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First Round Table of German Municipalities

Partnerships with China

Group picture of two men and two women.
Four people who were delighted by the successful launch of the First Round Table on China: Matthias Möhle, Doreen Eismann, Melitta Arz and Jürgen Krogman. Photo: Martin Magunia

Oldenburg, 23 to 24 June 2016. At the end of June, together with the City of Oldenburg the Service Agency staged the First Round Table on Municipal Partnerships with China. Participants were able to share lessons learned, opportunities and challenges in Sino-German municipal partnership work. Participants from around 30 German municipalities attended the event, which took place in the City of Oldenburg in Lower Saxony.

The first day began with an address by the Mayor of Oldenburg, Jürgen Krogmann. He underlined the major importance of economic cooperation with the two Chinese partner municipalities Qingdao and Xi’an. The next address to welcome participants was delivered by Doreen Eismann, Project Manager for Round Tables and Regional Partnership Conferences at the Service Agency Communities in One World. After that a panel debate was held which discussed the question 'Sino-German municipal partnerships – a dialogue among equals?' Panellists stated that it was important to base partnerships on personal relationships and friendships, and to establish emotional links. They also said it was important to develop a mutual understanding and a spirit of working together as equals based on 'deep insight'. And they pointed out that it would also be a good idea if the partner municipalities were not too different, and possessed some elements linking them together.

Some people discuss in a round.
Panel debate with Volker Zimmermann, Jürgen Krogmann, Ming Shi, Jin Sheng Lue, Matthias Möhle, Christiane Overkamp and the moderator. Photo: Martin Magunia

The afternoon got off to start with a concert by the Chinese musician Menglu Che, who played classical German and Chinese pieces on piano and viola da gamba. This gave participants a taste of Chinese culture. Anja Senz, professor at the University of Heidelberg, then held a lecture on the topic of 'Prospects for inter-municipal relations with China'. She provided an overview of administrative structures in China, municipal partnerships from a Chinese perspective, cooperation in the Sino-German context and current political trends in China. After that, participants worked in groups arranged around five themes tables. The evening was rounded off with a visit to the Horst Janssen Museum in Oldenburg, followed by dinner.

The second day began with a presentation of the Service Agency's instruments for financial and human resources support by Ulrich Held, Deputy Director of the Service Agency. This topic was of particular interest to municipal actors. The presentation was followed by another very hands-on session involving 'intervision' in groups. The groups decided to look at 'delegation missions' and the 'China strategy'. The meeting concluded with a joint lunch.

A group picture of the participants.
Delegates from German municipalities. Photo: Martin Magunia

Participants rated the first Found Table a success. They were able to share intensively on the work of their partnerships, and welcomed the wealth of new information and ideas they had gained. Participants are very keen to continue the Round Table. There are already numerous ideas for coming events, and a number of municipalities have declared an interest in hosting the next Round Table together with the Service Agency.

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