weltwärts
informs
weltwärts
informs
Learning together – taking action together: looking back on the partner conference in South Africa
The weltwärts partner conference for Southern Africa was held in late March. The focus was on networking among partner organisations and sharing knowledge on the education and mentoring of volunteers.
Representatives of partner organisations from Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and South Africa attended the five-day event along with representatives from German implementing organisations and the Programme Steering Committee (PSC) in Cape Town. 61 people attended in total.
Frederike Wagner from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) gave the opening speech at the conference, emphasising the importance of the weltwärts programme to the Ministry. Tanja Werheit, the German Consul General, also had kind words to say about the programme in her introductory speech, emphasising the particular importance of international partnerships during challenging times.
The conference was host to animated discussion and in-depth networking. The focus was on sharing knowledge on the education and mentoring of volunteers and the future of the programme. As well as subject-specific work, key goals of the conference also included getting to know each other personally and cementing existing partnerships. SAwN, the weltwärts network for Southern Africa, took the opportunity to engage in dialogue with its members.
The Programme Steering Committee presented the various stakeholders in the weltwärts joint operation and described potential avenues for collaboration. The partner organisations expressed the desire to participate directly in managing the programme. The Programme Steering Committee will address this request in one of its upcoming meetings.
The BMZ outlined the dwindling application numbers in the North-South component and the need to diversify areas of deployment for volunteers in order to appeal to more young people. The partner organisations received this suggestion with interest and proposed potential new areas where volunteers could be deployed in their projects.
The conference was supplemented by a varied evening programme and accompanying programme. For example, attendees got to see Cape Town as part of a city tour and visit various places of assignment in the surrounding area. The conference was hosted by Play Handball South Africa in cooperation with the German Red Cross in Hessen Volunta.
Eindrücke der Partnerkonferenz in Südafrika
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The various organisations introducing themselves. -
Dorothea Werfel and Isabel Schug from the weltwärts coordination unit were in attendance. -
Attendees let their hair down and danced at the reception in the German Embassy building. -
Frederike Wagner (BMZ) gave the opening speech at the conference.
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The various organisations introducing themselves. -
Dorothea Werfel and Isabel Schug from the weltwärts coordination unit were in attendance. -
Attendees let their hair down and danced at the reception in the German Embassy building. -
Frederike Wagner (BMZ) gave the opening speech at the conference.
Partner conferences stimulate cooperation and networking between partner organisations from countries in the Global South (PO) and German implementing organisations (IO). They also offer an excellent opportunity to discuss programme-related issues with representatives of the PO and PSC.