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International Community of Practice for Sustainable Municipal Development |
NEWSLETTER – ISSUE NO. 90, December 2025 |
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Dear readers,
‘Only nature can teach us creation, can teach us creativity. Our true illiteracy is the inability to be creative,’ wrote artist, painter and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser in 1983 in his manuscript ‘Concrete Utopias for the Green City’.
Inspired by this quote, in this issue we look back at a dialogue event in Bonn, where creative minds came together to innovatively combine various forms of CO₂-free mobility. It also marks the start of a new learning process on the topic, which we will continue in 2026.
We provide insights into how cities in Germany and sub-Saharan Africa are converting and expanding their infrastructure for green hydrogen, thereby boosting the local economy. Taking nature as our model, we invite your municipality to participate in our two-year learning process, exploring the most creative options for protection against drought and heavy rainfall. We would also like to cordially invite you to join our learning process on ‘Green Corridors in Germany and the MENA Region’. Connective Cities is also starting the new year with three additional strong partners. We will briefly introduce them and outline the topics that we would like to explore in greater depth together with you. We wish you happy holidays and a good start to the new year.
Sincerely
Your Connective Cities Team | | |
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REVIEW |
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Combination of future-proof mobility forms |
Kick-Off of the New Learning Process on Sustainable Mobility in Bonn |
From 25 to 27 November, Connective Cities hosted a dialogue event in Bonn. 38 experts from 20 municipalities in 11 countries followed the invitation to share their innovative project approaches with colleagues and collaborate on new implementation ideas. Small municipalities such as Schlangen in the Teutoburg Forest, with a population of around 9,000, were represented, as well as metropolises with millions of inhabitants, such as Rio de Janeiro and Munich. The innovative approaches were equally diverse. |
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INSIGHTS |
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| | Green Hydrogen for local economic development |
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Unlocking the potential of new technologies at the local level |
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Green hydrogen is rapidly gaining global prominence as a crucial energy carrier for the future. For many African countries, abundant solar and wind resources give cities a unique advantage, positioning them not only as innovation hubs but also as centers for technology transfer, workforce training, and industrial diversification. By integrating sustainable use of green hydrogen into urban planning, municipalities can enhance energy security, attract long-term investment, and build more resilient, climate-friendly local economies—ultimately becoming key drivers in the global clean-energy transition. |
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OUTLOOK |
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| | Water resilience – Municipalities strengthen themselves against drought and heavy rainfall events |
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Call for participants: Connective Cities Deep Dive – a two-year learning process with a kick-off event in Germany in March 2026 |
Local authorities are facing challenges due to climate change and soil sealing, with more frequent droughts, heavy rainfall and flooding. In Germany and the Global South, innovative solutions are currently being promoted and rapidly tested. Connective Cities is therefore offering an in-depth learning process on this topical and highly relevant issue, and we warmly invite interested local authorities to participate. |
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| | Green corridors in the city and its surroundings |
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Invitation to the Kickoff Workshop, 7–9 April 2026 (TBC), Egypt |
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Green corridors improve urban microclimates, enhance public spaces, and support municipalities in adapting to climate change. In the new one-year Connective Cities Learning Process MENA, professionals from Germany and the MENA region will jointly develop practical, co-creative and actionable solutions for green corridors in their local contexts.
We warmly invite you to join the kickoff workshop and contribute your project idea or challenge to the learning process. |
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| | Stronger Together: The New Partners of Connective Cities |
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The German County Association, the German Association of Towns and Municipalities and the Association of Public Utilities are now part of the Steering Committee |
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More municipal voices, more exchange, more joint creative power – Connective Cities is entering the next phase with an expanded group of partners. We introduce our partners and outline the thematic priorities for the coming year. Take a look! |
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Engagement Global gGmbH
Service Agency Communities in One World
Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 40, 53113 Bonn | Deutschland
Kontakt: Sibylle Loyeau
Email: sibylle.loyeau@engagement-global.de Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 32 + 36, 53113 Bonn | Deutschland
Kontakt: Ricarda Meissner
Email: ricarda.meissner@giz.de |
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