Stuttgart, November 29, 2017: Baden-Baden, Brühl, Dornstadt, Engen, Fellbach, Köngen, Karlsruhe, Lahr, Stuttgart and Ulm - these Baden-Württemberg municipalities and their local One World initiatives were recognized this year for their special commitment. With their activities during the One World Days in September and October, they showed that everyone can do something for fairer life chances worldwide. The award ceremony in the New Castle Stuttgart in the presence of Gisela Erler, State Councilor for Civil Society and Citizen Participation in the State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg, marked the conclusion of the Meine initiative. Your. One World. 2017. She presented the prizes during the awards ceremony. “The development policy initiatives supported by the country's committed citizens enjoy an excellent reputation. The citizens, civil society organizations and local administrations act pragmatically, are very motivated and have staying power,” said Erler.
“Development cooperation does not start in countries in the Global South, but here with us, right on our doorstep, in the communities. The many joint actions of creative and committed people from Baden-Württemberg create a network for more global responsibility,” said Philipp Keil, Executive Board of the Baden-Württemberg Development Cooperation Foundation (SEZ). The foundation calls for the My Initiative every two years. Your. One World. on, in 2017 for the second time in cooperation with the Service Office for Communities in One World (SKEW) from Engagement Global.
“This project is a success story that we owe to the outstanding commitment and tireless commitment of the municipalities and their citizens in Baden-Württemberg. Your numerous and diverse actions have shown us how local development policy can be implemented locally. In doing so, they make an effective contribution to the development policy approach of the state and federal government,” emphasized Annette Turmann, project manager at SKEW.
29 cities and municipalities as well as one district took part in the project in 2017 with around 360 events. The award winners particularly illustrated how the United Nations' 2030 Agenda with its 17 goals for sustainable development can be implemented. Goal 1, for example, is to end poverty in all forms and everywhere. And Goal 11 aims to make cities and settlements more sustainable.
The jury, which consisted of experts from the areas of municipalities, education and partnership work, placed particular emphasis on local networking, addressing target groups, public relations and its exemplary character for other initiatives.
About the award winners: Small municipalities
1st prize (5.000 euros each): The community Kings with its almost 10.000 inhabitants was part of the Meine initiative for the first time. Your. One World. The varied program with 23 events within one month was convincing. On the one hand, this required a high level of motivation from citizens and many fellow human beings who got involved and committed. Almost 20 different groups took part in the program in Köngen, including clubs, retail stores, church communities and the administration. The jury particularly highlighted this broad alliance of actors and the very good cooperation between the administration and civil society.
2nd prize (3.500 euros each): Dealing with difficult topics can be fun, that showed Dorn city and impressed with the action days for sustainability. Many events were invited with very attractive flyers and posters. For example, children designed a total of 1.001 globes, which were then auctioned off for a good cause. Footprints with tips for sustainable action were stuck on many corners of the community and serve as a reminder that everyone has a responsibility.
3rd prize (750 euros each): Engen and Brühl shared third place this year among the small municipalities. Impressive on bruhl was, among other things, the 20-year partnership with Dourtenga in Burkina Faso. The anniversary was an occasion to invite two representatives from West Africa. The visit was part of the Brühl Africa Days, which lasted several weeks. A municipal climate partnership was signed, thereby sending an important signal for the future. Engenhas 10.000 residents from 70 different nations. This wealth was used by citizens during the initiative, according to the jury. They looked at the influence current political events around the world have on the local population.
About the award winners: Medium-sized municipalities
1st prize (5.000 euros each): Fellbach particularly impressed with over 50 events with a total of more than 50 cooperation partners. The panel was particularly struck by the diversity of ideas behind their actions and the fact that each of the many actions was directly linked to one of the 17 SDGs. For example, the installation by students who piled up 2.100 coffee-to-go cups in front of the world shop. They had previously asked bakeries about the consumption of coffee to go and created display boards in order to start conversations with passers-by. This campaign sparked thoughts among broad sections of the population about what it would mean for the earth if everyone lived like we do here in Germany.
2st prize (3.500 euros each): Baden-Baden convinced the jury with the event program “Intercultural Weeks. Diversity connects. Arrived in Baden-Baden.” A particularly nice goal of the diverse events was to bring many people from different contexts together. The jury emphasized that this was particularly successful. One of the many activities was the photo exhibition “Lost” by the Syrian filmmaker Abdullah Rajab Almalla. This exhibition showed photographs of today's Aleppo under water in the lake at Augustaplatz. The destruction of the world cultural heritage and the fate of many people who remained at sea while fleeing should be symbolically remembered.
3rd prize (750 euros each): Fair trade and global learning were the focus of the event Lahrer Action days. Many events were related to the long-standing partnership with the Costa Rican city of Alajuela, with which it also maintains a municipal climate partnership. The jury also praised the fruitful interaction of the local network. This ensured that a broad audience was reached and topics could be discussed from different perspectives. According to the committee, this networking work symbolizes the need for global challenges to be solved only through equal distribution among many shoulders.
About the award winners: Large municipalities
1st prize (5.000 euros each): “Cities are central places of transformation.” The city used this slogan Stuttgart during the initiative My. Your. One World. particularly well and received first place in the competition among large municipalities. “The Stuttgart program, with its strong SDG reference, has a role model effect that radiates across the country,” was one of the jury’s reasons. In addition, Stuttgart was particularly successful in bringing together an alliance of different competitors. The state capital has committed to a permanent and strategic commitment.
2nd prize (3.500 euros each): An Karlsruhe The jury liked the attractive range of events, the mix of participants and the different venues. This variety of locations ensured a variety of visitors. “Fair trade works and creates prospects – in Burundi” Under this motto, Karlsruhe has focused on two major topic areas this year and linked them together. Karlsruhe fan coffee has been available since this September - a fair city coffee from Burundi. This coffee is another building block in the partnership work with the East African partner country.
3st prize (1.500 euros each): Ulm occupied with the event program “My. Your. One World. and the Ulm Peace Weeks” came third. For over six weeks, the people of Ulm dealt with peace and war, but also with the creation of fair and social conditions for inner peace in a society, in different event formats and in different locations. A broad audience was reached, which the jury particularly praised.
The approximately 160 guests at the evening included representatives from all the municipal networks involved, as well as high-ranking representatives from politics and administration, including federal and state representatives and mayors. Silke Arning from SWR moderated the evening.
Prizes of €5.000, €3.500 and €1.500 were awarded for three large, medium and small municipalities each. The prize money goes to the designers and organizers of the joint program and is earmarked for development activities.
About my. Your. One World.
The initiative, launched by the SEZ in 2006, has taken place seven times so far. In total, almost 90 different municipalities in Baden-Württemberg took part, many of them several times. In 2017, eight municipalities took part for the first time. The aim is to raise awareness of global issues, encourage responsible actions in everyday life and strengthen local networks. Mine. Your. One World. is part of the SEZ Partnership Center and takes place as part of the One World Promoter Program.
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