DIE’s colleague from the communication department ©Barbara Frommann
On 12 October 2019, the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), together with the German Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN Germany), participated at the United Nations Day on the market square in Bonn. Thanks to good weather conditions, many visitors came to the small tent city and informed themselves about the work of the UN, the SGDs and other Bonn-based actors in the field of international sustainability.
In the spirit of United Nation’s „Urban October“, DIE focused on SDG 11, sustainable cities and communities. We got into contact with visitors talking about our infographic on the global trend of urbanisation, the Klimalog project and various publications such as the Current Column on the role of cities in the Global Refugee Pact by Eva Dick or the recently published Discussion Paper by Charles Martin-Shields et al. on digitisation and migration.
SDSN Germany gave visitors a general overview of its networking activities at both national and global level. The focus was set on the communication of the SDGs, their importance for Germany and the role of the network in their implementation. Factsheets on the network were provided, just as the EU brochure „New Awakening for Europe“ prepared by SDSN Germany, the Humboldt Viadrina Governance Platform (HVGP) and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), which highlights the challenges and opportunities of the SGDs. In addition, the global network report was handed out, so that interested visitors could learn about the significance of sustainability around the world.
The interest was especially high among the international guests and so we were able to exchange with many exciting citizens and inform them about the work of DIE and SDSN Germany. In addition, guests of all ages could test their knowledge at the booth and quiz for our new sustainable and vegan gummi bears.
Our partners within the Bonn Alliance for Sustainable Research, the Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC) and the Right Livelihood College of the Center for Development Research (ZEF) had the neighboring booths presenting their workshop programmes, research and their yearly report. In addition to the UN, a large number of other actors working in development cooperation such as KfW, GIZ, German Doctors, Oro Verde, Rotary and Engagement Global were present. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) was also there. In their tent, you could see a 360-degree film on the consequences of climate change in Madagascar with VR glasses.
On the United Nations Day, the City of Bonn put great importance to the implementation of its sustainability policy. They provided regional catering for the participants and a zero waste packaging.