faces and stories my newspaper is a mouthpiece for the people. south african journalist and founder of the skawara news wandile fana his newspaper prints investigative articles in the local language, isixhosa – something that’s never been done before. on behalf of the german federal development ministry, giz supports local media that offer a critical commentary on political and administrative affairs in south africa. you can find more ‘faces and stories’ at www.giz.de/stories. scan the code with your smartphone to watch the video.

contents in focus in brief 6 updates an expert team to combat epidemics, an advisory centre for mi- gra tion in tunisia, new commissions in colombia and south africa in the spotlight 10 golden rice nigeria still relies on imports for its staple food. rice farmer hajiya gambo auwalu wants to change things. 16 africa: a continent in transition in africa, huge potential and huge challenges go hand in hand. bettina rühl looks at the various paths of progress. 3 editorial 32 through the lens 50 special 52 info: events and publications 55 sustainability, preview issue 2/17 akzente the giz magazine africa – a continent in transition other topics: vocational training on the west bank support for refugees in northern iraq akzente app you can read akzente on your tablet whenever you want. simply download the app and the new issue for free from your app store. 25 ‘africa can capture the 21st century’ interview with kandeh yumkella, who has come home to support development in sierra leone after an international career 26 in figures: great opportunities and diversity facts and figures on the world’s second largest continent 29 feeding the fish writer jowhor ile shows how well-organised production is vital for nigeria. 30 a marshall plan with africa guest article by german development minister gerd müller background 34 our aim is continuous improvement ricardo gomez, director of giz’s evaluation unit, explains how giz ensures that it learns from its project work. 4 akzente 2/17

in figures 95% of the global population now has the op- portunity to use a mobile phone, even if the mobile network in many regions is based on a simple standard. that’s the good news from the international telecommunication union’s 2016 annual report. the bad news is that more than half of all people still have no internet access. 3,000,000 more people than in 2016 will be living in poverty by the end of 2017 despite being in work, according to the international labour organization. while numbers are falling in emerging economies, they are rising in de- veloping countries. in southern asia, almost half of the working population lives on less than usd 3.10 a day. 5.6 million hectares of forest are lost every year as a result of deforestation. this is equivalent to an area roughly the size of costa rica. forests are not only an important factor in the fight against climate change, they also gener- ate crucial income for the 350 million people who live in or near forests. in brief preventing epidemics rapid response team drawing on lessons learned from the devastating ebola outbreak in guinea, liberia and sierra leone in 2014, the german federal ministry for economic cooperation and development has commissioned giz with establishing a rapid response epidemic preparedness team. the task is to provide support to partner countries, for ex- ample in developing diagnostics for haemorrhagic fevers like ebola that cause bleeding. pathogens must be identified as quickly as possible to prevent the spread of disease. this approach is clearly working, as shown by the most recent outbreak of lassa fever in togo. there, in its first deployment in may 2016, the epidemic preparedness team de- veloped the diagnostics for lassa fever, trained laboratory staff and called for the nation- wide training of staff on how to take blood samples. as a direct result of this, the national hygiene institute in lomé was able to confirm a case of lassa fever within one day in march 2017, which led to the immediate implementation of measures to prevent the spread of the disease. before the team was deployed, samples had to be sent to neigh- bouring countries or to germany. when cases of lassa fever were reported in benin in march 2017, the epidemic pre- paredness team was also sent there, where it supported the national reference laboratory for febrile illnesses. at the request of the ministry of health in benin, the team also de- veloped methods of detecting other febrile diseases such as dengue fever and zika virus. severe cases of dengue fever were reported in benin at the end of 2016. the deployment teams consist of staff from giz and its cooperation partners, the robert koch institute and the bernhard nocht institute for tropical medicine. giz has estab- lished a pool of more than 60 experts specialised in areas such as health, tropical medi- cine and logistics. www.giz.de/en/worldwide/40435.html 6 6 akzente 2/17 akzente 2/17

in brief 94* 94* giving refuge internal displacement in north-eastern nigeria, the violence inflicted by the terror group boko haram has claimed more than 17,000 lives since 2009. over two million people have been forced to flee. the german federal ministry for economic cooperation and development and the eu have tasked giz with supporting internally displaced persons (idps) and strengthening host com- munities. giz has a budget of around eur 55 million over five years to support both host communities and communities of origin. contact: hannes hechler hannes.hechler@giz.de where children are dying in comparison child mortality is a key indicator of how a country is doing. some pro- gress has been made – the number of deaths worldwide almost halved between 1990 and 2015. however, the three examples show that there are still major differences between individual coun- tries. * number of children who die in their first month of life (in thou- sands, per year) 1* germany (80 million inhabitants) dr congo (80 million inhabitants) afghanistan (33 million inhabitants) prospects for tunisia advisory centre federal chancellor angela merkel visited egypt and tuni- sia in march. she discussed a number of issues with the tunisian govern- ment, including how germany can continue to support the country’s posi- tive development. an additional eur 250 million in development assistance will be provided. the german federal minister for economic cooperation and development, gerd müller, joined merkel on her trip to tunis, where he and the tunisian minister of employ- ment, imed hammami, opened an advi- sory centre. the german- tunisian cen- tre for jobs, migration and reintegra- tion serves as a point of contact for tunisians who wish to find out more about training opportunities at home or official means of migrating to germany. the centre also advises people returning from europe on employment opportu- nities as well as on starting up a busi- ness. this year alone, experts from giz and the tunisian employment agency will advise 2,000 people. in the picture, from left to right: oula tarssim and andreas proksch (giz), angela merkel, gerd müller. 5 1 0 2 o h w : e c r u o s 8 akzente 2/17

golden rice nigeria still relies on imports to supply the population with rice, its staple food. now, women farmers like hajiya gambo auwalu plan to use their expertise in growing and processing rice to boost yields. text katrin gänsler photos george osodi

left: the women farmers of dawakin kudu in northern nigeria benefit from courses run by the women farmers advancement network. right: rice piled high at project partner popular farms and mills. at a glance more rice, more income the aim of the competitive african rice in- itiative (cari) is to make african countries less dependent on imported rice. it also supports farmers with low incomes, many of whom are women. cari receives assis- tance from the german federal ministry for economic cooperation and develop- ment, the bill & melinda gates foundation, the walmart foundation, private companies and local non-governmental organisations. it works with 11 partners in nigeria. the initiative is also active in burkina fa- so, ghana and tanzania. its objective is to reach around 150,000 rice growers by mid-2018. participating farmers in northern nigeria have seen their incomes rise by some 170 per cent within three years. the year: ‘it’s good for the soil,’ she says. be- fore long, she’s finished checking her rows. putting her hands on her hips, she straight- ens up slowly and then gestures expansively: ‘and it means we can now produce two rice crops and two tomato crops a year.’ the aim is to increase the rice yield from two tonnes per hectare to between five and six tonnes. that’s also what hajiya gambo is hoping for, and the women farmers advancement network now gives her access to affordable fertilisers to help her achieve her goal. her own field is 2.4 hec- tares in size, and in 2016, she harvested ex- actly 32 sacks of rice. although each sack weighed 100 kg, it wasn’t enough, and she doesn’t like to think back to that harvest. wiping her hands, she frowns: ‘i wasn’t sat- isfied with the quantity,’ she says. she was able to sell just 20 sacks, as she needed the rest of the rice to feed her own family. the 55-year-old lives with her six children, who range in age from 17 to 40. once their spouses and children are included, that’s a household of 25. gambo also supports her grandchil- dren, which is not easy, as she points out: ‘as well as feeding them, i need money to clothe them and pay their school fees.’ in northern nigeria, school attendance is still not seen as the accepted norm, with girls particularly likely to be excluded from edu- cation. in fact, the current unicef report indicates that across the country, 8.7 mil- lion children of primary school age do not go to school. instead, both girls and boys are often needed to work in the household or in the fields. but hajiya gambo thinks it’s im- portant for her grandchildren to be educat- ed, and the money she earns from growing rice and vegetables pays their school fees. in the past, she has despaired at poor harvests like the one in 2016. now she taps the ground with her right index finger: ‘we know more now, so we can achieve more.’ rice is her priority, because she can earn well from growing and selling it. it is a popular staple food as it takes less time to prepare than the traditional tubers – yams and manioc. and it’s convenient, especially since increasing numbers of nigerian wom- en now work outside the home. the de- mand for rice is rising steadily, in part because the population is growing by 12 akzente 2/17

top: large rice mills also cooperate with cari to increase the supply of high-quality rice for processing and packaging. bottom: hajiya gambo auwalu (right) uses her earnings from growing and processing rice to feed her family and pay her grandchildren’s school fees. 14 » akzente 2/17

in focus examples of giz’s work giz’s work in africa – as multifaceted and diverse as the continent’s 54 countries giz implements projects and pro- grammes in almost every afri- can country. in 2016, it had 4,700 staff working on commissions with a total value of eur 936 million. one of its key tasks on behalf of the german govern- ment is to promote sustainable economic development and offer people better pros- pects. this is being achieved, for example, through projects which train young people in occupations that offer good employment opportunities. training is also provided to enable farmers to improve their cultivation techniques; this helps to combat hunger and undernourishment. adaptation to cli- mate change, for example through the con- struction of irrigation systems, is another priority area of activity, as is health system development: in the five years from 2010 to 2015, 12 million africans gained access to health insurance. high population growth remains a major challenge, not least for africa’s education systems, but with giz’s support, almost eight million children and teenagers gained access to improved edu- cation from 2010 to 2015. the purpose of all these activities is ‘to make africa a better place’. with that aim in mind, giz partners not only with na- tional governments but also with local and international companies. however, sustain- able economic development depends upon an enabling legal and political environment, so in almost all its african partner coun- tries, giz is implementing good governance projects. there is strong evidence that le- gal certainty also improves the investment climate. and from 2010 to 2015, around 23.6 million africans gained more opportu- nities to have a say in politics. in many african countries, access to electricity is still the exception rather than the norm due to the lack of power plants and transmission lines. in kenya, for exam- ple – home to 46 million people – only one household in three has access to power from the grid, and the figure is even lower in rural areas. so on behalf of the german and british governments, giz is working with kfw to support the installation of so- lar hybrid systems to provide electricity for rural communities. diesel generators are available for the few days without sunshine. the solar panels generate enough power to charge mobile phones and run sewing machines, fridges and lighting. similar schemes are promoting access to electricity in many other african countries as well. the aim is to give 19 million households access to clean energy by 2019. education in ethiopia 150,000 students are studying at 13 new universi- ties whose construction was organised by giz international services on behalf of the ethiopian ministry of education. stu- dent hostels and water treatment plants were also built. the buildings were de- signed and constructed by local compa- nies, now familiar with current standards. migration in the horn of africa 9,000,000 people in the horn of africa are fleeing conflict. on behalf of the eu and bmz, giz is working to protect them from human trafficking and violence. very few of them have europe in their sights – they want to build a future for themselves close to home. improving farming in 14 countries 10,000,000 people are benefiting from giz’s coopera- tion with 100 partner organisations to improve the cultivation of cacao, cashew nuts, cotton and rice in 14 african coun- tries. the bill & melinda gates foundation, the private sector and bmz are providing eur 235 million for these projects. an app against corruption in nigeria 2,225 incidents on nigeria’s streets have been reported since 2014 with an app pio- neered by giz. corrupt police officers detain street traders – often violently – in order to extort bribes. the app to combat these illegal checks was devel- oped on behalf of bmz. 22 akzente 2/17

in focus ‘africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.’ barack obama, former us president distribution. the idea of going into tea production came to him after he graduated in business administra- tion. he had been racking his brains to find a way of earning a living. having applied for countless jobs and received a pile of rejections, he realised that if he couldn’t find a job, he would have to create his own. and he has done so with single-minded commitment and determination. africa’s progress is abundantly obvious – although observers over-estimated the african economy’s upward trajectory for a time. business consultants and banks were keen to talk about ‘africa rising’, and the optimistic fore- casts were underpinned by genuinely impressive macroe- conomic data from many sub-saharan african countries from 2000 onwards. until 2015, the region’s gdp grew by an average of 5.3 per cent in real terms – higher growth than was achieved by the industrialised nations during the same period. but the collapse of the price of oil and other commodities on the world markets confirmed what many sceptics had been saying for some time – that the growth rates were driven mainly by raw materials exports and the high prices they were fetching at the time on the world markets. this trend has slackened now, although the international monetary fund (imf) is predicting a moderate recovery over the next few years. however, the countries that experienced the sharp- est rise in incomes are also those in which income inequality is most pronounced. even so, the overall situ- ation has improved even for the poorest of the poor in recent years: in 2000, almost two thirds of the african population lived below the poverty line, but this has now fallen to around 40 per cent. in education, too – a key sector in breaking the vicious cycle of poverty – africa has made substantial progress since 2000. although there is not a single country on the continent where every child attends primary school, the numbers have more than doubled, from around 60 million to almost 160 million – roughly 80 per cent. there’s also good news to report in second- ary education: according to unesco, no other region of the world has made progress equal to africa’s, albeit from a low level – even now, less than 50 per cent of children who attend a primary school go on to second- ary. it’s a similar picture with university education: here too, there is considerable ground to make up despite impressive progress over the past two decades. economic imbalances the generally positive trend in africa could easily be reversed, however; the african countries must continue to work hard to improve living conditions. one ongo- ing problem for many countries is the lack of eco- nomic diversification: alongside commodity exports, agriculture is the other mainstay of the economy, with almost two thirds of africans dependent on subsist- ence farming. yet despite the major importance of farming, many countries have cut their agricultural budgets in recent years, and international support has been steadily dwindling. this is the starting point for the comprehensive africa agriculture development programme (caapd), launched by the african union (au) and the new partnership for africa’s develop- ment (nepad) in 2003. caapd aims to boost investment in this sector and promote agricultural pol- icy coherence. its target is for the au member states to achieve at least 6 per cent annual growth in agricul- tural gdp. that is still a long way off, but at least there is growing awareness of the issue. this new approach and new investment in agricul- ture are supported by germany. the german federal ministry for economic cooperation and development (bmz) has set up green innovation centres in 13 part- ner countries to promote innovation in the agriculture and food sector and thus improve food security in the region. bmz is providing almost eur 140 million for this purpose to the end of 2019. in many places, progress in the economic sphere is accompanied by positive political developments. there was good news not long ago from the gambia, the con- tinent’s smallest country, in west africa: its people went to the polls and voted their dictatorial president yahya jammeh out of office. at first, jammeh clung on to » power, giving way only when intense pressure was 24 akzente 2/17 2,140 is the total number of languages in africa. cameroon alone has 230 languages. this linguistic wealth is an expression of great cultural diversity.

great opportunities and diversity africa is not a uniform continent but rather a place of diversity. it comprises nearly five dozen countries and several thousand ethnicities. there are deserts, mountains, mighty rivers, fertile land, a wealth of natural resources, and an agile young population. it has modern cities and a growing middle class, but also vast rural areas and high levels of poverty. some countries are developing into democracies, while in others, democracies are falling apart. but although many may think it, africa is not a monotonous region that will never succeed. the infographic shows opportunities and challenges. young population worldwide, the 15 countries with the youngest populations are all found in africa. the average age in africa is 18 years. africa germany 18 years 44.5 years abundant catch the waters of southwest africa and west africa are among the world’s richest in fish. economic prospects africa has great potential in the commercial, service and agricultural sectors. althouth currently its share of global gdp is only 3.1 per cent, economic institutes forecast that africa’s economies could take a great leap forward in the next two decades if the political environment is right and the level of education rises. the continent’s economic output has been growing much faster in the past 15 years than in europe and latin america. africa 5.4% 3.3% latin america 3.3% 2.3% europe 1.4% 1.0% 2000-2010 2010-2015 many refugees about 20 million refugees and internally dis- placed persons, or nearly a third (29 per cent) of the worldwide total, live in sub-saharan africa. europe however, with its much greater economic strength, is home to only six per cent. higher yields africa is home to 60 per cent of the remaining useable agricultural land worldwide. africa rest of world increasing production africa could nearly double its turnover in the manufacturing sector by 2025 to 930 billion us dollars if countries are able to create a favourable investment climate, to build the required infrastruc- ture, and have qualified workers. billion 930 us dollars 500 billion us dollars

africa resists: the people of the gambia voted their longstanding president yahya jammeh out of office and into exile. overall, then, how is africa doing today? there is no clear-cut answer to that question. many countries are at a crossroads. the foundations – mainly economic but in part political – are in place for a transition to sustainable development, but this trend is by no means irreversible. as the growth rates show, falling world market prices have dampened down economic devel- opment in many countries. however, well-crafted economic policies would prevent any reversal of the successes achieved to date. the proposed marshall plan with africa, which german development minister gerd müller is keen to launch in the g7 framework, would support and consolidate the continent’s positive development trajectory. in essence, this initiative is about economic cooperation, with a stronger focus on african country ownership and a shift away from the traditional donor- recipient mentality. the aim is to create a more enabling environment for private investment from developed countries, based on the recognition that in the long term, jobs are created by the private sector, not govern- ments. what’s more, countries which take action against corruption, establish tax systems and invest in better ed- ucation will receive more support than the rest. this is important, not least because economic inequalities on the continent are widening, both within and between countries. so it is essential to focus on and make targeted use of the opportunities that africa affords. africa offers major potential. indeed, a few years ago, former un secretary-general kofi annan described africa as a ‘sleeping giant about to be awoken’. ensuring that it does not fall back into an economic and political coma – that’s the task ahead, and tackling it lies first and foremost in the hands of the african countries themselves. www.giz.de/africa tom burgis, investiga- tions correspondent at the finan cial times, explores the question of why there is so much poverty on a continent as wealthy as africa. in search of an- swers, he travelled across africa, collecting informa- tion and impressions. 28 akzente 2/17

in focus a marshall plan with africa towards a new form of cooperation germany is helping its partners in africa achieve the goals they have set themselves – with a new form of cooperation guided by common interests and commitment. guest article by german development minister gerd müller

through the lens

background our aim is continuous improvement ricardo gomez explains how giz ensures that its projects achieve success. a t the end of every project we ask the questions: what have we achieved? and what can we do better in future? evaluations – independent assessments written by expert auditors – serve as an im- portant compass. let’s take as a case in point jordan, one of the driest countries on earth. only four per cent of its land area is suitable for agricul- ture, and just one per cent is forested. con- taminated soil, for example as a result of uncontrolled rubbish dumps, cannot regen- erate without intervention. the country’s population of 6.5 million has absorbed 1.5 million syrian refugees. that brings addi- tional challenges, not least in terms of waste disposal. giz is promoting environmental awareness on behalf of the german federal ministry for economic cooperation and development. members of the jordanian royal family have played a part in raising awareness among the population and there has been a recycling campaign. despite all this, our evaluation report showed that the results were limited. activities had a very local focus and came to an end when the project finished. so it was important to turn the campaign into something more permanent. a recycling point was set up in the provincial capital karak, which now serves as a model for other municipalities. a company producing egg cartons buys the compressed recycled paper. waste bins and noticeboards have been put up in recreation areas popular with families for picnics, and rangers now en- sure that the rules are enforced. the national campaign employs both jordanians and refu- gees, paying them a small wage to collect and sort waste. slogans on the jackets they wear also promote a cleaner environment. through these measures the campaign now reaches two million people. they should have experience of the approaches used and must not have provided advice at the project planning stage. this case shows the importance of evalua- tions to us, whether in new areas of activity or ricardo gomez heads up the giz evaluation unit. for our classic projects. firstly, they provide a basis for decision-making – on a project’s pri- ority areas, for example. secondly, they create transparency both for commissioning parties and the general public. and thirdly, they pro- mote learning within our organisation: the results can subsequently benefit other projects. evaluations are conducted by external auditors, appointed by us through a public tender procedure. these auditors may be indi- viduals or employed by consultancy firms. the auditors first set out the questions the evaluation should address in a prelimi- nary report. have we reached our target group? are the positive impacts sustainable? are project objectives in line with the policies of the partner country? the report also defines the methods to be used, such as inter- views or workshops with staff, partners and the people who are benefiting from the project. the auditors then compile data for the final report during a two-week visit to the country. not all projects are evaluated externally; the cost for that would be too high. we take a random sample, which enables us to cover between 30 and 50 per cent of projects. all non-evaluated projects are reviewed internally or subject to progress monitoring. compared with similar organisations, this places us at the top of the scale. in future, anyone will be able to access the results online. in addition, we carry out corporate-strat- egy evaluations. a short time ago we looked closely at the way we manage security risk. half of the countries where giz is active suffer from natural disasters, terrorist attacks or violent crime. that evaluation played a part in creating a unit that has enabled giz to pool its knowledge on crisis management and security precautions. and so evaluation, too, brings results. previous ‘background’ articles on giz’s work can be found at: akzente.giz.de/en ) 4 3 e g a p ( t n o m u a e b t o i l l e : n o i t a r t s u l l i 34 akzente 2/17

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top: strict selection criteria: sandos abubaker is head of a vocational school in jenin. ‘we only take the best,’ she says. bottom: a good environment for learn- ing new skills: the film studio in the competence centre at the palestine technical college for girls in ramallah. top right: practice makes perfect: ameer abu-wafa dreams of becoming a self-employed carpenter. the practi- cal elements included in his training will stand him in good stead. bottom right: concentration required: ameer’s fellow students are equally industrious. the well-equipped joinery workshop ensures they receive a very hands-on approach to training. 38 akzente 2/17

also available on the akzente app: school principal sandos abubaker tells her story. akzente.giz.de/en left: under the bonnet: qais abu-rub and modar sa’abnah work as a team to strip the engine of a vw golf. the young men are training to become motor mechanics. right: attention to detail: the youngsters must learn about every component of the car. ameer abu-wafa, aged 18, hopes to set himself up as a self-employed carpenter in his village. his father works as a day labourer in israel, since he can earn more there than in the pales- tinian territories. but he has no employment contract, nor any kind of insurance. that is the usual form of employment here. many fathers hire themselves out to work in local quarries, mining the typical limestone used in house con- struction by israelis and palestinians alike. oth- ers find employment in the fields – work that is arduous, poorly paid, and seasonal. ameer’s parents still support their son fi- nancially, but that is soon set to change. in line with the school’s approach, he has already es- tablished links with professional carpenters during his school training. and he aims to find a job with one of them as soon as he passes his examination. the west bank does not currently offer a dual training system simi- lar to the german concept, in which practical experience and school-based vocational train- ing run side by side. nevertheless, developing this stronger practical focus is one of the pro- gramme’s key objectives. there are currently ten state-run and around 50 private vocational schools on the west bank. in addition to these, there are also six ‘competence centres’, co-developed by giz. these include the school in jenin and the pal- estine technical college for girls in ramal- lah. these centres provide training for teach- ers from other schools, are very well equipped and are tasked with overall modernisation of vocational education and training through cooperation with companies. vocational schools suddenly in demand in an adjoining room, aspiring car mechanics are busy working on a white vw golf. they are learning how to repair the alternator. dressed in overalls, with slicked hair and oil- smeared hands, the young men are hard at work. of course, all of them hope to open their own car repair shop one day. ‘and buy a bmw,’ one of them adds. the other gives a wry smile, perhaps finding his colleague’s cocky remark a little overambitious: ‘i’d settle 40 akzente 2/17

also available on the akzente app: an insight into the kabarto refugee camp akzente.giz.de/en top: kada and other residents at the camp help build a recreation facility. bottom: the kabarto refugee camp pro- vides shelter from the ‘islamic state’ for people from syria and iraq (left). despite all adversity, kada wants life in the camp to be as pleasant as possible for her family (right). work is typically a man’s job, she applied and was offered work for 40 days. residents at the camp are in the process of building a recreation area which they will later be able to use themselves. giz planned the entire project in partnership with the kurdish authority for support and humanitarian affairs. there will be areas for football, bas- ketball, volleyball and table tennis as well as three playgrounds, meeting areas and green spaces. all the joinery will be undertaken by the joinery workshop from the khanke refu- gee camp, where the evangelical us-based international relief and development organ- isation samaritan’s purse runs a training programme for joiners. giz is supplying the wood to enable them to complete their first major order. kada can still remember what the area looked like before building work began – a wasteland about a kilometre in length and up to 150 metres wide: ‘it was just a swamp here. there was a stream of wastewater that couldn’t drain and just formed puddles and mud. it stank. it wasn’t a pleasant sight.’ today the stream runs through an under- ground pipe beneath the new recreation area. this now feeds into a wastewater treat- ment facility. the treated water will in fu- ture be used to irrigate the trees and green spaces in the recreation area. it is already possible to see the transformation under way on the former wasteland. kada’s job was to level the ground and build walls. every morning she was there without fail, ready to work an eight-hour day. the engineers soon noticed her dedica- tion. after just a few days she was put in charge of her team of workers: ‘my job was 44 akzente 2/17

maintain a presence in many regions of the country that are suitable for mining. the poor security situation also deters foreign investors and mining companies. that is why most mining is done by hand – and generally on an illegal basis. in zahid’s home province of wardak, southwest of kabul, the taliban use mineral extraction as a means to great self-enrichment. according to some estimates, around half of all reve- nues from afghan mining ends up in the pockets of local warlords. the provinces see too little benefit from their mines zahid is well aware that exploiting afghani- stan’s mineral wealth involves significant risk. conflicts over resource allocation between local warlords could plunge the country once again into civil war. so re- sponsible governance is key when it comes to mineral resources. passed in 2014, afghanistan’s new min- ing law stipulates that five per cent of reve- nues from any mine must make a direct con- tribution to development of the relevant province. however, the country currently lacks the highly trained experts required to control and monitor such processes. there is little dialogue between the ministry of mines and petroleum and the mining experts at the polytechnic university. but that is set to change. ‘once graduates of the six modern- ised bachelor’s degree courses are able to feed their expertise into afghanistan’s political system, we will be able to make a significant contribution to the country’s development,’ says arnim fischer of giz. a conversation with zohra hazrati gives reason for hope. the cheerful mining student in her eighth semester is the only female in a programme of 32 participants. hazrati sits at a well-worn desk in the front row, closely fol- lowing the powerpoint presentation in which amanullah zahid explains mining machin- ery and how it works. when hazrati opted for a degree course in mining, her friends were genuinely aston- ished, wondering what it was about mining 48 akzente 2/17 also available on the akzente app: a lecturer talks about his work. akzente.giz.de/en top: lecturer amanullah zahid in the well-stocked faculty library centre: workers at a small coal mine in samangan province bottom: zohra hazrati is one of very few female students. her dream is to get a job at the afghan ministry of mines and petroleum.

special our work makes a difference more jobs, more codetermination, more electricity from renewable sources: on behalf of the german government, giz offers solutions to economic, social, political and environmental challenges. results from 2010 to 2015. s u r v e y p e r i o d : 2 0 1 0 – 2 0 1 5 g i z o p e r a t e s o n b e h a l f o f t h e g e r m a n g o v e r n m e n t . 50 akzente 2/17

editor’s picks art in the lagoon venice the international art exhibi- tion in venice is the mother of all biennials. this mega event has taken over the historical city every two years since 1895. alongside the artwork (such as this piece by giorgio griffa), a special feature of the exhibition is the 86 national pavilions. nigeria and kiribati are taking part this year for the first time. the curator of the 57th biennale, christine macel, considers art to be ‘the last bastion, the unequiv- ocal alternative to individualism and indifference.’ 13 may to 26 november 2017 www.labiennale.org ) p o t , 2 5 e g a p ( a m o r l l i e n ' o n a c r o l a i r e l l a g , y r e l l a g n a l p a k y e s a c , t s i t r a e h t f o y s e t r u o c , o i s e r a c o i l u i g : o t o h p 52 akzente 2/17 film on the island zanzibar the zanzibar international film festival is also known as the ‘festival of the dhow countries’ in reference to the traditional boats that sail the indian ocean. instead of golden bears or palms, it therefore awards golden dhows. in 2016, rwandan film-maker marie clémentine dusabejambo received the award for her short film ‘a place for myself ’. since it was founded in 1997, the annual festival has become one of the biggest cultural events in east africa. 8 to 16 july 2017 www.ziff.or.tz

introducing marius kaiser climate fund expert when asked about his career, marius kaiser avoids the term ‘climate finance’ – it’s too obscure for his liking. ‘i tend to talk about climate change mitigation and explain that we are helping countries gain access to international funding for protecting the climate.’ this applies in particular to the usd 10 billion pot of the international green climate fund. institutions in developing countries have to be accredit- ed to access this fund. this is a complex process, and kaiser guides them through it. the climate finance expert joined giz in 2013, but his interest in the topic was kindled long before then – at the latest during his studies in edinburgh and oxford, where he specialised in climate policy and renewable energy. he then worked on international climate change mitigation projects in the private sector. kaiser is based in bonn, but often travels to the countries he supports, including uganda, tanzania, zambia, namibia and viet nam. ‘the travel is one reason why my job is so appealing to me.’ he believes that he has benefited greatly from the access to ministries and in-depth insights into working methods in these countries. in his line of work, a good cross-section of knowledge is vital: from climate science and climate-friendly technologies to financing and political frameworks. giz is always looking for experts for its projects. interested? why not visit our ‘jobs and careers’ page: www.giz.de/careers.

africa can boast high economic growth, fertile soil and a young population. yet poverty is still a major issue. is there a way to reconcile these two extremes? akzente.giz.de/en