Development cooperation

For over 30 years, INKOTA has been an ecumenical network of development-oriented grassroots organizations, parishes, fair-trade stores, and individuals.
We align ourselves with the worldwide movement of the critics of globalization and therefore, work for a world in which the human needs and interests of all people count more than the economic interests of a privileged group. Hereby we link our support for our partner groups in the South with public awareness building vis-a-vis development issues in Germany.

The Karl Kübel Foundation is a foundation that carries out activities in Germany as well as activities in the fields of development cooperation and development education.

One World work, World Church theology, intercultural communication and conflict management are the areas in which many committed people have taken seminars and continuing education courses at our head mission office for more than ten years now.

Process-Oriented Themes
The process-oriented themes are related in an interactive process involving participants and partners as well as experts in the head mission office: from Dialog Lernen (learning the dialog - 1992), Nachhaltige Solidarität (sustainable solidarity- 1995), and Neue Nachbarschaften (new neighbors - 1999),  to today's main focus on Differenzen und Allianzen (differences and alliances) as well as Solidarkompetenz (solidarity competence).

Within the framework of the 'A Soul for Europe' program, the 'Ecumenical Village' (Graz, 1997) and 'Neue Modelle von Solidarität im heutigen Europa lehren und lernen' (teaching and learning new models of solidarity in today's Europe) 2000/2001, have represented important contributions.

Recognition
These programs have been and continue to be supported by the European Union as well as church and state authorities.

Solidarity workshops represent high-quality continuing education measures for students of social and educational professions, members of social groups and programs focus on:

    Agenda 2000
    the monitoring of the financial markets (ATTAC)
    One World
    minority problems
    topics on environmental/ecological sustainability
    the gender issue

in Central Europe (at present Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, the Netherlands, and Germany).

Members of social movements and the movements for the landless, women, Blacks and the indigenous people participate from Brazil and India. Training for solidarity competence deals with solidarity in the political domain, professionalism and personality, differences and conflicts, and of boundaries and culture.

Target groups are:

    returnees from Third World countries
    committed individuals in the area of solidarity work
    training groups such as university seminars and
    training  for pastors and deacons.

 

Description of the organization:

The Ministry of Education and Culture in Saarland is responsible for the topic of development cooperation. The goal is to work closely with actors from civil society and the municipal level who are active in development policy. Together with these partners, the Saarland assumes global responsibility. This includes fostering partnerships with countries and regions of the global South and promoting development policy information and education as well as civic engagement for the One World.

Goals and priorities

Since development cooperation is above all a task for society as a whole, the successful work of private initiatives, the churches and other non-governmental organizations in particular receives financial and non-material support. Saarland organizations working in and for South-North partnerships network with each other. Together, the state government and civil society want to make a concrete contribution to fighting poverty worldwide, securing peace, realizing democracy and making globalization fairer.

Particular importance is attached to the open and cooperative exchange of all actors in development policy work, both in global partnerships and in information and education work. In order to promote this exchange, the Ministry of Education and Culture invites to the open forum on development cooperation twice a year.

The Saarland Development Cooperation Guidelines were adopted by the Saarland Parliament in March 2017 and are the result of a development process with the active participation of civil society and Saarland non-governmental organizations. They represent the framework of Saarland's development cooperation and are intended to strengthen existing structures, initiatives and activities. They serve as orientation and form the basis for Saarland's future development policy relevant engagement.

The fields of action of Saarland's development cooperation are:

- development policy information, advisory and educational work

- science, research and teaching

- international exchange

- economy, enterprises, public administrations and municipalities

- international trade and agricultural policy

- North-South partnerships/cooperations

- impact of European policy on countries of the global south

Since 2018, the State Coordination Office for Education for Sustainable Development has been the key position for the structural anchoring of Education for Sustainable Development in school education. With the state coordination office, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is systematically and structurally anchored in the education sector. In order to link global interrelationships and individual behavior, even schoolchildren are to be sensitized to sustainable development.

There are also far-reaching efforts in the area of fair trade/sustainable procurement. For example, with the decision of the Council of Ministers on May 2, 2023, fair trade coffee and another fair trade product - such as chocolate, tea or sugar - will be used in all houses of the state government from July 1, 2023. "If you want to have good working conditions in your own country, you cannot save on the price of coffee, cocoa or sugar at the expense of people in the global south. Therefore, in the future, there will be fair trade products in the areas of the ministers, the Prime Minister, but also in the hospitality of guests," explains Secretary of State for Education Jan Benedyczuk. With this decision, the state government has launched the "Fair Federal State" project. With this, Saarland will be the first federal state to submit an application for certification as a Fairtrade federal state in the fall of 2023. The certification is intended to structurally anchor Fair Trade in Saarland.

There are also far-reaching efforts in the area of fair trade/sustainable procurement. For example, with the decision of the Council of Ministers on May 2, 2023, fair trade coffee and another fair trade product - such as chocolate, tea or sugar - will be used in all houses of the state government from July 1, 2023. "If you want to have good working conditions in your own country, you cannot save on the price of coffee, cocoa or sugar at the expense of people in the global south. Therefore, in the future, there will be fair trade products in the areas of the ministers, the Prime Minister, but also in the hospitality of guests," explains Secretary of State for Education Jan Benedyczuk. With this decision, the state government has launched the "Fair Federal State" project. With this, Saarland will be the first federal state to submit an application for certification as a Fairtrade federal state in the fall of 2023. The certification is intended to structurally anchor Fair Trade in Saarland.

The application documents must be submitted to the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Saarland by December 31 of the previous year at the latest for the budget year of the funding. For project funding within the framework of development cooperation, the guidelines of development cooperation of the Saarland apply as a content-related framework. The legal framework for funding is formed by the guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Culture for the granting of subsidies for the funding of projects within the framework of development cooperation, as amended from time to time.