Author: erik

Carl and Anneliese Goerdeler Foundation Municipal Policy Award 2025

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Motivation and Purpose of the Award

In memory of Carl Goerdeler’s contributions to municipal politics and his resistance against the Nazi regime, the Carl and Anneliese Goerdeler Foundation awards the Municipal Policy Prize. This prize recognizes outstanding achievements in municipal administration and collaboration, promoting international cooperation and mutual learning for the benefit of citizens. This year, the prize is supported by Connective Cities.

Target Group

The award honors best practices in municipal administration or regional alliances that foster peaceful coexistence. A prerequisite is the involvement of a German municipality or municipal alliance.

Description

Cities are multicultural environments where conflicts can arise. Municipalities worldwide face the challenge of developing strategies for peaceful coexistence. Cross-border cooperation allows municipalities to learn from each other and contribute to international understanding.

Further information: Call for the Carl and Anneliese Goerdeler Foundation Municipal Policy Award 2025

Award

The prize is endowed with 2,000 euros and recognises innovative approaches that contribute to Sustainable Development Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda. If there are several applications of equal value, the prize money can be shared. The award ceremony for this politically significant award will be held in Leipzig’s New City Hall on 2 February, the anniversary of Carl Goerdeler’s death.

Application

You too can apply! Especially in these times of war, signs and awards for peaceful coexistence are more important than ever!

  • Application deadline: October 15, 2024
  • Application materials (max. 10 pages):
    • Contact persons/details
    • Information about the submitting municipality or region
    • Description of the solution approach
    • Involved stakeholders
    • Benefits achieved for citizens
    • Transfer potential

Contact

Tel.: +49 228 4460 1138, Mobile: +49 160 937 75 527

Tel.: +49 228 4460 1515

Jury

The jury consists of representatives from the participating institutions and makes decisions with strict political neutrality. The award ceremony takes place annually in early February in Leipzig.

Inclusive nature tourism trails for the deaf, disabled and blind

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In recent years, the tourism industry has been expanding its offerings by providing more inclusive and sustainable options. However, access to tourist attractions is still a major challenge for the deaf, visually impaired and people with disabilities. Even people with temporary injuries or mild sensory impairments often find it difficult to relax and fully enjoy their vacation experiences. This guide aims to address these challenges by updating currently available tourism guidelines and incorporating contemporary design standards for inclusivity. It is one of the outputs of the working group ‘Destination management organisation in tourism in the MENA region’.

Arabic version:
مسارات سياحية طبيعية شاملة للصم والمعاقين والمكفوفين

Kragujevac – renewable energy in district heating

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‘ENERGETIKA’ Kragujevac, a state-owned company specialising in steam generation and air conditioning, has taken an important step towards environmental protection. In 2021, the old coal-fired boilers were replaced by modern gas-fired boilers, which have been in operation since the 2022/2023 heating season. This conversion has significantly reduced the plant’s environmental impact.

In a further project for the next three years, it is now planned to use the waste heat from a data centre located near the ‘Aerodrom’ boiler house heating plant and feed it into the district heating network using a heat pump. The data centre is planned for two expansion stages and the first has been in operation for less than two years. The currently installed cooling capacity of the 2 modules is 4.4 MW. The expansion of the data centre to 4 modules is expected to double the cooling capacity, which is planned for the coming years. The cooling system is designed for redundant operation.

By using the waste heat from the data centre in Kragujevac and other measures to increase energy efficiency in the hot water system, a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions will be achieved.

The initiative highlights the importance of continuous improvement through the exchange of expertise and experiences, ensuring medium to long-term success.

Tourism promotion strategies in municipalities

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Adopting innovative tourism strategies can help municipalities boost their economies and promote sustainable development. These strategies often focus on leveraging local culture, history, natural resources, and new technologies. Municipalities in the MENA region are capitalizing on their unique cultural, historical, and natural assets while incorporating modern technology and sustainability practices to attract a wide range of tourists. During an insight session held on the 9th September 2024, representatives of municipalities from Jordan, Palestine, Tunisia and Lebanon have learned about and discussed effective tourism promotion strategies. This session focused on two key areas, namely innovative tourism promotion strategies, improving existing tourism activities and sustainable tourism practices to prevent destination decline. Participants have learned about digital marketing techniques, methods for identifying and showcasing their unique selling points, and strategies for creating compelling tourism narratives that resonate with potential visitors. The session delved into effective collaboration strategies with local businesses and tour operators to create a cohesive tourism ecosystem.

A good practice example was presented by the secretary general of the municipality of Sidi Jedidi in Tunisia by sharing insights into the local touristic attractions and the promotion strategies they have implemented that included community engagement. Through story-telling, Nablus municipality representatives have engaged the participants in a captivating virtual visit to their city in Palestine.  These presentations have sparked a lively discussion between the participants that included several elements of peer learning, particularly on the solutions developed as part of the working group which include:

  1. Local handicraft protection and promotion policy – Al Aizariya Municipality, Palestine
  2. Designing touristic trails and envisioning an eco-touristic village – Kufranja municipality, Jordan
  3. Assisting and guiding Kfarmatta municipality (Lebanon) in establishing the rules of procedures for Al Hima zone and the establishment of a Local Development Office.
  4. Tourism promotion Strategy in Nablus municipality, Palestine.

Recording of the insight session on Connective Cities platform (in Arabic).

Kampala, Karlsruhe and Strasbourg join forces to strengthen social entrepreneurship

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All across the world, there are more and more social entrepreneurs combining their business activities with a commitment to the common good – be it climate or environmental protection, social participation or reducing poverty.

For local authorities, this relatively new target group for local economic development agencies has great potential to contribute to sustainable development. But many cities, municipalities and districts are still in the early stages of promoting social entrepreneurship. Kampala in Uganda, Karlsruhe in south-west Germany and Strasbourg in France have joined forces to promote social entrepreneurship in their cities and help entrepreneurs form networks.
 

The Kampala – Karlsruhe – Strasbourg triangle of cooperation

‘I see a great deal of potential for collaboration,’ says Khasalamwa Lucia from the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA). Representatives from the three cities have identified that the challenges facing social entrepreneurship are very similar in Kampala, Karlsruhe and Strasbourg – despite their social and economic differences. They each have a lack of needs-based training, mentoring programs, opportunities for exchanging expertise, and start-up financing for (potential) entrepreneurs. Political frameworks such as tax reliefs and suitable legal forms for businesses are also not yet fully developed.

Local Development Strategy Guidebook

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This guidebook is an outcome of the working group ‘Local development strategies for municipalities in MENA’. It outlines a comprehensive methodology for municipalities to develop strategic sustainable planning with a mid- and long-term vision.

The objectives include:

  • Strengthen Resilience and Capacity
  • Enhance Participatory Strategic Planning
  • Define Long-Term Development Strategies
  • Improve Local Services
  • Develop Project Card Templates

The manual also addresses the importance of having up-to-date data to improve the accuracy of analysis and decision-making processes. This includes staff training on data collection and interpretation methodologies.

Renewable Energy Options on the Municipal Level

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The continuation of the learning process on the topic of ‘Renewable energy options at municipal level’ brought together participants from six different countries in Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Municipal experts worked on project ideas in various learning units and were able to expand their skills and improve the planning of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects through peer-to-peer counselling.

The following project ideas were presented by the municipal representatives and further developed during the workshop:

  • Mostar and Sokolac: Development of sustainable financing concepts for the establishment and operation of energy community projects
  • Ceadir Lunga: Improving the energy efficiency of public buildings
  • Senaki: Implementation of energy-efficient technologies in municipal buildings
  • Priboj: Developing the use of solar energy in public buildings

The documentation summarises the main results.

Sustainable Low-Cost Housing in Sub-Saharan Africa

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The Working Group on Sustainable Low-Cost Housing for Sub-Saharan Africa held a successful kick-off workshop from June 4-6 in Windhoek, Namibia. This pivotal event brought together key stakeholders from across the region to address the pressing challenges of sustainable and affordable housing.

Graced by Namibia’s Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Hon. Erastus Uutoni, and other notable attendees, the workshop facilitated dynamic peer learning sessions among participating cities from Namibia, Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Rwanda, and Tanzania. The discussions focused on slum upgrading, funding mechanisms, and sustainable building technologies, with participants exchanging innovative solutions and best practices.

Notably, the workshop highlighted the importance of integrated planning and sustainable development, emphasizing the need for improved funding models, research into affordable building materials, and the expansion of social housing initiatives. The collaboration between cities, international organizations, and local institutions was a cornerstone of the event, ensuring a holistic approach to addressing the housing crisis.

La Union in Costa Rica: some valuable inspiration for reducing plastic waste

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La Union is well-known for its advocacy for a greener future. The city’s commitment to combating single-use plastic is an inspiring example to other communities.

Plastic waste is polluting the environment across almost the whole planet – in Augsburg in southern Germany and Irbid in Jordan, just as much as in Hawassa in Ethiopia or Kandy in Sri Lanka. And strategies for reducing this flood of plastic are similar the world over. In Costa Rica, the city administration of La Union decided it was worthwhile engaging in an exchange of expertise with other international municipalities on this topic. After launching a project to reduce plastic waste in 2018, the invitation from Connective Cities to participate in a dialogue event entitled Plastic waste – how municipal waste management can contribute to solving the problem in Hamburg in 2019 came at exactly the right time. Representatives from the city shared with other municipalities their successful approach to raising awareness among the population and within the retail trade. In return, they benefited from other delegates’ knowledge and insights – including in unexpected areas such as organic waste management.

La Union’s approach: awareness raising

When attempting to reduce plastic waste, there are many approaches, as became clear at the event: improving waste collection and separation at household level; building recycling centres; optimising sorting facilities; and raising awareness among the population and businesses on how to reduce plastic waste. The municipality of La Union has been focusing on the last of these since 2018, with its ‘Plan for reducing single-use plastic’. The plan has sought to replace plastic with reusable packaging or compostable solutions. The municipality’s focus is on the retail trade, restaurants, and individual consumers.

Strategies and tools for successful municipal election campaigns

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Planning a successful municipal election campaign involves several key elements that include understanding the political landscape, developing a campaign strategy, building a strong campaign team, creating a compelling message, fundraising, outreach and engagement, as well as utilizing media and technology. To delve into these topics, a workshop was held on the 29th July 2024 as part of the working groups’ activities. The workshop introduced the necessary strategies, tools, and practical steps to build successful election campaigns that bring women into leadership positions in municipalities. By showcasing experience from Germany and Lebanon, the participants have also discussed the challenges and obstacles that female candidates may face and ways to overcome them.