Stories on social development

The COP29 UN Climate Change Conference in Azerbaijan ended with relatively little to show in the way of progress. In an interview with akzente, Jörg Linke, Head of GIZ’s Competence Centre for Climate Change, explains why hopes are now turning to COP30 next year in Belém.

Bernd Schramm explains why ensuring equal participation for people with and without disabilities is important in international cooperation and how much progress has been made.

GIZ Managing Director Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven on this autumn’s political pushes for sustainability

Development cooperation and humanitarian aid are important for Germany’s own stability and its role in the world, says the Chair of the Board of Welthungerhilfe. Marlehn Thieme explains how GIZ and Welthungerhilfe are achieving results together and describes the obstacles in their way.

The world is facing uncertain times, and geopolitical tensions are on the rise. Can the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) be upheld? Achim Steiner, Administrator of the UN Development Programme, believes that they are more relevant than ever. In this interview, he explains why.

South Africa’s progress and challenges on the road to a green energy future: Aalia Cassim, Acting Chief Director of Microeconomic Policy at the National Treasury of South Africa, in an akzente interview

South Africa and its energy transition: a journey to the Western Cape shows how young people are being integrated into efforts to transform the energy sector.

Martha Gutierrez explains how GIZ evaluates its work, what it learns from such evaluations and why no policy area in Germany is more scrutinised.

Stanley Mutuma is Secretary General of the Kenya National Paralympic Committee. Stanley, a lawyer, is blind and knows what an important role sport plays in inclusion.

The Zambian national women’s football team is setting an example for women’s and girls’ health. Ahead of the team’s participation in the Olympic Games in Paris, players have launched the #kickTheSTIGMA campaign in collaboration with GIZ. The aim is to break down taboos surrounding the topic of menstruation.

In this akzente interview, the Sudanese climate activist Nisreen Elsaim reports how she was forced to flee her home and how she continues to fight for climate justice.

My name is Helen Witte and I work as an advisor in a GIZ health project in Tanzania.