The aim of the conference, entitled "Building Bridges between Cities in Europe and Worldwide - Joining Hands for Localising the SDGs", is to exchange technical information, jointly discuss project ideas for the local implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and initiate further networking between the partner cities. The focus is on personal exchange between the partner cities and the City of Bonn, which has been severely limited over the past two and a half years due to the pandemic. The conference is intended to give new impetus to cooperation and twinning arrangements.
Representatives from Bonn's project partner cities Bukhara (Uzbekistan), Cape Coast (Ghana) and La Paz (Bolivia) as well as from Bonn's twin cities of Oxford (Great Britain) and Opole (Poland) will be present. In addition, the city of Ramallah (Palestine), with which Bonn has been cooperating for several years, is also taking part. The various twinning associations are also participating in the conference.
Deputy Mayor Dr. Ursula Sautter has opened the conference in the Old Town Hall this morning. The United Nations Systems Staff College, based in Bonn, will present the 2030 Agenda with its sustainable development goals and the commitment of the Bonn-based UN organizations to achieving these goals. Cities and municipalities around the world play a central role in implementing the 2030 Agenda with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
During the three days of the conference, the partner cities will therefore outline how the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals is being tackled in their cities. For example, the representative from the Polish city of Opole will present her approaches to democratization and citizen participation, while the head of planning from La Paz will report on how sustainability reporting is done in Paz. The representative from Oxford will present, among other things, the efforts of the city of Oxford for a clean green energy supply. Other topics around the Sustainable Development Goals that will be covered at the conference include inclusion and culture, climate neutrality and disaster preparedness.
Tuesday afternoon's program includes a tour of Bonn's sustainability sites. Together, the participants will visit the Bonn Energy Agency, the Learning Garden at the House of Education, studio bnx of Bonn’s City Museum and the 17 Goals Zone at Friedrichstrasse. As a public event of the conference, an SDG pub quiz in English will be taking place at John Barleycorn, Heerstraße 52, starting at 8 p.m. on Sept. 27.
Funding for the conference is provided by the Service Agency Communities in One World of Engagement Global with funds from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Background: Bonn and the United Nations 2030 Agenda
In 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. With the 2030 Agenda, the global community has set itself 17 goals (SDGs) for socially, economically and ecologically sustainable development. Cities and municipalities also have an important role to play in achieving the 2030 Agenda. According to an OECD study, 65 percent of all sub-goals of the 17 SDGs cannot be achieved without the participation of cities.
In February 2016, the city of Bonn was one of the first German cities to join the model resolution "Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development: Shaping Sustainability at the Municipal Level" of the German Association of Cities and Towns and the German section of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions.
As one of 15 pilot municipalities in NRW, Bonn participated in two phases of the "Globally Sustainable Municipality in NRW" project from 2016 to 2022. As part of this project, the city of Bonn developed its first sustainability strategy, which was adopted by the City Council in 2019 and has produced a sustainability report (Voluntary Local Review) in accordance with the Sustainable Municipality Reporting Framework in 2022.