In her presentation on development cooperation with Africa, Dr Doris Witteler-Stiepelmann, the Head of Division for Federal States and Local Authorities at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), picked up on Dr Wilhelmy's words: 'You are shaping the future. We are convinced that by sharing expertise directly, municipal partnerships are making key contributions toward building a better future and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).' One special guest was Erastus J. O. Mwencha, former Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission. He was visibly impressed by the dedication of the German and African municipalities. In his speech entitled 'The Africa we want', he provided an insight into development cooperation from an African perspective in the context of Agenda 2063, which is a plan of action to transform Africa developed by African countries. In the panel discussion that followed, the speakers referred to the two speeches and discussed the transferability of national strategies to the local level. This was illustrated by the two municipal partnerships Oldenburg (Germany) – Buffalo City (South Africa), and Hamburg (Germany) – Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), which were also represented on the panel.
The remainder of the conference agenda was highly interactive, and involved using the BarCamp method, for instance. This gave all participants an opportunity to systematically introduce topics and raise questions, and thus design the agenda themselves. This fostered dialogue not only between the German and African municipalities, but also among the African municipalities attending. Furthermore, several workshops were held on various practical topics addressed in partnerships such as job creation, climate change, urban development and school partnerships. Here too the conference drew on the existing expertise of experienced municipal partnerships, which held the workshops together with the Service Agency.
