Governmental organization

The Free State of Saxony supports the goal of a sustainable develop-ment according to the Millennium Declaration of the United Nations 2000. Sharing the responsibility with the federal government and the municipalities, the state of Saxony attempts to contribute to and promote development cooperation. This was reconfirmed through the signing of the 2014 Resolution on Development Policy of the Minister Presidents of the German Federal States.

The Free State of Saxony supports the goal of a sustainable develop-ment according to the Millennium Declaration of the United Nations 2000. Sharing the responsibility with the federal government and the municipalities, the state of Saxony attempts to contribute to and promote development cooperation. This was reconfirmed through the signing of the 2014 Resolution on Development Policy of the Minister Presidents of the German Federal States.

For a long time now, Hamburg has contributed to sustainable development on a global scale. Projects and measures of development cooperation abroad just as development education and information are the most significant features of Hamburg’s development policy.

The support of projects abroad focuses on the areas of eliminating the causes of poverty, on fostering gender mainstreaming, improving health care as well as on measures for environment and resource protection. On the other hand, a further focus area is the  improvement of the municipal infrastructure in urban areas.

Of special significance are measures to improve the general living conditions in León (Nicaragua), twin city of Hamburg since 1989, and in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), twin city of Hamburg since 2010, with which the development of a municipal climate partnership has been in place since 2011. In 2005, the Senate of Hamburg created the Foundation Asia-Bridge (Stiftung Asien-Brücke) as an independent promotional instrument for sustainable development projects in South and South East Asia. The municipality of Hamburg also supports directly non-governmental groups and initiatives in order to encourage the commitment of the civil society as well as to raise awareness on development aspects.

Measures for professional development are important complements of project funding. By providing research fellowships, Hamburg invites, above all, specialists from Nicaragua, Tanzania and India to Hamburg to take part in qualification programs.

Hamburg appreciates the work of its active citizens in the field of development policy and awareness-raising and cooperates with numerous non-governmental organizations and initiatives. Especially the support of the Hamburg One-World Network (Eine-Welt-Netzwerk Hamburg e. V.) is a vivid example of the close cooperation with actors of the civil society. Since 2006, the Hamburg Senate participates in the Network Fair Hamburg (Hamburg mal fair), a cooperation network of several local actors in the field of development educational
and information work that aims to promote Fair Trade. Since 2008, Hamburg’s public procurement entities demand that tenders include a declaration of compliance with the ILO core labor standards in the production process of goods that are delivered to Hamburg. In 2011, Hamburg was awarded the title Fair Trade City. Hamburg contributes to the “One-World”-Promoters Program (Fachpromotorenprogram) with three appointments, one related to Fair Trade, another to Migration, Diaspora and Development and the other to Global Learning.

In the orientation of its development activities the Senate consults the appointed Hamburger Council for Sustainable Development Policy (Hamburger Rat für nachhaltige Entwicklungspolitik).

Hamburg’s development policy extends to further areas in which it has special resources and expertise such as North-South research at the German Institute for Global Area Studies (GIGA), cultural dialogue with countries in the Global South, promotion of South-North trade as well as research and education in the field of tropical medicine.

*What is CHAT between WORLDS?*
CHAT between WORLDS combines global learning with digital media. The programme is designed to address the perspectives of various target groups living in Asia, Africa, Latin America, or Southeast Europe: School classes and individuals can exchange experiences with students in Germany through online communication. That way, CHAT between the WORLDS overcomes geographical distances and offers the opportunity for authentic and personal encounters. School classes of all school types with students from the age of 10 can take part.

*What does a virtual exchange look like?*
At CHAT between WORLDS, there are two forms of CHATs: peer-to-peer CHATs and expert CHATs. During peer-to-peer CHATs, children and young people get in touch with school classes in Germany. While during expert CHATs, professionals share their expertise with students in Germany online. Depending on time differences and local internet connections, the virtual exchange can take place via live stream or via video messages. Before each CHAT, participants are prepared for the CHAT topic using methods of Global Learning. Both the content of the exchange and the rules of conduct during the CHAT are drawn up in advance. Through question and answer sessions, the participants learn with and from each other. However, other forms of digital experiences are also possible: For example, a digital scavenger hunt, a jointly designed online pin board, or a cooking campaign across the globe. The common languages of the virtual exchange are French, English, Spanish or German.
After the CHAT, the participants reflect on the knowledge and impressions they gained during the CHAT. The students are encouraged to think about their own courses of action, plan their own projects and subsequently implement them independently.

*Who is organizing CHAT between WORLDS?*
CHAT between WORLDS is implemented by five civil organisations in seven federal states of Germany (Baden-Wuerttemberg, Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia). CHAT between WORLDs is coordinated by Engagement Global gGmbH with funds from the Ministry of economic Cooperation and Development.

The Bavarian State Center for Political Education serves the purpose to support and strengthen the philosophy of a liberal democratic  system of government in the knowledge of the population as a non-partisan organization. To realize this purpose the Bavarian State Center offers a wide range of publications und educational programs for different target groups and cooperates with other organizations, that attend to civic education and further education.