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Local Governance Exchange with African Partners

Sustainable development in the context of German-Ethiopian municipal partnerships

Localising the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), was the focus of a three-day expert meeting of representatives from the German-Ethiopian municipal partnerships, held in Addis Ababa.

Approximately 30 people can be seen. Some of them are standing on a staircase, holding up banners with the symbols of the global sustainability goals.
Participants attending the expert conference in the Ethiopian capital. Photo: Engagement Global

Addis Ababa, 17 to 19 February 2020. More than 40 municipal and civil society actors from the four German-Ethiopian municipal partnerships between Addis Ababa and Leipzig, Adwa and Gotha, Alem Katema and Vaterstetten, and Mekele and Witten, attended an expert conference hosted in the Ethiopian capital by the project 'The 2030 Agenda – Local governance exchange with African partners'.

The guests were welcomed by Mesfin Assefa, State Minister of Urban Development and Construction of the Federal Government of Ethiopia, Abraham Asrat Beser, Director for International Relations in the Office of the Mayor, Addis Ababa City Administration, Laura Schmidt, Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Ethiopia, and Jessica Baier, Department Head at the Service Agency Communities in One World of Engagement Global.

Denise Spaull, Project Manager of the Service Agency's 'Local governance exchange with African partners' project, presented the agenda and the aims of the conference. She explained: 'We want to provide the representatives of the German-Ethiopian municipal partnerships with a platform for knowledge exchange and peer learning. At the same time, we would like to explore ways of integrating the 2030 Agenda into the work of the municipal partnerships and show how their joint projects contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals’.

To introduce the topic, Mulu Worku Yimer, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in Berlin, gave a special presentation on implementing the 2030 Agenda and the African Union's Agenda 2063 at the local level in Ethiopia. She explained how global and continental development goals are being translated into national and local development strategies in Ethiopia. She also emphasised that municipalities have an important role to play in achieving the SDGs, as a large number of the global goals can best be implemented at the local level.

Several people stand in a circle in front of a building and talk.
Participants visiting the German Church School. Photo: Engagement Global

The first afternoon saw a focus on offering the municipalities an opportunity to get to know each other and their respective partnership projects. The participants from the four partnerships used presentations, videos, photos and brochures to introduce their respective municipalities, provide an overview of their partnerships, and showcase their joint activities and projects.

Afterwards, participants had an opportunity to discuss specific aspects of their partnership work in more detail at the World Café. Topics addressed included the role of municipal and civil society actors in the partnerships, strategies for information and public outreach, communication between the partners, as well as lessons learned regarding project planning and implementation.

On the morning of the second day, participants were able to visit two nearby projects of the sister cities Leipzig and Addis Ababa. At the German Church School, the project 'Inclusive City – measures to promote an inclusive society' was presented. While at the Addis Ababa Fire Station, participants learned more about the cooperation between the partner cities to improve the performance and skills of local rescue personnel. Both projects have been supported by the Service Agency's 'Nakopa' funding programme.

Subsequently, Andualem Tenaw, Director General of the Ethiopian Cities Association, provided participants with insights into the work of his organisation.

Several people sit around a table and discuss; a woman writes on a disc with the global sustainability symbols in the middle of the table.
Intensive dialogue generated fresh ideas for the municipal partnerships. Photo: Engagement Global

The afternoon of the second day and the morning of the third, were devoted to intensive dialogue on localising the 2030 Agenda. Participants worked on, among other issues, mapping the stakeholders in their partnerships with the objective of identifying additional actors within the municipal administration as well as from civil society that are relevant to the SDGs and could be involved. They also placed the activities of their partnerships in the context of the 2030 Agenda and agreed next steps in their joint work with their partners over the coming year. In this context, Jessica Baier and Denise Spaull presented additional opportunities for support by the Service Agency and Engagement Global.

The meeting demonstrated that the partnerships are working in similar areas, and so far are addressing in particular the goals of health (SDG 3), education (SDG 4), gender equality (SDG 5), vocational training and economic growth (SDG 8), and safe, sustainable and inclusive cities and municipalities (SDG 11). Participants also identified future needs in the fields of water (SDG 6), renewable energy (SDG 7), industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9) and climate action (SDG 13). This creates interesting potential for synergies and opportunities for cooperation between the partnerships.

The participants gained fresh impetus for the joint work in their partnerships, along with exciting ideas for future projects in the context of the 2030 Agenda. The partnerships were also very interested in continuing to share ideas and lessons learned with each other in the future.

Following the event, the German delegations had the opportunity to continue and deepen the discussions with their partners during visits to their respective partner municipalities.

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