In March 2020 the Connective Cities team asked themselves: What are the topics on which the municipalities have the greatest need to dialogue? Which topics concern municipalities in Germany, what problems do municipalities in Jordan or Brazil face, and which themes are of global interest? Through their network the municipalities called on municipalities to propose themes for the expert dialogue, and interviewed municipal experts on their most urgent needs. This led to of a programme of events that covered a wide range of municipal fields of action, and that was adjusted continuously as the situation unfolded.

One topic covered by the online events was public crisis management. Here it emerged that municipalities' leeway for action varies widely. If national governments such as the one in Brazil play down the coronavirus, for instance, it is much more difficult for municipalities to push through preventive measures. Digitalisation was also a constantly recurring topic, because worldwide many adults are switching to working from home digitally, and children and teenagers are switching to homeschooling. Online meetings and digital lessons were supposed to become the new normal. Wherever the digital infrastructure was lacking, however, this did not work. This is an immense problem, particularly for school education in developing countries. Digital solutions also play a pivotal role in tracing chains of infection, and municipalities need to act swiftly in order to significantly increase their capabilities in this regard.

Some events were designed for municipalities that need to overcome specific challenges in a particular region of the world. On 27 August, for instance, 17 municipalities from the Middle East met online to discuss their respective strategies for containing the pandemic in local communities hosting large numbers of refugees, particularly from Syria. By contrast, the two virtual dialogue weeks held in November and December 2020 discussed scaling up local knowledge and expertise to municipal actors worldwide.

Taking stock

Felix Reifschneider from the BMZ Division 'Federal states, local authorities' believes the international expert dialogue was a complete success. At the concluding event he said: 'COVID-19 threatens to undo the development success stories of recent years and decades, because developing countries are so hard hit by the pandemic.' He added that this was why the swiftly launched dialogue between municipalities worldwide was so important – because it made the good practice examples quickly available to practitioners.

In her concluding words, Sabine Drees of the Association of German Cities emphasised that many presentations had impressively demonstrated one thing: that municipalities, which are generally well placed to perform their task of delivering basic public services, were not only better able to cope with the current coronavirus crisis, but also enjoy greater trust among citizens. In the future this will move decentralisation further up the agenda worldwide, she added.

Using digital platforms on this scale was a first not only for work in the municipalities, but also for the expert dialogue. Ricarda Meissner, who is responsible for Connective Cities at the GIZ, said: 'Developing joint solutions across continents in an entirely virtual space worked much better than expected.'

Next steps

Along with the many good practice examples, the participants also raised many questions to which they have no answers as yet. Torben Heinemann for instance, Head of the Office of Transport and Civil Engineering in the City of Leipzig, sees COVID-19 as posing major challenges for public transport. Amongst other things, he asks how public transport companies can secure their long-term financing if in the future more people work from home instead of using the bus or the train to get to work.

Questions like this, to which answers are still lacking in many places, are on the agenda for further dialogue in 2021. The envisaged dialogues will address fewer topics. Instead, they will focus more closely on developing specific projects to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The content covered will include reviving the local economy, vaccination strategies and urban mobility.

Anyone who was unable to attend any of the more than 50 events has not missed anything for good, because the presentations and the video recordings of the individual sessions will remain available on the Connective Cities website for a long time.

Connective Cities has also had translated an e-learning course and a textbook on municipal crisis management published by the Academy of Public Health Services in Düsseldorf. These translations will enable municipalities outside the German-speaking countries to also use the course and the book. The materials convey the fundamentals, methods and principles that municipalities can apply in order to prepare for minor and major crises. The focus is on crisis management in public health and public administration.

A diverse city like Stuttgart must make its communication on the COVID-19 crisis international, integrative and inclusive. Ultimately, information on containing the pandemic needs to reach all sections of the population, including vulnerable groups such as the elderly, people with disabilities and refugees. The city therefore uses various channels of communication such as in-person visits to senior citizens' homes, social media, brochures and video clips in several languages, including sign language.

The company operating Stuttgart's trams and buses (SBB) has also adopted an inclusive approach to communication. Information is delivered through television ads, in-tram and on-platform announcements, and direct passenger outreach through social media and posters. SBB's competition for designing face masks, for example, turned out to be a real attention grabber.

One of the lessons learned from the activities in Stuttgart was that groups particularly hard hit by the pandemic, and actors who can inspire trust and confidence, should be included in communication early on. For example, refugees in the city were actively involved in the production of videos, which also strengthened the refugees’ role in local society. The most important thing of all, though, is to stay in touch! More