New Alliances Convention

Potsdam 2017

Project Documentation

Brandenburg, Germany

we are in this together

Organized by

Preface by Obiri Mokini 1 ...........................................................................................................................

Preface by Uwe Prüfer 2 ..............................................................................................................................

People and Organisations 3 .......................................................................................................................

Ghana 3 ...................................................................................................................................................

Cameroon 3 ............................................................................................................................................

Nigeria 5 ..................................................................................................................................................

Brandenburg 5 ........................................................................................................................................

New Alliances Convention 7 ......................................................................................................................

Programme 7 .........................................................................................................................................

Visiting the Landtag Brandenburg 11 ..................................................................................................

Projekthaus Potsdam-Babelsberg 12 ..................................................................................................

New Alliances Business Brunch 15 ......................................................................................................

New Alliances Conference 19 ....................................................................................................................

Keynote by Prof. Dr. Louis Henri Seukwa 21 .......................................................................................

Speech of State Secretary Anne Quart, MdJEV 23 ............................................................................

Workshops 26 .........................................................................................................................................

Outcome and Conclusion 37 ................................................................................................................

New Alliances Field Trips 38 ......................................................................................................................

Visitation Programme: Greener Pastures 38 .......................................................................................

Field Trip to Bad Belzig 40 ....................................................................................................................

Visit at the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) 43 .................................

Coloniality and its contestations in contemporary Berlin and Brandenburg 44 ............................

Postface 47...................................................................................................................................................

Index

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

Preface by Obiri Mokini There are many reasons why the majority of African refugees and migrants are eager to see the emergence of a politically and economically stable Africa that would be attractive to its citizens. Efforts to contribute to a strong and attractive Africa would not be complete without the active participation of the African refugees, migrant organisations and civil society. The 2017 New Alliances Convention that took place in Potsdam, Germany, was initiated by Cagintua e.V. and VENROB e.V. This alliance succeeded in bringing together our partner organisations from Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon in the first effort to see growing cooperation and alliances that are focused at uniting and encouraging a true partnership for development.

Nursing the idea from the start, putting efforts into the implementation and pursuance of the goals of this alliance has not been all that easy. It really involved a lot of determination and commitment as well as investment of valuable time. Many thanks to our able team that has invested their time in making sure that most of the ideas put in place for the success of the first New Alliances Convention were adequately implemented. Their hard work and patience had really contributed in no little ways to the success of this project.

The determination of our partners from the first three African countries that joined the New Alliances was very great. Their participation and contributions to the fruitful meeting will remain as one of the bedrock for future New Alliances Conventions.

The visitation to many institutions in Brandenburg has opened up a new way of understanding for the visitors. How has their participation at the New Alliances Convention 2017 changed their impression about the living situation of African refugees in Germany? What new perspectives did they discover in relation to colonialism, discrimination and collaboration for development?

The role that this convention played in bringing the actors from Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Brandenburg together in Potsdam remains to be remembered for a long time as the start of a new cooperation that in future may lead to the exchange of ideas between those African countries that participated.

The first New Alliances Convention has come and gone. We look positively to future alliances and with all our active partners, we hope for stronger alliances that will bring more interested actors together in a united effort to contribute to the fulfillment of the SDGs. Many thanks to all the people that have genuinely contributed to this idea right from the beginning to make it a success. Many thanks to those that worked very hard to see that the idea did not die as an infant and many thanks to our supporters for providing the necessary funds for this project.

It is our hope that many of us will still have the opportunities to meet again at the next New Alliances Convention in future.

Thank you very much.

Obiri Mokini Cagintua e.V.

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Preface by Uwe Prüfer For VENROB e.V. the New Alliances Convention in September 2017 was a huge opportunity, a great challenge and finally: an amazing experience.

Brandenburg’s network and umbrella association for development organisations, along with Cagintua e.V, organised their first ever joint event of that kind. A week-long series of interesting meetings, a conference in the heart of Potsdam and field trips to Petzow and Bad Belzig as well as to neighbouring Berlin took place between September 11 and 15, 2017. The overarching aim was to promote further international collaboration and partnership between the New Alliances participants. Besides the Federal State of Brandenburg and some other parts of Germany, the contributing parties came from different regions of this year’s focus countries Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria. Not all of the activists invited could join their delegations to Potsdam – partly also due to visa restrictions.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed by the United Nations in 2015 are an explicit call on all nations and sectors within societies to mobilise and apply their creativity and power to face and solve today’s challenges in our ‘One World‘. The New Alliances Conference, therefore, set out to encourage and facilitate robust and constructive exchange on SDG-related subjects such as good governance, democratisation, political transition processes and economic partnerships.

A special focus was set on migration and the different ways of forced flight, as well as a critical review of state policies and other strategies, dealing with the complex situation of refugees and migrants in the contexts of the four mentioned countries.

In order to actively join in the debate of these multidimensional issues of today’s global, regional and local processes, New Alliances has brought together more than 150 activists from NGOs and civil society practitioners of various fields, movements and initiatives as well as from the private sector entrepreneurs and official institutions. As many participants underlined, New Alliances was characterised by an open, intensive and constructive exchange on best practices in meeting today’s global challenges.

This documentation hopefully gives an interesting and worthwhile impression of that. The contributions, written by the Germany based New Alliances coordination team, each differ in style and English usage, and are therefore very much in line with the variety of perspectives, approaches and backgrounds reflected by the project. 

There definitely is a strong will to stabilise and strengthen the newly established contacts in the future, and VENROB e.V. trusts that New Alliances Convention 2017 indeed marks the beginning of longer-term relations.

Uwe Prüfer VENROB e.V.

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New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

People and Organisations Ghana

Omega Project Management Foundation (OPMF)

Omega Project Management Foundation is a national NGO, founded in the year 2008 in Ghana with a focus on community empowerment and development. Its main fields of action are livelihood projects that mitigate illegal migration, health projects that build community capacity and screening of targets and local governance projects that engage communities in increased demand for accountability.One of its hallmarks are the special skills and commitment of the staff in community mobilization and building the capacity of grass root community members. OPMF works with and helps develop community structures for the sustainability of its projects. As a strategy developed by OPMF in all the projects, Community Project Management Committees (CPMC) are formed to build the capacity of the members of committees in project management and supervision, and also to ensure community participation and ownership of the project. In most of the projects, community volunteers are trained and mentored. Most of these volunteers have become leaders in strengthening their communities.In addition, OPMF partners with community-based associations and smaller NGOs to implement projects in multiple locations. Capacities of these partners are built in project management, finance management systems, and project monitoring and data management, in order for them to perform effectively and meet their deliverables.

Represented by: David Kwesi Afreh and Akim Djaneye-Kpandja

Also part of the OPMF delegation: Felicia Dzifa Tegah (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology), Samuel Kwaku Boateng Arthur (Clikgold Association)

Ghana Council NRW e.V.

Ghana Council NRW e.V. is a Ghanaian umbrella organisation in Germany. It cooperates with other associations and institutions such as Eine Welt Forum, Ghana Forum, Engagement Global NRW as well as the Ghanaian embassy in Berlin. Its main field of action is development cooperation, socio-political and sustainable development and migration. As such, the association supports projects in Ghana initiated by local members in the field of MDGs and SDGs with the goal to establish youth exchanges, city and school partnerships.

Represented by: Ernest Kofi Ampadu

Cameroon

Afrika in jungen Zeiten (AJZ) - Das Jugendmagazin

The project Afrika in jungen Zeiten (Africa in Young Times) aims to strengthen the verbal skills of young Cameroonian people living in Germany by publishing a youth magazine. AJZ not only publishes the AJZ-magazine, but also play scripts, comics, games and books. By their journalistic and poetic work, young people are encouraged and supported in developing their language skills. Furthermore, AJZ organizes cultural exchanges and networking activities between Cameroonian and

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German organizations and associations. These events are a stepping stone into a career in the development field for young people between the ages 15 and 25.

Represented by: Arsène Nguiebouri

Club des Amis du Cameroun (CAMIC)

The Club of the Cameroonian Friends was founded in 1992 by Jean Yves Ongolo in Yaoundé aiming to develop Cameroon by educational programs and activities within the field of poverty reduction, as well as strengthening the socio-economy.

Represented by: Béatrice Moguem Ongolo and Jean Yves Ongolo (no participation possible due to visa denial)

La Maison de la Diaspora

The aims of La Maison de la Diaspora are a) creating a network and platform between the Cameroonian diaspora and the people in Cameroon; b) strengthening the engagement of the diaspora community in helping to develop Cameroon; c) the improvement of communication channels between activists within the diaspora community and Cameroonian activists within the public and private sectors.

Represented by: Guy Laurent Kouam Team (no participation possible due to visa denial)

Verein Kamerunischer Ingenieure und Informatiker e.V. (VKII)

Der Verein Kamerunischer Ingenieure und Informatiker (Association of Cameroonian Engineers and Computer Scientists) was founded in 2000 in Frankfurt in Germany as a non-profit organisation. The idea came up due to growing numbers of Cameeronian students in the field of computer science and engineering living in Germany. The aim was to improve the situation of international students at German universities. Since then, the number of Cameroonian graduates increased tremendously. With time passing, VKII e.V. is now also a professional networking platform, uniting the highest number of Cameroonian students and experts, not only in Germany but throughout Europe.Its main goals are: The pursuit of success in a competitive society and the improvement of the standards of living of Cameroonians and Africans in their country of origin as well as country of settlement. As such, VKII e.V. supports and promotes initiatives and projects of Cameroonian experts in the fields of computer sciences and engineering that aim at sustainable development of sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Cameroon. Furthermore, VKII e.V. sees itself as a platform for the exchange of knowledge, experience and innovative ideas. Members are keen to build and maintain a strong and solid community of engineers and computer scientists with the motto: "Together great things happen, let's build it together!".

Member of VKII: Simplice Ndaago, Founder and director of SellNow, Energy Consulting

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Nigeria

Rural Women Stronghold Helpers Foundation

The Rural Women Stronghold Helpers Foundation was founded to provide assistance to women in rural areas. Local livelihood opportunities for women in the countryside discourage them to take risky migration routes in search for a better life.The foundation's activities entail empowerment seminars to strengthen the women's independence, awareness raising of the dangers of illegal migration and financial support for women who want to continue their education. Furthermore, women in rural communities get support to enter vocational training programmes so that they can financially sustain themselves and their families. The foundation also cooperates with other organisations which are interested in enhancing the opportunities of communities in rural areas.

Represented by: Titilayo Ajuwon, Abraham Afolabi, Olusoji Abiola (no participation possible due to visa denial)

Ndujekwu Enwena Europe e.V.

The organisation Ndujekwu Enwena Europe e.V. was founded in Hamburg, Germany, in 2015 and is part of Ndujekwu Enwena Foundation, founded in Nigeria in 2014. Both organisations are involved in computer trainings, health campaigns, awareness raising i.e. on violence against women or sexually transmitted diseases and offer workshops for pupils on creativity. Furthermore, Ndujekwu Enwena Europe promotes the exchange amongst Africans living in Germany. A platform was established through which newcomers can get to know each other and learn German, and there are possibilities for Nigerian children and youth to learn Nigerian languages.

Represented by: Joseph Enwena

Brandenburg

Netzwerk Migrantenorganisationen Brandenburg e.V. (NeMIB)

NeMIB e.V. (Network of Migrant Organisations in Brandenburg) was founded by representatives of a number of migrants' organisations in December 2016 in cooperation with samo.fa and Cagintua e.V. Its aims are empowering and connecting migrants and migrants' initiatives in Brandenburg. NeMIB's members are mainly active in the fields of development as well as participation and representation of migrants' interests on the political level.

Represented by: Abdou Rahime Diallo

Verbund Entwicklungspolitischer Nichtregierungsorganisationen Brandenburgs e.V. (VENROB)

VENROB e.V. has been Brandenburg's umbrella association for non-governmental development organisations, initiatives and fair trade shops since 1995. It has been committed to engaging in co-development actions, global learning / education for sustainable development and strengthening the commitment and awareness of civil society for development politics. 32 NGOs of different sizes

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and resources, acting on various focus areas, are working together. VENROB is a member of some national networks, such as VENRO, agl and attac Germany.

VENROB's main fields of activity are (a) the provision of capacity-building services to a range of stakeholders in this sector, promoting contacts, cooperation and collaboration, (b) lobby and advocacy activities at federal state level, participating in the sustainable development strategy of Brandenburg, in particular at Brandenburg’s Action Plan Education for Sustainable Development, and (c) the support of the Local Agenda 21 and development politics at local administrative level.

Represented by: Uwe Prüfer

Cagintua e.V.

Cagintua e.V. is a migrant organisation based in the city of Bad Belzig in Germany. It was created in the year 2007. Cagintua cooperates with other organisations both in Germany and in Africa to carry out projects which focus mainly at providing useful information to women, young people and men to encourage their participation in political development at grass root level. Cagintua also provides useful information on migration and sensibilises youth to the dangers of illegal emigration. Furthermore, it works in the field of integration, supporting refugees in Brandenburg in seminars and workshops.

Represented by: Obiri Mokini

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Jahsa R. Wiles, Marianne Ballé Moudoumbou, Arsène Nguiebouri, Simplice Ndaago, Abdou Rahime Diallo, Franza Drechsel, Ernest Kofi Ampadu, Uwe Prüfer, David Kwesi Afreh, Marco Büchel, Obiri Mokini, Samuel Kwaku Boateng Arthur, Akim Djaneye-Kpandja, Felicia Dzifa Tegah, Inger Kühn (from left to right) at Brandenburg Parliament

First day progamme: Guided tour of Brandenburg Parliament

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

New Alliances Convention Programme

September, 11 - 15, 2017

DATE ACTIVITIES

Sunday 10.09.

Arrival of participants from Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria Welcome and transfer to Potsdam

Monday 11.09

Meeting up at Staudenhof Welcome by Cagintua and VENROB. Presentation of New Alliances. Sharing of final convention’s programme and activities and first orientation on organisational matters

Guided tour of Brandenburg Parliament

Political structures in the Federal State of Brandenburg Reception by Mr. Marco Büchel (Member of Parliament) Meeting and exchange of views with Members of Parliament on the work of the parliamentary bodies and groups, e.g.Commission for European Affairs, Development Policies and Consumer Protection, on decision making processes and policy coherence with global development programmes

Lunch at restaurant of Parliament Transfer to „Projekthaus Babelsberg“ by streetcar

„Under one roof“: Examples of civil society engagement in Brandenburg at Projekthaus Potsdam-Babelsberg (Potsdam) Presentations by INWOLE, Flüchtlingsrat Brandenburg e.V., BBAG e.V., „Women in exile“. Tour of selected in-house project areas (Overall topics e.g. intentional community life, self empowerment, urban gardening; qualification and integration of migrants into labour market)

HOTPOT: dinner and art

Return to Hotel end of day 1

Tuesday 12.09

SDGs and the Local Business Sector: Business Brunch Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) Potsdam:

Welcome note Mr. Jens Ullmann, Head International Department IHK Potsdam

„SDGs? Make it your business!“ - Strategies to aligning business with SDGs Mr. Alexander Knipperts, EZ-Scout, The German Association for small and medium-sized Businesses Cooperation schemes and promotion programmes

Ms. Peggy Schulz, The German-African Business Association

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New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

Tuesday 12.09

Partnering with Africa: Sustainable Development and mutual benefit „What’s in it for us?“ Mr. David Afreh, Head of Omega Project Management Foundation, Ghana Mr. Simplice Ndaago, Sell Now, Cameroon - Key responsibilities and opportunities of business in making SDGs work - SDGs to strengthen the environment for doing business and building

markets

Presentation of organisations and projects

Coffee Break

„Matchmaking“ / interactive session Local entrepreneurs and delegation members Getting to know each other and exploring opportunities for future SDGs-based business contacts and partnerships between Brandenburg and selected focus regions in Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria

Closing remarks Mr. Jens Ullmann, Head International Department, IHK Potsdam

Transfer to Wissenschaftsetage

Conference Registration

New Alliances 2017 Conference Opening Mr. Obiri Mokini / Cagintua e.V. and Mr. Uwe Prüfer / VENROB e.V.

Addressing root causes of forced migration and keys to development Prof. Louis Henri Seukwa, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences / Netzwerk Flüchtlingsforschung Reflections on the impact of complex migration processes on the (re-) shaping of European Values

New Alliances 2017: Commonalities across the divide contextual challenges: the case of - Ghana: Omega Project Management Foundation - Nigeria: Rural Women Strongholder Foundation - Cameroon: AJZ, La Maison de la Diaspora, Camic - Brandenburg: NeMIB e.V.

Coffee break and workshop registration for next conference day

„Taking our seat at the table“ Panel discussion: Challenges in the situation of refugees and migrants in Brandenburg. Prospects and chances for building new alliances Women in Exile, Cagintua e.V, MASGF / Integration Commissioner Brandenburg, Rural Women Stronghold Helpers Q&A

„We’re in this together“ closing remarks

„Getting on top of it“ Supper on roof garden, informal exchange

End of official programme end of day 2

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New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

Wednesday 13.09.

Welcome note State Secretary Ms. Anne Quart, Ministry of Justice and for Europe and Consumer Protection Brandenburg (MdJEV)

Short reflection on conference day 1 Orientation on 1st day programme and on workshops / parked questions

Workshop-Phase I: Challenges and aspirations 4 thematic workshops, each with inputs, connected by interacting scouts:

WS 1 SDGs and their demand for democratisation and political transitions

WS 2 Youth engagement in transformation processes towards SDGs - driving forces in German and African societies?

WS 3 Change agents: The role of diaspora in development and integration

WS 4 Preconditions for building new alliances on the way to decoloniality

Discussion: Highlights and inputs from the 4 Workshop-Scouts. Plenary session

Lunch

Introduction into the practice of new alliances formation Plenary session

Workshop-Phase II: Forming New Alliances: What´s next? „Way to go!“ Seminars on facilitating cooperation

WS 5 Funding of partnerships: overview of selected programmes, main mechanisms and experiences

WS 6 Medium Projects: Credit and Church Based Funding or German Public Money? Guidelines and Practical Advise

WS 7 Common Topics: How to Develop, Write and Publish a Policy Paper

Coffee break

Discussion: Highlights and inputs from the 4 Workshop-Scouts. Plenary session

„Getting it right“ Questions and clarifications and the initiation of future co-development cooperations between and among the focus regions

„From here onwards“ Presentation of New Alliances conference results

End of official programme / end of day 3

optional: Dinner at restaurant in Potsdam with conference participants

Thursday 14.09.

Departure of delegates by chartered bus for visitation programme to two selected IHK member enterprises active in green venture economies

„Greener pastures“: Visitation programme 2 Companies in Brandenburg: Introduction to companies’ main production activities and business strategies and demonstration of product and service range

Departure for Bad Belzig

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The New Alliances programme was realised with some alterations.

Light lunch on the way

Guided visit to a refugee centre in the town of Bad Belzig, requested in accordance with thematic priorities as identified by inhabitants

Transfer to InfoCafé „Der Winkel“ in Bad Belzig

Civil Society in local associations in Brandenburg: The Bad Belzig experience with InfoCafé „Der Winkel“ and Echo Kamerun e.V.: Town twinning with Kribi (Cameroon), intercultural and integrational advocacy projects, City tour: Communal networking and city partnerships Guests: Mayor Mr. Roland Leisegang, Jugend rettet / Seawatch (tbc), Integration Commissioner for Potsdam-Mittelmark Ms. Theresa Pauli (tbc)

Supper at „Der Winkel“

Return to Potsdam

End of day 4

Friday 15.09. Departure to Berlin, by train

Current development and migration policies on Federal level Visit to Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Division 320 Displacement and Migration, Exchange and debate on impacts of selected political decisions on societies in New Alliances focus areas

Lunch break in Berlin

Decolonise Berlin - Guided City Tour „Coloniality and its contestations in contemporary Berlin and Brandenburg“, Berlin Postkolonial e.V.

Snack and feedback on the Convention

End of official programme / end of day 5

Saturday 16.09. Farewell: Departure of delegates from airports TXL / SFX and Berlin Central Station HBF

End of New Alliances Convention 2017

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New Alliances Conference: VENUE: proWissen Potsdam e. V. / WIS im Bildungsforum, Am Kanal 47 , 14467 Potsdam

DATE & TIME of NEW ALLIANCES CONFERENCE: Tuesday, 12 Sep 2017 13:30 - 18:00 / 19:30h Wednesday, 13 Sep 2017 10:00 - 18:30h

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

Visiting the Landtag Brandenburg

A Call for More Exchange and Further Debate

After a short introduction into the programme of the upcoming convention week, our first meeting began: We had the opportunity to get a glimpse into the legislative structures of the Federal State of Brandenburg. Marco Büchel, chair of the Parliamentary Committee on European Affairs, Development and Consumer Protection, welcomed our group and gave us a tour through the Landtag Brandenburg. While Mr. Büchel gave some insights into the history of the building, it quickly became obvious that discussions about federalism were more pressing.

Mr. Büchel therefore invited us into the faction room of the Left party for a deeper debate, where he presented how the parliament in Brandenburg works, how this is linked to the national and municipal level and what his committee deals with. As the state level is differently structured in Ghana, questions arose as to competences, elections as well as pros and cons of the German federal system. That is, while in Ghana, a regional governor is appointed by the national government, in Brandenburg there is a state government formed according to majorities after state elections. Its major fields of action are transport, infrastructure and

education. Federalism is also the reason why Mr. Büchel has no authority whatsoever regarding visa issuance, since this task is located at national level.

These explanations by both sides sparked a lively debate about the importance of exchange between African states and Germany on different legislative levels. Since no equivalent structure exists in Ghana, this could be an exchange programme on the municipal level, maybe linked to a town twinning project.

It was pointed out that during exchanges, too often, the focus lies on African states learning from Germany. However, the German system has its disadvantages, too, while African states also serve as role models. E.g., in the German federalist system, many municipalities struggle with a lack of tax income due to the way taxes are distributed. Furthermore, since Brandenburg has a problem of voter mobilisation, it could be useful to understand how this is tackled in Ghana or elsewhere. Another important aspect of exchange could be women representation. Out of 88 members of Brandenburg parliament, only 32 are women* (36 per cent) – something that definitely should be improved, not only in Brandenburg. All in all, time was short for all ideas, points of discussions and questions raised. The space and Mr. Büchel's explanations were a very productive starting point where many aspects coming up along the week were touched upon.

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Allies with Marco Büchel (2nd right), from the political party Die Linke, Member of Brandenburg parliament

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

Projekthaus Potsdam-Babelsberg

A Meeting Place With Support Structures for Migrants and Refugees

Following the visit of the Landtag, we spent the afternoon in the Projekthaus Potsdam-Babelsberg, a well known civil society space in Potsdam. The Projekthaus is a housing project with workshops, on whose compound three initiatives engaged in the field of migration and refugees have their offices.

A tour through the workshops made obvious that the Projekthaus is well connected with and accepted by the population. Different courses are offered: for women who fell out of the job market and find a space to unite and tailor old fabric, for children who can build their own skateboard out of recycled material, for mentally ill who work with pottery. The wood and the metal workshops are open to the broader public who want to construct and cannot afford certain machinery. Rooms for seminars can also be booked. Generally, the space is open for those

who want to use it – for cultural evenings, a get-together or other events. As such, the Projekthaus is a welcoming meeting place for diverse groups of people.

This is reflected in that three initiatives working with migrants and refugees have their offices on the large compound: One of them is Women in Exile, a migrant organisation active in mobilising women* with experiences of displacement or with a migrant background. Opferperspektive offers professional advice for people affected by racist violence or discrimination. Flüchtlingsrat Brandenburg is a sort of umbrella organisation

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where many people affected by racism or not work together to lobby for racially discriminated on various levels. We had the chance to meet Elisabeth Ngari from Women in Exile and Ivana Domazet from Flüchtlingsrat Brandenburg who explained their field of work. The picture they painted of the situation of refugees and migrants is rarely transmitted in the media, even less in West Africa. Along the migration route, women* are much more vulnerable than men*. There are examples where women* were sexually exploited during their journey to Europe and while they hope that this ends once they have arrived, new or sometimes the same men* continue abusing them in the camps. Women in Exile therefore tries to approach these

women*, supporting them in their rights and empowering them. To be confronted with stories about women* with experiences of displacement and their experiences with sexualised violence was very revealing to our male-dominated group. Furthermore, for some of our group, it was interesting to understand how racism works in a predominantly White society and how this can affect women* of colour differently. This includes women* of colour being more affected by sexualised violence by White men*. As such, anti-racist struggles in Brandenburg and Germany need to also address gender issues. These stories of struggle motivated many of our group to work on a transformed image of Europe as a promising end point of migration.

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Ivana Domazet, Flüchtlingsrat Brandenburg; Elisabeth Ngari, Women in Exile; Petar Atanackovic, Projekthaus Potsdam-Babelsberg

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

Mr. Kilian Kindelberger, Manager of Berlin-Brandenburgische Auslandsgesellschaft e.V., informed on offers of this well experienced NGO for German language classes and a variety of integration courses. The event was part of the Wandelwoche Berlin-Brandenburg and the debate continued in small

groups together with people from the Projekt- haus as well as interested Brandenburgers. However, the discussion on the situation of migrants and refugees in Brandenburg did not end here, but was taken up during the conference on Tuesday as well as during the visit of a refugee camp on Thursday.

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New Alliances Business Brunch

In cooperation with the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The idea behind the New Alliances business brunch, jointly organised with the International Department of the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK Potsdam), was to present the SDGs as an explicit opportunity and call on the private sector to apply creativity and innovation to help solving global sustainable development challenges. On a more practical level the aim, of course, was to enable and encourage commercial enquiries and networks to be created among the participants to further strengthen and promote integration and sustainability in the regions. The benefits of bringing the private sector and NGOs together in alignment with the SDGs led the discussions with the compelling as much as logical idea:

SDGs - Make it your business!

The event was hosted by Jens Ullmann, Head of International Department and his team at IHK Potsdam, with the very valuable support particularly by Development Cooperation Scout Bert Wibel from the very early organising stages. It was attended by the New Alliances delegations and various IHK member companies pre-dominantly active in the area of green venture. To begin with, the diversity of the business

cultures convened at the New Alliances business brunch clearly proved helpful to share and explore realistic opportunities for future SDGs-based business contacts and partnerships between Brandenburg and selected regions in Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria. It early on was agreed that top of the agenda was access to financial sectors and markets, next to ensuring that science and business were collaborating as well as the proactive role of information and communication technology.

In this connection, the need for transparent financial systems and well governed institutions and agencies was once again emphasised as indispensable for any meaningful entre-preneurial activity.

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Jens Ullmann, Head of International Department, Chamber of Commerce and Industry Potsdam

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

German Public Cooperation Schemes and Promotion Programmes

In t roduc ing cooperat ion schemes and promotion programmes relevant to the private sector cooperation, Alexander Knipperts, Development Cooperation Scout at the German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses (BVMW) highlighted areas of progress:

• Green innovation Centres are currently delivering technical upgrades to products such as seeds and fertilizers and bringing effective infrastructure that improves the productive environment.

• Make IT provides a platform for marketing in Europe and partner countries, helping start-ups in getting access to know-how, technology and financing, to new markets, ideas and networks.

• Digital Africa is a strategic public-private partnership that aims for support and underpins private investment and responsible business in the CT-sector in Africa.

• Lab of Tomorrow is an incubator program initiated by BMZ to foster innovative solutions for emerging and developing markets, e.g. a food-waste-management pilot in Kenya.

Cooperation between German and African Companies

Peggy Schulz, Programme Manager at the largest foreign trade association, the German African Business Associat ion (Afr ika-Verein der deutschen Wirtschaft), represented the wealth of knowledge offered by their 600+ strong membership and demonstrated the importance of having a platform for NGOs to showcase their projects as well as offering the sector opportunities, ranging from e.g. working with local farmers in Ghana to implementing workshops for digitalization in health care.

“What's in It for Us?” Following these insightful information delegation members then rightfully wanted to know: What's in it for us? Outlining some specifics of their community centered activities they educated the private sector representatives on major priority areas of their engagement: David Kwesi Afreh, Executive Director of Omega Project Management Foundation Ghana Health, talked of the critical collaboration taking place in Ghana between the private business sector and NGOs and the importance of bringing infrastructure to more remote communities suffering serious health challenges such as high maternal mortality and tuberculosis. Also acknowledged was the immediate need for

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Peggy Schulz, Programme Manager of the German African Business Association talking to a participant

David K. Afreh, OMPF, and E. Kofi Ampadu, Ghana Council NRW e.V. talking to a Brandenburg businessman

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

education and capacity-building of the people to support the civil society organizations in coping w i t h t h e e n o r m o u s c h a l l e n g e s m a n y communities are facing.

Samuel Kwaku Boateng Arthur, President of Clikgold Association, works with his team to provide vaccination services to more than 3,000 people in Ghana. Because of insufficient health care in most rural areas, shipping containers are now being utilised to create a 'pop-up' vaccination surgery. Solar energy here, too, plays a vital role as the quickest way possible to bring e.g. vaccinations to the wider population.

Simplice Ndaago, Director of SellNow and member of Association of Cameroonian Engineers and Computer Scientists (Verband der Kamerunischen Ingenieure und Informatiker e.V.), called out the discrepancy that Africa's second biggest hydroelectric power station in Cameroon supplies just 20 per cent of the households, with the remaining 80 per cent still being excluded from an electrical connection. He suggested that no country can develop until decentralization of energy and water supplies take place because of the reliance on these of all other services.

Finally, Arsène Nguibouri, Founder of the magazine Africa in Young Times (Afrika in Jungen Zeiten), reported on an initiative for direct marketing in a remote area in the south of

Cameroon. To counter the rising cost of living, his team had designed and carried out a survey on consumers' preferential agricultural produce. The delivery of regional products from nearby producers at lower cost and the direct distribution with less storage requirements result in an overall better quality of the nutritional options available in that particular area.

Another central theme underlying many of the contributions was the need for continued education as the main driver of development: Joseph Enwena, founder of Ndujekwu Enwena Europe e.V., stated that in the case of Nigeria, the most populated state on the African continent, education was the key to success, making skills training and vocational education a central demand for people to establish themselves and secure a living.

Akim Djaneye-Kpandja, Executive Project Coordinator of Omega Project Management Foundation Health Ghana, equally reported on the cardinal importance of accessible education in Ghana and the need for major expansion of affordable electric infrastructure throughout the country.

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Simplice Ndaago, Director of SellNowFranza Drechsel, New Alliances and Akim Djaneye-Kpandja, Exec. Project Coordinator, OMPF

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

Getting Closer

Having presented various perspectives and potential focus areas for future cooperation and partnerships, now was the time to personally exchange on how to concretely bring together and match business led solutions promoted by the represented IHK Potsdam member companies precisely with the expressed demands and priorities. This opportunity was seized by all parties alike as they gathered around thematic topics suited for their area of specialisation. In a first round of feedback the participants at the New Alliances business brunch strongly confirmed the beginning of a fruitful exchange intended to be continued across the regions and well into the future.

Close communication is always essential in order to get to know each other and to better understand the mode of operation valid in the respective context. Ernest Kofi Ampadu in his role as "Fachpromotor" of Ghana Council NRW, indeed has a key role in initiating and leading these vital processes. Not only does he link the German provincial government of North Rhine Westphalia with Ghanaians in the diaspora, but he also brings together business people based in Germany's most densely populated region with entrepreneurs in Ghana. His work thus speaks of one person's creative input and driving force in building relationships between

p r o v i n c i a l g o v e r n m e n t a g e n c i e s a n d entrepreneurs in general. Both, his skill and his experience, proved equally valuable in the facil i tation of personal encounters and discussions about forging new links between Brandenburg and the New Alliances focus regions.

Closing Remarks

In his closing remarks, Jens Ullmann stressed the importance of continued collaboration and communication and the need for more financial resource and people-based expertise for developing markets. It was, however, likewise strongly noted by a Berlin based consultant that while the private sector undoubtedly is an important actor in the field of international cooperat ion, i t must rea l i se i t s heavy dependancy on mutually beneficial collaboration with partners in African countries to obtain and secure continued access to those much desired resources and markets.

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Obiri Mokini, Cagintua e.V. and Ernest Kofi Ampadu, Ghana Council NRW e.V.

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

New Alliances Conference Potsdam, September 12 - 13, 2017

The two-day interactive conference in Potsdam on 12th and 13th September hosted by New Alliances at the Wissenschaftsetage in the centre of Potsdam brought together expert-activists from NGOs, civil society initiatives, private sector entrepreneurs and official administrative institutions from within Brandenburg and selected regions in Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria. Robust exchange on best practises in what is seen as a vastly inadequate and unacceptable world-response to the global challenge of the unspeakable plight of vulnerable groups affected by forced migration continues to raise fundamental questions of  ethical  responsibility and appropriate action for official authorities and practitioners in the field alike. 

The keynote speech, therefore, offered a 'deconstructive view on Germany's refugee and asylum policy in today's era of globalisation' and thereby profoundly challenged the common notions surrounding the current scholarly debate on the causes for global transnational and specifically forced migration.

The panel discussion that followed the keynote once more illustrated  the incoherence of the proclaimed and generally hailed European values against the unspeakable human tragedies that must no longer be ignored.

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Obiri Mokini, Cagintua e.V.

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

Moving forward, on the second day, a series of workshops and  panel discussions, in a practical approach, underlined  the proactive spirit and readiness to engage in purposeful exchange and targeted action to inform on realistic opportunities for cooperations on the communal and economic level as well as for civil based initiatives seeking to address major causes of forced migration.

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Akim Djaneye-Kpandja and Felicia Dzifa Tegah, OMPF

Uwe Prüfer, VENROB e.V. Jahsa R. Wiles, New Alliances

Abdou Rahime Diallo, NeMIB e.V.

David Kwesi Afreh, OMPFDiana Gonzalez Olivo, Migrantenbeirat Potsdam

Panel discussion

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

Keynote by Prof. Dr. Louis Henri Seukwa

Faculty of Business and Social Sciences at Hamburg University of Applied Sciences

"Dealing with Social Transformation: A de-constructive view on Germany's refugee and asylum policy in today's era of globalisation“

The common notions surrounding the current scholarly debate on the causes for global transnational and specifically forced migration were fundamentally challenged by Prof. Dr. Louis Henri Seukwa from Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. In his most thought provoking keynote, he shared a 'de-constructive view on Germany's refugee and asylum policy in today's era of globalisation'.

Although sociology's structuralistic debate favours the global perspective on causes and consequences of transnational migration and the creation of today's 'refugee', Prof. Seukwa suggests it is mostly a result of the institutionalised procedures operational in the respective host societies. This central realisation was further backed up by his observations and reflections highlighted hereafter:

• Europe and Western societies in general carry a historic responsibility in the creation and cementing of global structural injustices which in return lead to forced migration in the regions around the world facing severe exploitation.

• A realistic analysis furthermore reveals inaccurate and damaging underlying assumptions and concepts. The attempt to distinguish between the categories 'refugees' and 'migrants' remains artificial and can therefore only fail.

• The restrictive means alongside the highly repressive nature of asylum regulations are indicative of the continued and systematic pursuit of policies utterly and tragically inept to deal with and to face up to the consequences and the results of Europe's foreign as well as its military and economic strategies.

The discussion that followed Seukwa's keynote once more illustrated the incoherence of the proclaimed and generally hailed European values against the unspeakable human tragedies that must no longer be ignored.

Questions put forward at the conference centered around the nature and quality of cooperations aiming to promote development in the regions of the global South and specifically in the New Alliances focus countries Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon:

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Prof. Dr. Louis Henri Seukwa

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

• How welcome are the much solicited economic initiatives from abroad offering to introduce modern technology with a prospect to job creation in view of the enormous administrative hurdles posed by the respective authorities?

• Against the prevailing and persistent images of Europe as a predominantly glorified destination, just how is the phenomenon of increased forced migration being perceived and discussed in the very countries affected by this drain?

• What, if any, responsibility does historic colonialism bear in the shaping of today's adverse realities marked by extreme inequalities, limitations and marginalisation that a huge number of people living in African countries are faced with?

• Are these topics of concern at all to African youth?

• Finally: what stake do non-governmental organisations have and how independent can they really be given the conditionalities of financing?

Throughout the debate it became apparent that the automatic linking of 'migration' with 'development' is indeed problematic; as is the controversial practise of a knowledge transfer that all too often is being abused to serve the intransparent agendas of a few privileged and the political elites while simultaneously proving detrimental to ecological concerns.

The challenges outlined during the debate are certainly reinforced by the imbalance of power relations and the heterogeneity of interest. Therefore the call for strategy formulation was seen as imperative by a great many conference participants so that key common ground positions can be brought about. Now, therefore, seems a rather critical time to identify means to effectively overcome fragmentation and instead join forces.

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New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

Speech of State Secretary Anne Quart, MdJEV Ministry of Justice and for Europe and Consumer Protection of the Federal State Brandenburg

Summarised translat ion of State Secretary Anne Quart’s speech at the N e w A l l i a n c e s C o n f e r e n c e o n September 13, 2017

Opening the 2nd day of the New Alliances Conference in Potsdam, Mrs Anne Quart welcomed the conference part ic ipants, especially the delegates from Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria in the name of the Ministry of Justice and for Europe and Consumer Protection of the Federal State Brandenburg. The state secretary did not forget to express her regret regarding the absence of some invited African experts due to refused visas.

Acknowledging and thanking Cagintua e.V. and VENROB e.V. for initiating and hosting the New Alliances Conference in Potsdam, Mrs Quart emphasised the significance of discussing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at a

time when the world is facing massive challenges concerning their realisation. In 2015 at the conference summit the UN specified the most urgent challenges in the resulting documents (paragraph 14) when passing the Post-2015 development agenda.

Mrs Quart recalled them all, namely: the extreme poverty of billions of people without having a chance of leading a dignified life in the near future, the increasing disparities within states but also among one another, the huge gaps in opportunities and in access to wealth and power, the remaining worldwide gender inequality, the unemployment, especially of young people.

Furthermore, adding health hazards, increasing natural catastrophes, escalating conflicts, violent e x t r e m i s m a n d t e r r o r i s m a l o n g w i t h humanitarian crises and displacement of millions of people she pointed out the highly negative effects on the achievements of past decades. Complementing the list by mentioning the exhaustion of natural resources with extreme environmental damages such as desertification, droughts, land degradation, freshwater scarcity and the loss of biodiversity and not to forget the

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State Secretary Anne Quart, Ministry of Justice and for Europe and Consumer Protection of the Federal State Brandenburg

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

climate change, Mrs Quart drew attention and brought awareness to the expanding number of permanently worsening humanitarian problems which are at the same time impeding worldwide efforts in sustainable development.

Facing these prevailing problems, Mrs Quart stressed the proclaimed (also found in this document) commitment of global partnerships in order to successfully meet the SDGs. While focusing on the needs of the poorest, stronger g l o b a l s o l i d a r i t y a n d c o o p e r a t i o n o f governments, the private sector, civil society, the UN system and other stakeholders seem to be crucial for solving present and future challenges. Therefore and in particular relating to the SDG 17 with an appeal for global partnerships, the New Alliances Project has to be acknowledged as an approach and opportunity to initiate global partnerships starting on a local and regional level, not only in order to meet the SDGs but also to create the ONE WORLD, a concept initiated by the Federa l Min is t ry for Economic Cooperation and Development, in a joint endeavour.

Present ing the respons ib i l i t ies o f the represented Ministry, in particular in relation to the EU, the State Secretary also referred to the strong commitment of the Federal State Brandenburg in the field of sustainable development, thereby following its major guideline, the Landesnachhaltigkeitsstrategie, the strategy for sustainability from 2014. By introducing the concept of the Round Table Entwicklungspolitik Brandenburg (Development Politics), Mrs Quart cited one example of the strong engagement of Brandenburg policy. The annual event brings together representatives from politics, administration and civil society and is conducted by VENROB e.V. and MdJEV. Established as a key platform for exchange the

Round Table Entwicklungspolitik supports and serves the idea of the ONE WORLD.

The development guidelines of the Federal State from 2012, Entwicklungspolitische Leitlinien der Landesregierung, institutionalised the Round Table and have helped so far:

• to encourage the cooperation and coordination in the development policy of the federal state government

• to support NGOs in the development of new projects and the application of funds

• to deepen the exchange of stakeholders

• to improve the coordination with other federal states, the Federal Ministry for E c o n o m i c C o o p e r a t i o n a n d Development and nationwide active NGOs.

F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e R o u n d T a b l e Entwicklungspolitik serves as a monitoring tool and helps significantly to develop indicators for sustainability in Brandenburg. The Ministry also seeks open debate with its citizens by holding dialogues discussing topics like “the Future of the EU“ and about “Refugees and Causes of flight“. This is done in cooperation with the EU-c o m m i s s i o n ( K O M ) , t h e B ü n d n i s f ü r Brandenburg and local authorities. Also involved are as well VENROB e.V., the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Potsdam and many more.

Outlining further programs taking place in Brandenburg, Mrs Quart illustrated the vast variety of initiatives and efforts by the Federal S tate in br ing ing forward sus ta inable development. Herby, she pointed out the importance of the cooperation with local authorities.

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New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

Facing present and future global challenges the State Secretary once more expressed her conviction and trust in global partnerships as one of the few instruments appropriate for creating the ONE WORLD and securing sustainable development.

Thus, she welcomed and encouraged the conference participants for further exchange, discussion and networking as a starting point for „new international alliances“ and expressed her interest to support respective future partnerships.

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Ernest Kofi Ampadu, Samuel Kwaku Boateng Arthur, Abdou Rahime Diallo, Anne Quart, Uwe Prüfer, Akim Djaneye-Kpandja, Obiri Mokini, Felicia Dzifa Tegah, David Kwesi Afreh, Marianne Ballé Moudoumbou, Simplice Ndaago, Jahsa R. Wiles (from left to right)

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

Workshops

The workshop “SDGs and their demand for democratisation and political transitions” intended to provide and compare different perspectives on political, social as well as economic transition processes in Ghana, Nigeria and Germany.

Political Transition

In Ghana, transition means basically power transition from one government to the other. Whatever government comes into power, it starts over without establishing a real continuity in the process. Every government starts to invent new ideas, plans and reforms and mostly is not supporting the former policy. Still, there is political continuity in that governments follow each other without interruptions. However, according to Dzifa Felicia Tegah, women’s organisations and political engagement concerning gender inequality are a challenge for the transition process. That is one reason why Felicia, a student leader of a political party from Ghana, empowers women and helps them appreciating their skills and talents and shows them opportunities to participate in the community as well as find their place. This is very important, because women and especially single women are constantly discouraged. In general,

participation is not easy, because in Ghana, everyone is fighting for themselves.

In Nigeria, fraud during elections is distinctive. It hinders the development of a sense of community and solidarity and especially trust in the government. The Nigerian participants stated that nepotism, ethnicity and elitism is a challenge for nationalism and unity among Nigerians, against the background of an immense diversity within the Nigerian population. Regionalism, degradation of livelihoods, security, fundamental disrespect of law, rural exodus and emigration were stated as problematic in the Nigerian context. In both countries – Ghana and Nigeria – democracy seems to be the easiest form of government. But, because of social insecurity and a big lack of perspectives, some people in Ghana and Nigeria think it is everywhere better than at home.

According to the participants from Germany, refugees, migrants and communities of social precarious areas in Germany are extremely disadvantaged in the German transition process. They are facing ignorance, marginalisation, discrimination and racism. Bureaucracy, complexity and lack of transparency on the political and economic level unlinked especially marginalised communities from the transition process. They feel abandoned, left behind and some turned towards extreme right movements.

Environmental and Economic Transition Concerning the SDGs, a different understanding could be observed as well. Whereas in Nigeria and Ghana, SDG policies are more allocated to solve fundamental and existential problems like the degradation of cultivable areas, pollution, desertification, lack of water, Germany prioritises the transition from carbon to renewable energy or fair trade as key SDG issues. The SDG-paradigm and understanding that the Global

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Workshop 1

SDGs and their demand for democratisation and political

transitions

with Dzifa Felicia Tegah (OMPF)

facilitated by Abdou Rahime Diallo (NeMiB e.V.)

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

North is part of the developing world has not been translated into policies and the civil society.

On top of that, stereotype images of Africa in Germany and of Germany in Ghana and Nigeria, have been mentioned as part of the problem, too. In the imagination of Nigerians, Ghanaians and Cameroonians, Germany figures like an Eldorado, where no poverty, insecurity but only welfare and satisfaction exist. Germans in general believe that Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria are covered by poverty, lacking economic development and that there is insecurity, diseases, corruption and bad governance all over the countries.

For all set of problems of an adequate and positive social, economic, sustainable and political transition, education was identified as fundamental to solve these issues and therefore, New Alliances could play a key role. Circular migration and exchange programs, through which young people from both regions could build important and relevant skills should be an integral part of education. Social business, such as student enterprises, promoting the SDGs, could be initiated and facilitated on the New Alliances platform. Similar projects l ike producing clothes in Ghana and selling them via internet shops in Europe already work in Great Britain. For the future, the participants recommended that through New Alliances the following thematic areas should be in the focus:

Circular migration and exchange programs.

Training on policy drafting and policy monitoring.

Training for diversity management and the eradication of regionalism, ethnicity and gender inequality

Social business.

The workshop s tarted wi th a thought experiment: The participants should take the perspective of Cameroonian youth and conceive ideas for engaging in sustainable development issues. Two central ideas came up: An exchange program between students from Cameroon and Germany and a project promoting gender e q u a l i t y o r e n v i r o n m e n t p r o t e c t i o n . Subsequently, the participants discussed the difficulties and obstacles for those people in European and African countries, especially youth, who want to get involved in development policy. Benjamin Stamer talked about his difficulties as a youngster to find projects, which he considered reasonable and useful to support. He mentioned the "weltwärts" platform, which connects volunteers with NGOs. But in his opinion, there should be alternatives to inspire young people and foster their engagement. He also reported on bureaucratic hurdles like the

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Workshop 2

Youth engagement in transformation processes towards

SDGs - driving forces in German and African societies?

with Arsène Nguiebouri (AJZ)

faci l i tated by Benjamin Stamer (Belziger Forum)

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

refusal of authorities to issue visa for exchange students from African countries. Arsène Nguiebouri, Cameroonian student of German language, stressed that in African countries, the main obstacles for youth engagement are tough economic circumstances and a lack of family support. It is hard for a family father in Cameroon to be enthusiastic about his oldest son engaging in a project for environmental protection instead of working and contributing to the livelihood of the family. In addition, most of the NGOs are under-financed which makes the realisation of ideas difficult.

Similar comments were made by Jan Wenzel, who is an active member in an umbrella organisation for youth exchange projects. He pointed out that not only in African countries but also in Germany the economic and social background of youth could restrict their opportunities. Therefore, being engaged besides working or studying is often some sort of a "luxury". Vonemop Marius Tresors, also from Cameroon, added that the political situation in many African countries is shaped by corruption, maladministration and despotism of public authorities. In his view, this leads to a sense of powerlessness and despondency among youth. The participants also unanimously identified the problem that usually, the ideas of young people are not taken seriously. The communication between officials in NGOs and authorities is

often complicated because of the age difference and misunderstandings. After gathering all the different obstacles and listening to the experiences of the participants, it was important to take a step further and try to use this for establishing new alliances in the future. The central question is: What are the preconditions for youth engagement and requirements that should be implemented to empower and motivate young people? First, it is crucial that the voice of young people is taken seriously. The views of older functionaries in NGO networks and bodies must not be forced upon the young. Secondly, those officials should be able to speak the "language of youth" fluently. This means, for example, to avoid the overly use of academic language to make engagement more accessible for young people. Regarding the addressed political and social issues (especially but not exclusively in African countries), there should be structural changes in the medium and longer term, which require a shift in the consciousness of the political elites (change "top down"). At the same time, despite the difficulties, grassroot movements must try to exert political pressure to push forward those processes of change from "bottom to top". For future collaborations and common projects with young people these suggestions should be considered.

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New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

During the past decades, the number of African people coming to Europe, and more specifically to Germany, has greatly increased. Therefore, it is very important to reflect on the influence and fields of action of the African diaspora. During the workshop, the participants emphasised the significant role the diaspora can play in the achievement of development and integration. First of all, the participants agreed that, instead of fighting and engaging separately, it is important to build alliances. The diaspora should see themselves as an interrelated group and set up common projects to be stronger and have more impact. Although participants recognised the necessity of a new organisation among the different groups, they also reflected on the challenges of finding a “common interest” that would bring them together. Those obstacles are related to issues in the countries themselves such as the difficulty to build partnerships in regimes with slow legal systems, a lack of education in African countries that ultimately makes it even harder for civil society to organise and find a common ground as well as the plurality of languages. Although the countries have similar problems, each of them addresses policy makers separately and fights for their causes individually.

Furthermore, the topic of remittances was thoroughly debated. The economic benefits

generated from the relationship between the diaspora and their countries of origin are enormous but not sustainable and not put on a long-term basis. Therefore it was discussed whether the remittances can be better used for investments to help more people and for a longer period instead of only improving the living conditions for a small group of individuals. The participants agreed on the need of using part of it for direct and local investments in the countries of origin. They suggested the creation of a corporative bank where the invested money could be used to fund companies in the countries of origin to deal with issues such as health, infrastructure and capacity building.

After reflecting on these topics, participants used the end of the workshop to summarise their ideas and discuss about concrete solutions. The group agreed on the necessity of reorganising the interrelations between the diaspora and their countries of origin, as there is no consensus on how they both should operate. From the side of The diaspora addresses problems individually but not collectively, while in the countries of origin civil societies need to come together by transcending state and mental boundaries.

How to overcome all these divisions? One answer would be education and diversity. The existence of many languages, examples, perspectives, natural resources and expertise

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Workshop 3

Change agents: The role of diaspora in development and

integration

with Simplice Ndaago (SellNow), David Kwesi Afreh and Samuel Kwaku Boateng Arthur (OMPF)

facilitated by Uwe Birkel

Samuel Kwaku Boateng Arthur, OMPF/Clikgold Association, and Uwe Birkel, Political Scientist

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

can be rather positive for integration. New Alliances can be a great opportunity and provide a platform to realise a new form of transnational collaboration and to overcome boundaries and borders. Finally, the participants committed to develop a policy paper which takes into account the topics raised in the workshop and that would see the three countries Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria as partners and therefore guarantee a common front among the new allies.

As colonialism and its legacies are one of the reasons for actual asymmetrical power structures as well as for racism with all its implications, it is necessary to find decolonial approaches for building new alliances. An introduction to the workshop was given by Ernest Kofi Ampadu from Ghana Council in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). For many years, he has been a key person of the large diaspora from Ghana in the region and he is the coordinator for the official partnership between NRW and Ghana. Ampadu s tated that colonialism and its continuities are the main reasons for the need of new alliances. Uwe Prüfer from VENROB shared this opinion and emphasised the importance of the topic for the

Federal State of Brandenburg which played an important role in various phases of German colonial history . Unfortunately, this is barely 1

known in Germany. Therefore, VENROB tries to create awareness and public interest for this shameful part of history, at the least to fight colonial continuities and the currently growing racism in Germany.

The legacy of the colonial power structure manifests in different ways and on various levels. During the workshop some examples were mentioned: Firstly, in African countries, institutional colonialism is very distinctive. Since the administrations in the colonies were used as instruments of repression and to the benefit of only a small number of privileged people, until today, they do not work as services for the population, but for an elite. Nevertheless, these services are one of the preconditions to strengthen democratic processes. Secondly, on a global level, colonial power structures are perceptible regarding mobility. One problem of European-African exchanges is that they are mostly one-way because for most people from African countries, it is extremely difficult to obtain visas for Europe. This is a huge problem, which was also prevalent during New

Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg, was the first German who gained colonial territory and joined the colonial slave 1

trade. He took power over a region known today as Princess Town at the Gulf of Guinea in 1682. The „Afrikanisch-Brandenburgische Compagnie“ enslaved about 30.000 people and deplaced them to the Caribbean and other regions in the Americas. In 1717, Brandenburg sold its colony to the Dutch monarchy.

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Workshop 4

Preconditions for building new alliances – on the way to

decoloniality

with Ernest Kofi Ampadu (Ghana Council NRW e.V.)

facilitated by Uwe Prüfer (VENROB e.V.)

Ernest Kofi Ampadu, Ghana Council NRW e.V.

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

Alliances, as some of the invited guests from African countries were not allowed to enter Germany and thus could not participate in the convention. Their perspectives were missing. Thirdly, the actual relations between the countries are marked by contradictory political approaches. For example, Germany's “Marshall Plan” with African countries as an economic initiative, was criticised by Ampadu as an expression of a constant repetition of colonial behaviour. In formulating the aims of the “Marshall Plan”, Europeans made decisions for Africa without consulting the opinion of Africans. This contradicts the actions of the United Nations that recently called out the International Decade for People of African Descent. The lack of influence in the politics is described by Ampadu as highly frustrating.

But what kind of resistance against colonial continuities does exist in Africa? Ampadu stated that one of the main problems of African resistance against coloniality is the complicated communication. As borders were drawn arbitrarily by colonial governments and different languages of the colonial rulers were imposed in the neighbouring countries, communication with each other is not an easy undertaking.

This is where one potential of New Alliances lies in. New Alliances shows that also French and English speaking people can find common aims and support each other. Ampadu underlined the

importance of pan-African alliances, explaining that also the independence of a lot of African countries could only be achieved by a common fight. This is where the New Alliances Conference marked a difference, because it involved the German civil society and African representatives in discussing problems and finding solutions together. This open perspective cannot be found in state-driven initiatives like the “Marshall Plan with Africa”. Prüfer agreed on that point and stated that the “Marshall Plan” could not serve as a true document of decoloniality. The plenum encouraged New Alliances to express this criticism, shared by many NGOs, also during the meeting with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in Berlin on Friday.

All in all, the idea of New Alliances gives the opportunity and a platform to have a common voice and articulate perspectives and opinions together. In summarising the perspective of the plenum during the workshop, Prüfer pointed out that decoloniality is a precondition for building new alliances. In the continuing work, New Alliances should have a strong focus on this topic. Still, it is not only a task for NGOs, but also for governments. Colonial times are not forgotten.

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Julia Groß, New Alliances and Uwe Prüfer, VENROB e.V.

Inger Kühn, New Alliances and Diana Chico-Alvarez, NeMIB e.V. (centre back)

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

In Brandenburg as well as in the respective three African countries, various small-scale NGOs are active in the field of development policies. Most of them depend on the voluntary contribution of unpaid staff and on external funding. The aim of the workshop was thus to create space to address possibilities and chances of financing for this type of NGO by reference to concrete examples and to exchange between the participants in that regard.

After a few introductory remarks by Uwe Prüfer (VENROB e.V.), facilitator Silvia Grimmsmann, co-founder and member of the association Echo Kamerun e.V., gave insights into their work. Echo Kamerun was established in 2007, aiming at developing a long lasting and equal partnership between people from Germany and Cameroon. The association is particularly active in the small town of Bad Belzig, Germany, and in Kribi, Cameroon. Organizing mutual visits is the basis for the partnership. In some cases, strict visa regulations for people from African countries are frustrating. Grimmsmann underlined that the association is "driven by passion“ — that is, nobody is paid.

Furthermore, the realisation of their ideas is highly dependent on external funding. As an example for that, she cited a trinational youth exchange programme between partners from

Germany, Cameroon and France, funded by the Franco-German Youth Office. In reference to other projects, Grimmsmann emphasised the importance of pr ivate donors and the cooperation with the local administration, which can provide different resources and facilities. To get this kind of support, it is crucial to have clear ideas and convincing concepts. Good relations with the community officials need to be cultivated and maintained.

Arsène Nguiebouri, student activist from Cameroon and partner of Echo Kamerun in the district of Kribi, was co-commenting on the activities, successes and problems of that partnership.

In contrast, Ruth Visser presented the work of the Foundation North South Bridges. The Berlin-based foundation provides financial support and counselling for delevopment-related projects implemented by East German NGOs. Some of their finances are provided by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the provincial government of Berlin. Visser explained the structure of the foundation and their ways of funding. She exemplified the decision-making process regarding the choice of which projects are financed. According to the fundation's guidelines, a maximum of 90 per cent of the overall project costs can be contributed. The remaining part needs to be paid by the applying NGOs, by which their appropriate structures and commitment shall be guaranteed.

Akim Djaneye-Kpandja from Omega Project Management Foundation in Ghana presented the NGO and their support for different parts of the population. Funding is always a problem and they need strong partners inside Ghana as well as from elsewhere. She expressed her hopes that collaboration with small or large NGOs and institutions in Germany could be possible

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Workshop 5

Funding of Partnerships: overview of selected programmes, main mechanisms and experiences

with Uwe Prüfer (VENROB e.V.) and Ruth Visser (Foundation Nord-Süd-Brücken)

facilitated by Silvia Grimmsmann (Echo Kamerun e.V.)

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

through the New Alliances approach. Jan Wenzel from the Association weltwärts Exchange Organisations in Development Cooperation e.V. (ventao) pointed out some of the opportunities ventao can offer to small-scale NGOs in Germany and the Global South whi le exchanging young volunteers.

The participants discussed the possible consequences and chances of the funding of development projects and initiatives. They agreed that concrete and measurable outcomes of an engagement in sustainable development are not always easy to identify. Creating awareness for issues like social justice and sustainability is crucial, however, it takes time before positive effects become visible.One of the most important factors for a reasonable and successful engagement is the enthusiasm and commitment of the activists. These principles are the basis for the acquisition of necessary financial means, which can be gained from various sources.

A crucial part of the constitution of new alliances is their financial basis. At the same time, many in our group wanted to learn more about funding possibilities for the projects they are already running in their respective countries. Also

participants of the New Alliances Conference were keen on getting information of how to pursue projects in Brandenburg as well as in their countries of origin. These diverse interests had room in the workshop in which three speakers presented different ways of funding or working together.

Th e fi r s t p re s e n t e r w a s J o y c e Ru p i a -Bergstermann who introduced the African-German Youth Initiative (AGYI). It was initiated by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the African Union and so far works with implementing organisations in Benin, Tanzania and South Africa. Though these are not directly linked to our group nor necessarily to the participants of the conference, Ms. Rupia-Bergstermann presented various other programmes based on public funding as well. Especially known are programmes such as ASA or weltwärts which are voluntary service based. There are plans to extend those programmes so that not only youth from the global North volunteer in the global South but also vice versa. Some programmes even require longterm exchange between two organisations. She was followed by Jonas Wipfler, consultant for migration and flight in the Berlin office of Misereor. The Christian aid organisation supports a diverse array of projects, mainly with the aim to

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Workshop 6

Medium Projects: Credit and Church Based Funding or German

Public Money?

with Joyce Rupia-Bergstermann (GAYI) Jonas Wipfler (Misereor) and Karl Hildebrandt (Oikocredit)

facilitated by Franza Drechsel

Sabine Heckmann, Collective Leadership Institute; Ernest Kofi Ampadu, Ghana Council NRW; David Kwesi Afreh, OMPF

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

secure basic needs such as access to food and medical care as well as support self-organisation of the people via legal counselling, advocacy support and other. Most of the money given to people who help themselves with their own project comes from public funds or from donations. Applications for project funding are undertaken online; there is a limited funding period, a project contract will be set up in which the use of the funds is proclaimed and after the project, a report needs to be filed. Though Misereor is church-based, it also funds non-church-based NGOs, as well as trade unions, self-help groups and indigenous organisations. In the application, the aim of the project is to be concretised, as well as how it can be achieved in the planned period of time and what is necessary for the success. There is also a possibility to be supported in the application process. All relevant information can be found here.

Last but not least, Karl Hildebrandt, executive director of Oikocredit Support Association North East Germany, presented a way of private funding. Oikocredit is a worldwide cooperative and social investor aiming at empowering people to improve their livelihoods by providing loans, capital and capacity building. Its money comes from individuals who and organisations that invest in Oikocredit. Receiving organisations can be fair trade organisations, microcredit institutions, cooperatives, small to medium sized companies and renewable energy projects. To get funding for more than 50.000€, one needs to apply with the regional or local Oikocredit office. For smaller amounts, local financial institutions that are already supported by Oikocredit are in charge (a map shows where they are located). A concrete business plan should be provided when applying, but there is also application support.

While the programmes funded by public money aim at various ways of exchanges between different continents, Misereor and Oikocredit fund projects in one place. Oikocredit's scheme implies money to be paid back, but projects funded by Misereor do not need to be profitable.

The most important aspect for all ways of funding is that a formal organisation is necessary. No individual can apply for funding, there must be some sort of formal registration, be it as an non-governmental organisation, a cooperative, a company or other. It became clear that one needs to have a very concrete picture of one's project before thinking about which way of funding is adequate.

The three presentations sparked many questions and were very inspiring. Both participants from abroad and from Brandenburg profited from getting to know more about these funding possibilities.

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Franza Drechsel, New Alliances; Jonas Wipfler, Misereor; Peris Wanjiru Njehiah, AGYI

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

Purpose of the workshop

The workshop sought to provide a better understanding on how organisations and activists can play their role as political activists and address their concerns and issues to policy and decision makers in an appropriate and effective manner. In times of an increasing importance of civil society involvement in the policy building process, the workshop intended to provide a clear understanding and strong tools to co-development for practitioners and civil right activists. Hence the following guiding questions were an integral part of the workshop:

• How does the policy building processes in the respective target countries take place in theory and in reality?

• How could the civil society participate stronger in the policy building process?

• How could it be guaranteed that policies meet the realities and perspectives of the concerned public policy community?

• How could the concerned civil society become a driver instead of a factor of the policy building process?

Workshop summary

The workshop started with a short and critical description of the policy building process in Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria and Germany. All participants stipulated that the main critic is an

insufficient involvement of the civil society in the policy building process for two reasons:

1. Civil society actors have not internalised their role and awareness being a political actor. Hence, they act on the operational and not strategic level of the policy process.

2. Policy building processes are most of the time top-down implemented and highly bureaucratic. Thus, it is driven by external experts and excludes concerned communities and activists. Hence, most of the times policies risk to fail or miss their targets and outcomes.

A workshop participant from Ghana provided a short input on their view on the policy building process in Ghana. They rate the involvement of the concerned public policy community rather week and therefore the policy implementing process meets huge constraints. Target communities are scarcely accepting policies or more resisting policies. In Germany, policy building processes are perceived as highly bureaucratic, complex and rather theoretical than practical. Hence, concerned communities do not identify with the process and the policies, and have developed a certain disinterest in participating.

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Workshop 7

How to develop, write and publish a Policy Paper

facilitated by Abdou Rahime Diallo,

NeMiB e.V. / VENROB e.V.

Joseph Enwena, Ndujekwu Enwena Europe; Ernest Kofi Ampadu, Ghana Council NRW; Abdou Rahime Diallo, NeMIB; Simplice Ndaago, SellNow

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

To meet these issues, Diallo intended to provide a manageable and applicable tool, the Policy Paper. Activists and practitioners could benefit from several advantages, once they learnt how to draft policy papers.

Policy Paper as a tool

On the one hand it provides skills on how to:

• analyse and structure problems and concerns in a systematic manner

• address issues objectively and as strong as possible, to increase the consternation of policy and decision makers

• develop suitable and durable solutions and methodologies

• to raise sufficient funds to solve issues.

On the other hand, it provides a better understanding on the policy building process itself: What are the key components of the policy environment? Which role do they play and how do they interact and influence each other? A public policy is a reaction to real world needs or problems that seeks to react to the concrete needs or problems of a society or groups within a society, e.g., citizens or non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the public policy community. The policy making process is driven by the policy developer.

In the following, the working group discussed the characteristics of a policy paper, its application as a policy tool and the instruction for the drafting process.

The policy paper should be of an adequate length to effectively develop the argument:

• The policy paper has usually a report-like format.

• Use simple, jargon-free language and choose the approach that best suits your topic, purpose and audience.

• The table of contents shows the structure of the paper and establishes coherence in the paper.

• Use an outline to plan the focus and logic of your paper, which is a particularly useful tool for collaborative writing.

• The title should gain the readers’ interest, be descriptive, clear, concise and interesting.

The next exercise was the understanding of the drafting process of a policy paper, of its relevant elements, their function and how they are interlinked.

Results During the workshop, the participants could gain a practical understanding on the drafting of a policy paper. All estimated the strength of a proper written policy paper and stated the effectiveness and advantage that this tool provides for their work.

In conclusion, the participants agreed on writing a policy paper for the implementation of New Alliances, as a multi-stakeholder exchange and working platform between Brandenburg, Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria in the thematic area of migration, development, social transition and human rights.

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Outcome and Conclusion Getting to know one another better and learning about the particular operational contexts is certainly vital in the building of relations and for jointly developing solid visions that will address today's global challenges. The forming of interregional and cross sector alliances takes enthusiasm and perseverance as well as understanding and trust. The motivation of the over 70 New Alliances conference participants and their commitment to act decisively on the individually initiated perspectives in Potsdam was impressive as well as encouraging to witness.

The way in which the conference meeting was able to set the stage for a variety of experts from diverse backgrounds to speak out and engage with each other has pointed the way for continued collaboration as expressed and desired by many of the participants. It can be said that New Alliances has set sails and the collective voyage can begin.

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New Alliances Field Trips Visitation Programme: Greener Pastures

Following the conference and as an additional part of the New Alliances Business Brunch jointly organised by New Alliances and the International Department at IHK Potsdam, the delegation members participated in a field excursion to rural areas of Petzow and Brück in Brandenburg.

The visitation programme to two selected IHK Potsdam member enterprises active in green venture economies introduced the New Alliances delegations to creative business strategies alongside an innovative product assortment and service range. In so doing participants were able to witness the relevance that the SDGs hold in relation to the practicalities in the business sector. It exemplarily highlighted the resources and opportunities available in Brandenburg's rural regions and how business can proactively and successfully be aligned with key SDG priorities while at the same time strengthening the environment for doing business and building markets.

Sandokan or the Small Berry with an Edge

With the yearly harvest in full swing, the Sandokan hostess Dorothee Berger led the way to the sea buckthorn plantations where she shared the company's history from a one-woman small scale initiative to a locally rooted family business venture. Meanwhile the company relies on an extended cooperation network even far beyond Brandenburg's borders.

The guests attentively followed the detailed information about sea buckthorn and the practical as well as administrative challenges in processing this delicate fruit mainly used as juice, jam or cosmetics. They asked many technical questions as some wondered if and how such a crop could lend itself for cultivation in their regional contexts.

In the biotope of the sea buckthorn field, the light orange berries obtain their natural vital substances content. Fauna and flora here are ecologically balanced. This proved highly interesting to quite a few delegation members who had already been noting the rather intact agricultural setting in harmony with the natural landscape during the travel from Potsdam by coach. A somewhat stark contrast to impressions or realities from their respective home countries where a growing lack in the balance of ecological awareness and protection was deplored.

While the sea buckthorn is still widely unknown in the West African regions, its highly nutritional benefits and delicious variations were convincingly demonstrated during a tasty lunch at the organic farm shop where a wide selection of Sandokan products — ranging from foodstuffs like fruit spreads

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and fruit juices to high quality cosmetics on the basis of this small orange power berry – are being directly marketed.

The particularly warm and cordial reception by hostess Dorothee Berger and her team made a lasting impression on the New Alliances group and on both sides the wish to explore future possibilities for networking and mutual sharing was vividly expressed.

Baitzer-Heizer: A Village Cooperative Providing Heating

The cooperative Baitzer-Heizer located in Brück, Brandenburg, was the second enterprise the delegates got to learn more about. Baitzer-Heizer has realised a project providing center-fed sustainable heat supply for their community. Hot water for household use as well as for the heating system is produced by burning wood shavings from a nearby sawmill. Since only the needed amount of energy is provided, sustainability is guaranteed.

Based on a democratic structure, cooperatives generally secure a highly participative approach and are an appropriate organisational form of community based projects. Dietmar Bölke and Detlef Neue from the cooperative board showed us the facilities and explained in detail the project’s process. It all started with the idea to decentralise the energy supply and to get independent from imports of oil and gas, which are usually used for heating. As a second step, people from the community were convinced and eventually, a cooperative founded. Bölke pointed out that the community principle and participation are crucial. Furthermore, he underlined the non-profit principle of the project which aims to provide sustainable and fairly priced heating supply.

Both, Bölke and Neue, provided very passionate and elaborate insights into the functioning of the heating system and the structure of the cooperative. It seems that the undertaking has revived the village community. A next project, financed by the profits from the cooperative, will be the rehabilitation of the closed pub in the centre of the village.

Even if the Brandenburgian context differs in some regards from rural areas in Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana, the benefits of cooperatively structured community based projects were of strong interest to the delegates. Thus, this example may serve as an inspiration and model for similar projects, e.g. in water supply or other locally required needs.

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Field Trip to Bad Belzig

Getting to Know the Living Conditions of Refugees as well as Intercultural and Integrational Advocacy Projects on the Communal Level

Bad Belzig, a small district town in the state of Brandenburg with almost 11,000 inhabitants, is not only a picturesque town, but also a point of arrival for refugees since the 1990s. Within the framework of New Alliances, the field trip aimed at addressing the arrival context in the migration process and at giving the allies insights into the situation and living conditions of refugees and migrants. We therefore visited a shelter for refugees where, Petra Lüttich, coordinator of the camp, guided us across the site and gave some explanations. Men and women live separately: men are accommodated in containers whereas women and families live in small houses. Mostly, the inhabitants share the bathroom and kitchen. There are no common rooms and no internet in the area of the shelter.

Obiri Mokini - the initiator of New Alliances - relates this place with a very personal story, since he himself was accommodated in the camp for a total of 15 years and now calls Bad Belzig his second home. For him, visiting this place was particularly important in order to give the allies a differentiated image of the arrival context. Obiri Mokini wanted to relativize the expectations and hopes linked to a refuge by showing and explaining the living conditions in the place of arrival.

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Obiri Mokini with Petra Lüttich, coordinator of the refugee accommodation in Bad Belzig

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

In addition to this, right-wing attacks have been part of the life of refugees and migrants in Bad Belzig since the 1990s. That is why several civil society initiatives were set up to counteract these developments. We visited three of them: The Information Café "Der Winkel", the cultural, youth and media centre "Pogo" and the project “People Meet People”.

“Der Winkel” is a meeting place that originally emerged from an initiative against right-wing extremism and violence. Since 1993, the café has significantly contributed to the promotion of an atmosphere of acceptance and tolerance in Bad Belzig. The café is mostly used as a meeting point for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. Here, they are given advice, assistance with administrative procedures as well as translation and above all attention and sympathy. The Infocafé sees itself as a crossroad of various political activities for a tolerant and respectful coexistence. But Benjamin Stamer, member of the staff, explained that the support of refugees has always been very difficult, because of violence against the café as well as the staff aiming at increasing fear and thus at reducing any sort of commitment. The debate on racist experiences during the migration process and

the general problem of racism in Germany, which started in the project house on Monday, was taken up and deepened during the visit to Bad Belzig.

The cultural centre “Pogo”, offers a space for leisure, cultural and educational offers, counseling, assistance and support for people in need since 1993. Different projects are realized with the aim to promote intercultural dialogue, integration and the exchange of different perspectives and experiences. Pogo is an open space, where people can meet and get to know each other. Through these encounters, the cultural centre contributes to decreased discrimination and increased acceptance. The last station of the field trip was the project “People Meet People”, which a group of committed Bad Belzigers initiated during the influx of migrants in 2015 in order to bring together newcomers and those who live in Bad Belzig for longer. Every week there is a meeting in which the participants can get to know each other via games, arts and facilitated discussions on sensitive issues. Most importantly, people cook and eat together, which also creates a feeling of commonality.

�41“People Meet People”: A world map — without borders: where were you born? Where are you from?

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

The field trip ended in the InfoCafé with a common supper, which offered space for the exchange and the common reflection of the day. The group also had also the opportunity to get in touch and chat with visitors and staff of “Der Winkel”.

The field trip in Bad Belzig demonstrated the different roles that the allies of New Alliances have in creating a respectful and sustainable world. The allies in Africa are engaged in developing and supporting perspectives in order to decrease the necessity to risk a dangerous migration.

In Germany, on the other hand, civil society engages in supporting refugees to create new perspectives here and to stand up against a racist society as well as to get to know different points of view and experiences.

New Alliances gives the opportunity to exchange experiences and knowledge and to mutual support to reduce colonial continuities.

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Tree of Equality - „Baum der Gleichheit“ in Bad Belzig

Memorial Place for Belaid Baylal, victim of a racist attack

Obiri Mokini, Cagintua e.V. with Benjamin Stamer, „Der Winkel“

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

Visit at the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) As a federal institution and supreme authority the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development is in charge of conceptionalising the German development policies. It closely cooperates with the German Society for I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o o p e r a t i o n ( D e u t s c h e Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ) and the German Reconstruction Loan Cooperation (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, KfW). These are federal enterprises which provide international cooperation services and they are directly commissioned by the German g o v e r n m e n t t o i m p l e m e n t p r o j e c t s worldwide.  An appointment with this Ministry was therefore considered a crucial component of the New Alliances Convention. Learning about the BMZ structure, policies and program was intended to help the delegates comprehend the operational field of the German official development assistance. At the same time this important item on the New Alliances agenda was specifically planned as an opportunity for the delegates to directly share their views and observations of German development policies with resource personnel in the Ministry's relevant departments.

However, key staff from the BMZ divisions most relevant to the New Alliances participants had to attend meetings at the Ministry's Bonn office at rather short notice. Our group was therefore then received by Leontine von Levetzow from the Ministry's Department of Public Relations who kindly made herself available so that the appointment could still be kept. 

Von Levetzow briefly outlined the organisational set up and the Ministry's main fields of action. Focusing on the topics of migration and refugees, she highlighted the priority to promote economic and democratic reforms in partner countries in order to stimulate development.

Also and in response to the urgencies marking forced migration, German development activities concentrate on the most pressing needs inside the refugee camps in the respective host regions. Emphasising the strong interest of the Ministry to work with competent partners in the count r ies o f departure , von Levetzow encouraged the delegates to engage particularly with the respective divisions inside BMZ and inform the colleagues on e.g. the realities of project implementation and factual constraints on the ground. Concerning the issue of the visa restrictions many resource persons from African countries are facing, von Levetzow stated that the Ministry itself  regrettingly  had no influence on the decision-making process of the German embassies and diplomatic representations abroad. In an effort to illustrate a concrete example of technical cooperation, Susanne Beurton then shared her experience working with a GIZ project in which a transfrontier catastrophe precautions system was set up along the stream of the Niger River in the south of the state Niger. In Beurton's view, a central cause for this region's increased migration lies in the vast destruction a n d l o s s o f l i v e l i h o o d a s a c o m m o n consequence of this massive river's frequent flooding. Therefore, the implementation of an early warning system used by all states along the Niger River was vital to secure the safety of the people and their livelihoods.

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Under the a.m. circumstances, the visit at the  Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development allowed for a general insight into the current development and migration policies on German federal level. Obviously, exchanging on concrete and personal levels will be needed to evaluate and discuss the real impact of selected political decisions on societies in New Alliances focus areas. Greater clarity about these far reaching concerns is indispensable for all parties involved to undertake more effective political and civil efforts to deliver on the commitments vital to our all future.

Coloniality and its contestations in contemporary Berlin and Brandenburg with Joshua Kwesi Aikins (Berlin Postkolonial)

German colonial history and its visible marks were the topic of the postcolonial city tour in the centre of Berlin facilitated by Joshua Kwesi Aikins, a political scientist and human rights activist.

The tour started in Berlin Mitte at Märkisches Ufer at the Emeler House. It was built in the 18th century and later owned by several tobacco manufacturers. Its entrance relief illustrates the tobacco trade and shows the harvest and transport of tobacco plants by enslaved Africans. According to Aikins, the relief very clearly refers to the colonial past of the tobacco trading business, and to Germany as a former colonial power. He linked the tobacco production on the basis of enslavement in the Global South to the tobacco shipment by companies of the Global North to tobacco consumption in the Global North. Smoking was an important part of the discussions in the so called “coffee houses” of the 18th century in Germany and elsewhere. These “coffee houses” were places, where the bourgeois society talked about enlightenment,

thus equal rights for all citizens of a given state. While in colonising countries, political rights were demanded by a certain civil society elite, notions of equality had no space in the colonies. However, certain values of the era of enlightenment were taken up by the colonised as a means to fight for decolonisation.

With this history of unequal universal rights in mind, the tour continued to the building of the Federal Ministry of Justice. At its entrance, the first articles of the German constitution are cited. Were equal universal rights thus achieved? Aikins encouraged the group to reflect on article 3 “Equality before the law”:

(1) All persons shall be equal before the law.

(2) Men and women shall have equal rights. The state shall promote the actual implementation of equal rights for women and men and take steps to eliminate disadvantages that now exist.

(3) No person shall be favoured or disfavoured because of sex, parentage, race, language, homeland and origin, faith, or religious or political opinions. No person shall be disfavoured because of disability.

Though this sounds very good, Aikins pointed out that the article does not reflect the experiences of many people living in Germany. Many examples, be it court cases, be it the insufficient persecution of right-wing terrorist groups or other, hint to the fact that racial discrimination is very much prevalent in the German society and institutions. Also other forms of disadvantaging, in many cases being linked to various vulnerabilities, shape the daily experience of those affected by discriminating policies or actions of people and institutions. Th i s shows that s t i l l , no t a l l persons independently of their origin or other characteristics have practically the same rights, though they might be granted in legal terms. However, the constitutional r ights give disadvantaged groups a tool to demand the realisation of the legally granted equality.

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Thereafter, the group reached the Berlin historical centre and arrived at “Mohrenstraße”. The word „Mohr“ is an old German expression for people with dark skin and as such a racist expression for people of colour. Hence, the name of the street is highly controversial. Many activists call it “Möhrenstraße” (Carrot Street) instead.

The many initiatives to change the street name have not yet been successful. One of the reasons is the fact that big and also world wide operating companies have their business addresses here. Changing the street name would cause extra work in making necessary adjustments on their paper documents and websites etc. But also beyond that, activists encounter strong resistance from several sides and parties.

The tour ended at the memorial tablet of the Africa Conference in Wilhelmstraße 92 in Berlin Mitte. The plate commemorates the so called Congo Conference in 1884 and 1885, initiated by the Imperial Chancellor Bismarck which took place in a building once located there. During that conference, imperial powers distributed the African continent according to their own needs and prevalent power positions, excluding the African peoples. Borders were drawn on a map, separating families and societies resulting in an even more consolidated colonisation of Africa.

Thanks to the profound historical knowledge and the vital presentation by Aikins, the group gained a deeper understanding of the German historical and colonial past as well as colonial legacies in form of Germany's development policies as well as inequalities that persist to the present day.

It was startling to learn more about the injustices and the struggles for recognition and equality Black communities are still fighting for in Germany. At the same time, it also shed light on the broad number of initiatives by so many groups and thus on their constant endeavour for equality and equity. For many of the New Alliances delegates, this was inspiring as well as encouraging.

The tour was a worthy ending of the first New Alliances Convention. After discussions on migration, its causes and the situation of migrants and refugees in Germany, after thoughts on how to achieve a more sustainable world, the insights into history were very fruitful. The understanding of colonial legacy is necessary for debates about the present. It is without of question that the process of decolonisation has to be continued.

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End of

New Alliances Convention

Potsdam 2017

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Joshua Kwesi Aikins, Felicia Dzifa Tegah, Akim Djaneye-Kpandja, Samuel Kwaku Boateng Arthur, Ernest Kofi Ampadu, David Kwesi Afreh at the memorial tablet of the Africa Conference in Wilhelmstraße 92 in Berlin Mitte

New Alliances Convention 2017 — Project Documentation

Postface

Thank you!

The organisers of the New Alliance Convention wish to thank Engagement Global gGmbH - Service for Development Initiatives and the Brandenburg Ministry of Justice and for Europe and Consumer Protection for their financial support.

Special thanks to

⁃ Stiftung Nord-Süd-Brücken (Foundation North South Bridges) for their contribution and their support to enable participation of colleagues from African countries. The foundation was created in 1994 as a politically independent, private, non-profit foundation. Its capital of 17 million euros came from the assets of the Solidaritätskomitee (Solidarity Committee) of the former East Germany.

⁃ Echo Kamerun e.V. for facilitating the contacts in Cameroon and sponsoring the ticket of one of their partner activists. The NGO was founded 2007 in the town of Bad Belzig, being active in exchanges with people in Kribi, Cameroon.

⁃ International Department of the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) for hosting the New Alliances Business Brunch and supporting the Visitation Programme Greener Pastures to Petzow and Brück

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New Alliances Team

Obiri Mokini, Cagintua e.V. - Initiator Uwe Prüfer, VENROB e.V. Jahsa R. Wiles - Project Management Abdou Rahime Diallo - VENROB e.V. / NeMIB e.V.

Franza Drechsel - Project Assistant Julia Groß - Project Assistant Inger Kühn - Public Relations

New Alliances newalliances@venrob.org

www.newalliances.net

Herausgeber und Bildrechte:

VENROB e.V. Tuchmacherstr. 49 14482 Potsdam Tel: +49 (0) 331 - 704 89 66 Fax: + 49 (0) 331 - 270 86 90 www.venrob.org

Disclaimer: the opinions and positions expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the personal views of the respective authors.

Gefördert von ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL mit finanzieller Unterstützung des Bundesministeriums für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung sowie vom Ministerium der Justiz und für Europa und Verbraucherschutz des Landes Brandenburg.

New Alliances Convention Potsdam 2017

Project Documentation