Visitors from the world's most highly situated seat of government are currently in Bonn. A delegation from the twin city of La Paz (Bolivia) is visiting until September 11, 2024: Maria del Carmen Rocabado, Planning Secretary, and José Antonio Rivera, the Treasurer of the La Paz city administration and responsible for international cooperation. The visit will take place in conjunction with the joint participation of representatives of the two partner cities in Engagement Global's partnership conference between German and Latin American municipalities on September 4 and 5, 2024 in Cologne and is funded by Engagement Global's Service Agency Communities in One World.
The aim of the program in Bonn is to initiate further contacts, especially with scientific institutions that can support the partnership's activities in the areas of climate change, urban development and disaster prevention. For the start of the visit on 2 September 2024, Deputy Mayor Nicole Unterseh welcomed the guests to the Old Town Hall. In the fireplace room, the two representatives of the La Paz city administration signed the guest book of the City of Bonn.
On the agenda: climate protection and adaptation as well as disaster risk reduction
The next few days are packed with appointments for the two guests on the topics of climate protection and adaptation, urban development and disaster management. For example, they will meet the head of the Master's degree course in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management at the University of Bonn, representatives of the German Committee for Disaster Risk Reduction and colleagues from the Office for the Environment and Urban Greenery, who will provide information on the promotion of sustainable construction and Bonn's Solar Bonn funding program.
Talks with the United Nations are also on the agenda, including with representatives of the Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA) and the Institute for Environment and Human Security at the United Nations University (UNU-EHS).
Culture and customs are part of the program as well: the guests from La Paz took part in the opening of Bonn’s giant funfair Pützchens Markt with the traditional tapping of the barrel.
Partnership relations for 28 years
Bonn and La Paz have been twinned since 1996. In 2002, the then mayors of both cities signed an official partnership agreement. The project partnership focuses on municipal approaches to sustainability issues such as energy supply, integrated waste management and environmental education. The fruitful partnership has been supported in a variety of ways through civic engagement. Especially the Bonn-La Paz partnership association has introduced citizens to the country and the people of Bolivia through numerous activities.
The last visit from La Paz to Bonn took place in November 2023 as part of the climate partnership between the two cities, which has existed since 2012 and is supported by Engagement Global. The climate action program, which the two cities first developed in 2014, was revised and updated on this occasion.