akzente

akzente | Das Magazin der GIZ

China’s meteoric rise

China’s rise is unstoppable. China expert Professor Eberhard Sandschneider explains why, and how the West should respond.

Gathering momentum

A trip through China with Guido Beermann, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure

Improving knowledge

Many young people in Central America are unemployed. At the same time, companies can’t find the skilled workers they need. An initiative brings the two sides together. Four views on a success story from Costa Rica.

Faster, higher, further

Environmental protection and pollution, extreme poverty and growth – China’s development remains contradictory.

‘China is hungry for success’

Interview with Zheng Han, Chair of the Sino-German School for Postgraduate Studies at Tongji University in Shanghai

Healthy Future

The health care system in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is being given a new lease of life. The impoverished province of South Kivu shows how this might look.

<strong>Dancing salsa with a new leg:</strong> Interpreter Leisé González is delighted with her new prosthesis. It has been made by Cuban orthopaedic technicians who have been trained by the German company Ottobock. GIZ supports training for technicians within the framework of the develoPPP.de programme set up by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). <em>Photo: Sven Creutzmann</em>

Dancing salsa with a new leg: Interpreter Leisé González is delighted with her new prosthesis. It has been made by Cuban orthopaedic technicians who have been trained by the German company Ottobock. GIZ supports training for technicians within the framework of the develoPPP.de programme set up by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Photo: Sven Creutzmann

<strong>Breaking new ground together:</strong> Aida Al Khattab is Vice-President of the council of Jordan’s largest governorate. She is the only woman in the country to hold this position and is a participant in the LEAD programme. The programme, implemented on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), is designed to strengthen women in leading positions in the administration and in civil society in the Middle East. <em>Photo: Rajiv Raman</em>

Breaking new ground together: Aida Al Khattab is Vice-President of the council of Jordan’s largest governorate. She is the only woman in the country to hold this position and is a participant in the LEAD programme. The programme, implemented on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), is designed to strengthen women in leading positions in the administration and in civil society in the Middle East. Photo: Rajiv Raman

<strong>Building up hope:</strong> Huda Ali Khalaf (l.) and Sazan Hassan are benefiting from a new milking machine given to farmers in northern Iraq who employ Syrian refugees. This is part of a programme commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) that seeks to improve infrastructure, secure livelihoods and strengthen social cohesion in the country. <em>Photo: Fabian Schwan-Brandt</em>

Building up hope: Huda Ali Khalaf (l.) and Sazan Hassan are benefiting from a new milking machine given to farmers in northern Iraq who employ Syrian refugees. This is part of a programme commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) that seeks to improve infrastructure, secure livelihoods and strengthen social cohesion in the country. Photo: Fabian Schwan-Brandt

<strong>The stuff that futures are made of:</strong> Etsegenet Mitiku works in a textile factory on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. She started as an unskilled worker on a monthly salary of 400 Ethiopian birr (about EUR 12) but she now leads a team of 16 seamstresses and earns the equivalent of EUR 117 a month. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ works in the areas of initial and continuing training in Ethiopia. <em>Photo: Michael Tsegaye</em>

The stuff that futures are made of: Etsegenet Mitiku works in a textile factory on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. She started as an unskilled worker on a monthly salary of 400 Ethiopian birr (about EUR 12) but she now leads a team of 16 seamstresses and earns the equivalent of EUR 117 a month. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ works in the areas of initial and continuing training in Ethiopia. Photo: Michael Tsegaye Self-employed rather than unemployed: The former vocational school student, Wafa Mohammed Ziada, is now a successful businesswoman. Assisted by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), vocational schools in the West Bank are helping young adults succeed in the labour market. Photo: Thomas Imo

<strong>Self-employed rather than unemployed:</strong> The former vocational school student, Wafa Mohammed Ziada, is now a successful businesswoman. Assisted by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), vocational schools in the West Bank are helping young adults succeed in the labour market. <em>Photo: Thomas Imo</em>

Self-employed rather than unemployed: The former vocational school student, Wafa Mohammed Ziada, is now a successful businesswoman. Assisted by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), vocational schools in the West Bank are helping young adults succeed in the labour market. Photo: Thomas Imo Healthy future: Ester Zawadi Mwachigabo and her daughter visit the health centre in the eastern Congolese community of Kasihe. To ensure that people living in South Kivu province have access to better medical care, GIZ works in eight health zones in the region on behalf of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Photo: Rudy Kimvuidi Nkombo

<strong>Healthy future:</strong> Ester Zawadi Mwachigabo and her daughter visit the health centre in the eastern Congolese community of Kasihe. To ensure that people living in South Kivu province have access to better medical care, GIZ works in eight health zones in the region on behalf of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). <em>Photo: Rudy Kimvuidi Nkombo</em>

Healthy future: Ester Zawadi Mwachigabo and her daughter visit the health centre in the eastern Congolese community of Kasihe. To ensure that people living in South Kivu province have access to better medical care, GIZ works in eight health zones in the region on behalf of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Photo: Rudy Kimvuidi Nkombo

<strong>The white gold of Félane</strong>: Mama Diouf and Aissatou Bop are president and vice-president of the women’s cooperative known as Ndefleng. The cooperative’s 127 members produce ice using solar energy. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ supports Senegal’s Ministry of Energy in expanding the renewable energy sector. <em>Photo: Marta Moreiras</em>

The white gold of Félane: Mama Diouf and Aissatou Bop are president and vice-president of the women’s cooperative known as Ndefleng. The cooperative’s 127 members produce ice using solar energy. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ supports Senegal’s Ministry of Energy in expanding the renewable energy sector. Photo: Marta Moreiras

Information and background

Our job: to promote decent work

GIZ promotes employment around the world – often delivering rapid results. Tilman Nagel explains what this involves.

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Much needed temporary jobs

On behalf of BMZ, GIZ has helped partners to create 22,000 temporary jobs in Dohuk Province.

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Identifying scope for action

The world calls on our country to accept greater international responsibility. What does that mean for GIZ?

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‘A tool for development’

Shradha Sharma is a journalist and the founder of YourStory, the biggest media technology platform for start-ups in India.

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Fighting violence against women

An app and awareness campaigns: How GIZ is preventing violence against women in South America.

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For Peace

Germany is offering support to the people of Mali as they move towards reconciliation and stability.

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Highlights

China

Faster, higher, further

Environmental protection and pollution, extreme poverty and growth – China’s development remains contradictory.

‘China is hungry for success’

Interview with Zheng Han, Chair of the Sino-German School for Postgraduate Studies at Tongji University in Shanghai

China’s meteoric rise

China’s rise is unstoppable. China expert Professor Eberhard Sandschneider explains why, and how the West should respond.

Gathering momentum

A trip through China with Guido Beermann, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure

Facts and figures

million children and young people of school age are not receiving education. The figures for primary school children have not improved since 2008.
billion USD less is spent each year on things like energy and food as a consequence of natural disasters.
new cases of malaria have been reported by Paraguay over the last three years. This means that the country is considered to be free of the disease.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Action
Almost 1.1 billion people still have no access to electric power. Solar lights are cheaper and more frequently purchased.
of 91,523 species of flora and fauna examined are threatened with extinction.
of full-time jobs in the world are generated by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
billion people more than in 1990 now have access to safe drinking water.
The good news is that child labour is on the decline. However, 168 million children are still victims of this exploitation.

Insight

A brush with success

Delicate hand-made brooms form a work of art covering the floor of a cooperative in Maozhuang in north-eastern China. The products are in demand all over the world – especially in South Korea and Japan. Maozhuang in the province of Hebei is famous for this traditional craft.

Photo: picture alliance/Photoshot

akzente | Das Magazin der GIZ

Empowerment – photos of our work worldwide

Information and background

Highlights

Half the world

Facts and figures