Governmental organization

Among the main activities related to development cooperation in the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt are development information activities, education and publicity work, as well as the support of non-governmental development organisations (NGOs) including corresponding network structures, practiceoriented education and training of foreign specialists, as well as supporting measures for humanitarian aid.

The co-ordination of the development cooperation of Saxony-Anhalt is held by the Ministry of Economy, Science and Digitalisation (Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und Digitalisierung). The main development cooperation activities are rooted in the Development
Policy Guidelines, which were compiled by more than 70 development organisations, groups and associations and then adopted by the state government of Saxony-Anhalt in 2000.

Development NGOs are supported as responsible entities for measures promoting development education and information activities, educational and publicity work and support of Fair Trade in Germany as well as for projects in developing and emerging countries. Target groups are kindergartens, schools, teachers and educators. The promotion of development-related education measures in Saxony-Anhalt aims at strengthening the civil society’s understanding of and commitment to „One-World“ problems.

Besides promoting awarenessraising, the project „ Fair Saxony-Anhalt - Sustainable Procurement“ (Faires Sachsen-Anhalt - nachhaltige Beschaffung) also provided companies and administrations with necessary information about the sustainable procurement of goods. Forums for employees have been organised as well.

Apart from NGOs, the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt also closely cooperates with the GIZ GmbH (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) in many projects.

The projects supported abroad by Saxony-Anhalt aim directly at sustainable improvements of the population’s living conditions in developing and emerging countries. The guiding principle for these measures is the concept of „help for self-help“.

To take over responsibility for a sustainable development together with countries of the south and to accompany processes of the globalization, is an important part of the free Hanseatic town, Bremen. The Bremen development cooperation makes a contribution to the millennium sighting of the United Nations, to poverty fight, ecological lastingness, strengthening of the human rights and democratic structures. At the same time the development cooperation shows an important element of the international relations of Bremen and protects positive repercussions for the location.

The main focuses are:

• Social-appropriate and environmentally sound projects
• International qualification measures oriented to economy
•  Developing-political work of information and educational work

Bremen promotes projects which should protect basic needs and contribute to the protection of the environment and natural resources. Besides, knowledge management and knowledge transfer as well as the support of self-help potentials are in the foreground also like participative planning processes and ecologically friendly technologies.

Bremen promotes, together with the alliance, international programs to the qualification oriented economy of professional forces and executives from countries of the south. Besides, Bremen as a partner for sustainable development introduces his competence actively and uses the contacts also for the construction more internationally of economic relations. The main emphasis form the main focus in the maritime area like decentralized harbor development, logistics and coastal zone management.

The aim of the developing-political work of information and educational work is to anchor third world aid policy socially better and to contribute to the acquisition of creation competence in a globalized world. Bremen promotes suitable programs of extracurricular educational institutions at school and NGO as a contribution to the conversion of the aims of the UN decade „education for sustainable development“.

For many years Bremen co-operates with the cities of Pune/India, Windhoek/Namibia and Durban / South Africa. Environmental protection and resource protection as well as cultural exchange play a central role in the cooperation. Since 2010 Bremen builds up with the twin town Durban topically a developing partnership for climate and resources protection. Since 2011 Bremen carries the title „Capital of fair trade“. Numerous innovative activities and the support of a big network of the most different actors serve increasingly to move the subject fair trade in the middle of the Bremen society.