akzente | Das Magazin der GIZ

A promising harvest

Cocoa is an important product in western and central Africa. Together with various partners, GIZ has developed a training programme to help smallholders farm their land sustainably.

Five perspectives

Public debate about China is often characterised by superlatives and clichés. akzente asked five experts to present their views.

‘Telling people about our diversity’

Author Farirai Mubvuma describes why she became an author and explains how everyone benefits if they listen to one another.

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

Intercultural bridge-builders

Part partner, part competitor, part opponent – China’s relationship with Germany and Europe is more important than ever. With a network of contacts, GIZ is working to strengthen mutual understanding.

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Gathering momentum

The electric miracle of Shenzhen, smart traffic lights in Jinan and a dialogue about future mobility – a trip through China with Guido Beermann, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure

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Making way for startups

akzente gathered insights on the Tech Entrepreneurship Initiative ‘Make-IT in Africa’ featuring the voices of four young African experts and an interview with the Head of the programme.

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Building up hope

Simple ideas - such as running a small shop - are turning around the lives of refugees and local people in northern Iraq following the end of terror in the country.

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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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Highlights

China

Five perspectives

Public debate about China is often characterised by superlatives and clichés. akzente asked five experts to present their views.

Intercultural bridge-builders

China’s relationship with Germany and Europe is more important than ever. GIZ is working to strengthen mutual understanding.

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

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