As part of the Connective Cities learning process on Urban Gardening, a virtual dialogue event was organised and hosted together with the city of Berlin in April 2021. The cities of Maputo and Berlin actively participated in the dialogue event and their experts had the opportunity to present their districts experiences on urban gardening and environmental protection projects.

One of the outcomes of the event was the interest in further exchange on the thematic. Therefore, Connective Cities supported the cities of Maputo and Berlin by organising a virtual project workshop on 15 December 2021. This virtual exchange strengthened the municipal partnership and its cooperation, which has been in place since 1995. Experts from both cities shared ideas and experiences on how to improve the economic situation in the cities while working towards environmental and climate protection. Topics that have been the focus of the partnership since 2015.

During the session, it became clear that the involvement of the population and the younger generations plays a major role. In both cities, there is a variety of good practice projects in the field of environmental education to create an awareness among the younger generations. In such projects, pupils learn about the importance of protecting the environment and the impact of their actions. In so-called green classrooms or environmental clubs, students from Maputo, for example, get to know more about recycling systems or waste separation. At the same time, the school organises events to reach and involve other people outside of school.

An important achievement for KaMubukwana is winning award as the cleanest neighbourhood in Maputo, Mozambique. This mention and all the ideas during the virtual exchange motivated Maputo and Berlin to continue collaboration and sharing expertise beyond the virtual session supported by Connective Cities.

There are many different ideas that arise during the exchange to continue educational projects, such as the production of green compost, the expansion of greenhouses and green landscapes or functional irrigation systems. All these projects would benefit and support the efficient cultivation throughout the community.

As a next step, both cities want to develop a structural project plan to identify and prioritise project ideas according to their needs. This project plan will set the first steps for mutual implementation.

Another topic mentioned during the session, which called attention for future cooperation, is the strengthening of the health care system to achieve the implementation of solidarity and preventive actions. This topic will be further discussed and should achieved through intense cooperation between the cities.