On 26 January, around 50 delegates from municipal utilities, municipalities and public authorities met online for the second round of 'Local Meets Global'. This time, the focus was on southern Germany, and the interplay between municipalities and utilities in the context of development cooperation. The conference was supported by the Baden-Württemberg Association of Cities and Towns and the German Water Partnership (GWP).

In his welcome address, Dr Tobias Bringmann, Managing Director of the VKU's Baden-Württemberg regional group, emphasised the steady growth in the engagement of utilities.

He began with an overview of the opportunities for utilities to engage, explaining the levels and actors involved in development cooperation in Baden-Württemberg, as well as the relevant contact points. It became clear that utility partnerships have emerged as one of the most worthwhile models for utilities in the field of development cooperation. Maria König and Heiko Heidemann of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) explained in detail the approach and the inputs offered by the utility platform project.

The participants then went on to attend the breakout forums for their respective specialist areas. In the water forum, Lukas Günther from Gelsenwasser, Germany presented their utility partnership with Lukanga, Zambia. He also showed how the lessons learned in the project are also enriching work here in Germany.

The day was then rounded off by a presentation of the various services offered by the Service Agency Communities in One World/Engagement Global, with a special focus on fair procurement and the Sustainability Compass.

The conference concluded with a summary dialogue between the responsible delegates from the municipalities and utilities. Dr Claudia Wendland from HAMBURG WASSER, and former mayor of the City of Ludwigsburg, Konrad Seigfried, underlined how good cooperation can succeed and how partnerships benefit from the interaction between the different actors.