governance should therefore be perceived in an entirely different way. It extends far beyond local concepts and is inconceivable without international exchange.

According to Elong Mbassi, African municipalities face particular challenges in this regard. Municipal services cannot keep pace with the enormous and rapid growth of urban areas. The marked inequality in living conditions is leading to a loss of trust among the population in local governments. And finally, the scope for action for local governments is, in most cases, limited due to the lack of a legal and institutional framework and of financial and human resources.

Despite this, according to Elong Mbassi, updated government concepts are needed to arrive at adequate solutions. He encouraged a willingness to experiment, to not be afraid of making mistakes. He also encouraged an openness to a diversity of approaches and to greater scope for innovation. He explained that only with inclusive, participatory and democratic governance can the trust of the population be regained.

A subsequent high-level panel followed on from Elong Mbassis’ remarks. Dr Udo Bullmann, a member of the European Parliament from Giessen, underlined that the current cuts in funding for development cooperation were heading in the wrong direction in many countries. He explained that, instead of isolationism and centralisation, the polycrisis requires action with foresight, the strengthening of decentralised structures and creative cooperation. Involving the municipalities and considering the local population perspective is essential, particularly when implementing the EU's new “Global Gateway” infrastructure initiative.

District Administrator Anita Schneider pointed out the precarious situation of many municipalities in Africa, but also of those in Germany. The situations certainly differ in terms of severity, she explained. However, given the high level of debt of many German municipalities, they are in a good position to understand what it means to be not adequately equipped to deal with the problems. Municipal partnership is also about promoting democracy and there must be no false economies.

Sascha Vogt from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) confirmed his ministry's continued support for the collaboration of municipalities based on the principle of partnership. He explained that Minister Reem Alabali Radovan had recently provided assurances that cooperation with African partners will continue to play a central role in development cooperation – in conjunction with foreign policy and economic development. The aim is also to provide “African perspectives” with a greater voice in international institutions.

Following these inputs, the remainder of the conference was dedicated entirely to the concerns and voices of the municipal partnerships themselves.

In Open Spaces, topics currently close to the hearts of partnerships were addressed. The session on the EU's “Global Gateway” strategy was very popular. In other groups, approaches such as the “1.000 Schulen für unsere Welt” [1,000 schools for our world] project were promoted as a good starter project for new partnerships. There was also discussion on how to make the leap from small to large-scale projects in the partnership.

Work on the content was continued in workshops and there was scope for addressing the full range of topics relating to German-African collaboration based on the principle of partnership. These included biodiversity, fair trade, solar energy, digital concepts in urban planning, integration of refugees, cooperation with the private sector and co-operative partnership on an equal footing. Discussions were always underpinned by many practical examples and from the experience of municipalities. It was evident on multiple occasions just how integrated the topics are: if you are focusing on waste management, this very quickly becomes about raising awareness. The integration of refugees touches on issues of urban planning, education and social cohesion.

Sustainability in municipalities is not possible without young people. Their involvement was and is therefore also an issue in many of the partnership projects presented. It was also right that the partnership conference should aim to give space to the perspectives of young people.

On the first day of the conference, students from Giessen and Botswana sat in the auditorium of Giessen University, whose student exchange as part of the ENSA programme was taking place at the same time as the conference. The inspiring conclusion of the conference was then provided by the voices of three graduates from the “Shaping Futures Academy” dialogue and training programme based at the German Institute for Development and Sustainability (IDOS). Their analyses of the key challenges in their home countries of Ethiopia, Ghana and Togo were impactful, as was their view of the situation of young people in these countries. In Togo, explained future leader Ebenezer Acheampong, there is huge unemployment among young people – and this is with a national average age of just 23 years. The resulting vacuum is being filled by jihadists. According to Kodjo Isaac Atchikiti, one of the problems in Ghana is illegal mining, to which many young people are exposed. Eden Tadesse emphasised the determined efforts on the part of young people in Ethiopia to play an active role in shaping society.

The feedback from the conference participants suggested that the partnership conference had many other highlights – hidden in the countless bilateral discussions within and between the partnerships. And the focus was not always just on project plans and exchanging expertise. It was also about cultivating relationships – between municipalities and, above all, between the people representing them. This is both an important and a strong argument for conferences such as this because, as Dr Udo Bullmann put it in a statement, change is ultimately made by people.

Reporting: Katrin Riß