Dear readers,

‘Many ideas grow better when they are transplanted into a different mind than the one in which they originated.’ This quote from the American doctor and writer Oliver Wendell Holmes aptly describes the secret to the success of the events in this newsletter issue:

Experts from Germany, Kenya, Palestine and Montenegro inspire each other with their concepts and experiences on how the potential of vacant public buildings can be better utilised through temporary use.

Amman's city administration, the Greater Amman Municipality, has drawn up the first Voluntary Local Review in the Arab world in an extensive participatory process lasting almost two years. It is now accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and transforming the metropolis of four million people into a city worth living in.

The SDG localisation process in South Africa was even more extensive, involving all relevant ministries, 14 municipalities, including all major cities and metropolitan regions, UCLG, UN-Habitat and other stakeholders. Under the coordination of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), 10 VLRs were created within eight months and an exchange platform was established.

The partnership between Dabola, Guinea and Dortmund is also bearing fruit in the reorganisation of waste management in Dabola.

Finally, we would like to invite you to our next Insight Session on 20 March at 10:30 am CET during which decentralised cooperation and heritage-based tourism will be explicitly acknowledged.

We wish you exciting reading
Your Connective Cities Team

Vacant buildings have untapped potential in many respects, both for the community and for urban development. In addition, there is a loss of building fabric, littering and vandalism with security risks. How can vacancies be avoided? Experts from Germany, Kenya, Palestine and Montenegro discussed opening up public buildings for interim use in a virtual meeting.

With four million inhabitants, the Jordanian capital is home to around 40 percent of the country's total population. In 2021, Amman's city administration, the Greater Amman Municipality, decided to create a VLR - the first in the Arab region. In the summer of 2022, the VLR was completed and presented together with the Voluntary National Review at the UN High-Level Political Forum in New York. The VLR has proven to be a complete success - both as an analytical tool and as a process...

At the suggestion of the UN and as part of a comprehensive multi-stakeholder approach, the government of South Africa, together with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and 14 municipalities, including all major cities and metropolitan regions, initiated a remarkable process to localize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, from which ten Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) with many other very positive downstream impacts were created in just eight months. Unique!

Dabola is struggling with the challenges of rapid population growth and inadequate waste management, which pose a serious threat to residents and the local ecosystem. In 2019, a strategic partnership between Dabola and Dortmund (Germany) was established to address these issues. A comprehensive waste management plan, developed with the participation of all relevant stakeholders, has since brought about very positive change in the city.

On 20 March, the International Day of Happiness, Connective Cities will host an Insight Session celebrating the transformative role of decentralised cooperation in promoting sustainable development. Participants will gain insights into successful tourism strategies from different municipalities - inspiring how partnerships can be used to achieve local and global goals.