Combining new bio-based building materials, overcoming traditional mindsets and forming new alliances to ultimately bring about a sustainability turnaround in the construction sector. These were the topics of an international dialogue event organized by Connective Cities that allowed participants to learn about good practice examples, exchange ideas and get involved in discussions. 

Municipalities from Morocco, Germany, Kenya, Egypt and Ukraine are taking part in the "Deep Dive", a new Connective Cities format. Over a period of two years, six municipalities are working together by using innovative methods and involving further experts with the aim to find solutions for mitigating the effects of climate-related heat in their cities.

In October 2023, Connective Cities took the opportunity to present the results of the Learning Process on "Action for Cool Cities" at various international conferences such as the Adaptation Futures conference, organized by CitiesAdpat, at the 59th ISOCARP World Planning Congress and at the Urban Thinker Campus "Heat Stress Resilience: Translating Strategy into Urban Climate Actions" in Cairo.

35 urban practitioners from 19 municipalities across 8 countries convened in Tiblisi, Georgia to exchange their experiences. Representatives from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Germany, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, and Ukraine collaborated, shared valuable insights and collectively crafted innovative solutions for sustainable energy practices at the municipal level.

From 16 to 20 October, 2023, three municipal experts from Bonn, Cologne and Wuppertal traveled to Makati City and Quezon City in Metro Manila for a local project workshop on "Citizen Engagement in Disaster Management and Promotion of Inclusive Human Resource Development in the Fire Service". The collaboration was initiated at an international dialog event organized by Connective Cities in March 2023 and is proving to be very fruitful for both sides.

Connective Cities organized an expert forum under the slogan #buildbackbetter at the sixth German-Ukrainian municipal partnership conference in Leipzig on 14 November 2023. From urgent relief aid to reconstruction planning - despite the ongoing war and limited resources, Ukraine is taking a strategic approach to rebuild the damages caused by the Russian attacks. The cities and their municipal partnerships can play an important role in this process.

From November 7th till the 9th in eThekwini, 12 cities from 14 countries, joined by experts from academia, NGO's and across different levels of government met in eThekwini for the Second Live Event for the Learning Process on Flood Risk Management for Risk Informed Urban Development. Collectively, they engaged in peer-to-peer exchanges, to further enhance and develop the project ideas, to reduce existing urban risk, prevent creation of new risks and ensuring that development in these cities become resilient and risk informed.

Actively promoting municipal friendships beyond national borders - this is what the cooperation program "Expert Fund for Municipal Partnerships Worldwide" by Engagement Global/Service Agency Communities in One World and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) does. The Expert Fund supports municipal partnerships through the deployment of experts who are actively involved in the implementation of joint projects in the partner municipality for two years.
Please note: Applications must be submitted by a German municipality.