The project
Urban
Diplomacy
Exchange
From the pilot project (2021-2023) to the second round (2024-2025)
The Urban Diplomacy Exchange (UDE) project was launched at the end of 2021 and is aimed at German cities and their twin cities in the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
The project is commissioned by the German Federal Foreign Office and carried out by the Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW) from Engagement Global in cooperation with the Association of German Cities .
In spring 2024, UDE entered a second round – again with the target countries being the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
In 2024, the focus was on the following activities:
- 1st Mayors Conference in New York on June 14, 2024
- Virtual UDE Conference DE-USA in October 2024
- UDE Partnership Conference in Edinburgh on 28-29 November 2024
- Professional exchange trips of selected partnerships
Further activities in 2025 will follow:
- 2nd Mayors' Conference in October
- Virtual UDE seminars for German-British partnerships (open to all interested parties)
- Professional exchange trips (the selected partnerships have already been notified)
The framework for the partnership is the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which the cities select together in their partnership, especially the sustainability goals sustainable development goals (SDGs) 11, 16 and 17:
Professional and local political exchange between the cities strengthens partnerships and supports international networking in the fight for sustainable development and peace.
- The expert exchange helps to live and diversify the partnerships at the level of the specialist administrations and to define concrete approaches for cooperation.
- The local political exchange strengthens the direct dialogue between city leaders and contributes to strengthening partnerships at the political level.
The cities participating in the project bring in the human resources of experts and, with their extensive know-how in municipal services of general interest, contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the promotion of climate protection.
Project goals
Understand
Strengthening of mutual understanding for current political and social challenges and solutions in the participating cities in Germany and the respective partner countries.
Shape and design
Raising awareness among municipal actors of their role in city diplomacy and strengthening their design potential in the implementation and achievement of the global goals (2030 Agenda, Paris Agreement).
Network
Strengthening of existing competencies in strategic partnership and support of cities in their internationalization.
The project builds on the connections between German cities and their twin cities. Most of these twin city partnerships, some of which have existed for decades, have so far been characterized by cultural and representative exchange. Participation in "Urban Diplomacy Exchange" is a response to the multiple challenges and global situation: the partnerships (city-to-city partnerships) are supported in their professional, thematic exchange.
The town twinning partnerships decide together on which key topics they want to work together on. During international events and professional exchanges, a valuable exchange of knowledge takes place on topics such as sustainable transport infrastructure or climate-friendly and CO₂-neutral urban planning. Concrete concepts such as "zero waste", "sponge city" or "social city" are also frequently discussed.
The 2030 Agenda
17 Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, the 193 member states of the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda, which addresses the entire global community with 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets as well as five underlying principles (people, planet, peace, partnership, prosperity). The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are to be achieved by 2030 with the involvement of a wide variety of stakeholders from business, politics, and civil society. They are now being used in a wide variety of political and corporate processes as an instrument for a more sustainable approach. The SDGs challenge the entire world (principle of universality), especially the Global North in particular to assume its global responsibility and take action to achieve these goals.
The 17 SDGs are based on the concept of the sustainability triangle (social, environmental, economic) and aim for global sustainable development. Central aspects of the 2030 Agenda are creating equal opportunities, reducing disparities in living standards, and sustainable management of natural resources to ensure the preservation of ecosystems and strengthen their resilience.
The original idea of the 2030 Agenda as a mere set of objectives has, since its adoption last decade, been increasingly used by municipalities as a tool for holistically shaping sustainable urban planning. This "localization" of the 2030 Agenda creates awareness and opportunities for further development at the local level for assuming global responsibility. Achieving the sustainability goals at the lowest levels requires a multi-level approach (multi-level governance) and close inter-institutional cooperation. Therefore, Urban Diplomacy Exchange not only creates networks among participating cities but also promotes exchange with other actors at the national and international levels.
National level
National governments
Municipal level
Cities, towns, districts
International level
City networks and international institutions
Sub-national level
Regional and state governments
partnership work has so far been a voluntary, often additional task for cities, for which only limited financial and personnel resources are available. For high-quality municipal professional exchange, in addition to the people responsible for city relations, people in charge from various specialist departments are also indispensable. Cities in Germany and increasingly in the USA are increasingly having offices for international relations, where city partnerships are coordinated.
As part of Urban Diplomacy Exchange, other departments will be involved alongside the International Office in order to enable a holistic exchange between different specialist departments and administrations. This will create a productive exchange of knowledge between environmental departments, climate protection managers and social services departments. This interconnection between specialist departments and the move away from silo thinking can lead to urban planning activities benefiting all residents in the city administrations in the medium to long term. - the leave-no-one-behind approach of the 2030 Agenda -will also be more strongly reflected in political and administrative action.
Engagement Global gGmbH
Engagement Global gGmbH brings together various development policy funding programs as well as numerous projects, initiatives, and services for a just and sustainable global coexistence. Engagement Global works primarily with civil society, municipalities, and schools. Engagement Global operates on behalf of the German Federal Government and is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW)
When it comes to tackling global challenges such as urbanization, migration and climate change, municipalities play a key role – in Germany and worldwide. Therefore, the Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW) Municipalities are encouraged to engage in development policy by, for example, promoting fair trade and fair procurement processes, implementing local sustainability strategies or maintaining international partnerships with municipalities.
The SKEW is a department of Engagement Global. Since 2001 it has been available to municipalities as a competence center for municipal development policy in Germany. It designs its strategies and programs together with its broad participation structure with a program advisory board – in which the Federal Foreign Office is also represented – and the program commission.
The service center has many years of experience in methodology and process support for the establishment and strengthening of municipal partnerships and the design of international professional exchange. The focus is on the future topics of municipal partnerships, social participation, globally sustainable communities and fair public procurement.
With the aim of strengthening municipal partnerships, it offers municipalities analogue and virtual opportunities to exchange experiences and jointly develop local solutions to global issues. The SKEW supports and advises German municipalities in the implementation of global agendas both in Germany and internationally within the framework of town twinning.
An important part of the SKEW is the organization and methodological support of municipal partnerships and international professional exchange between German municipalities and municipalities worldwide.
