Germany
Germany
Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development / Bundesministerium für wirtschaft- liche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development has two offices in Bonn and Berlin. Some BMZ staff also represent German development policy in German foreign missions or international organisa- tions around the world. The BMZ commissions what are known as implementing organisations to execute its projects. These then work with implementing agencies in the partner countries in question. The BMZ portfolio includes global pandemic control, climate protection, displacement and migration, and digitalisation. Its work is guided by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. The most important tasks of German development policy include the global realisation of human rights, the fight against hunger and poverty, the protection of the climate and biodiversity, health and education, gender equality, fair supply chains, the use of digitalisation and technology transfer, and the strengthening of private investment to promote sustainable development worldwide. One of the many programmes funded and managed by the BMZ is the Federal Government programme “welt- wärts”. It is managed by Engagement Global on behalf of the BMZ. Engagement Global – Service für Entwick- lungsinitiativen (Service for Development Initiatives) is a non-profit limited organisation whose mission is to support and strengthen the commitment to develop- ment of civil society. Engagement Global is also in charge of the African-German Youth Office (AGYO) (see below). weltwärts is a development volunteer service which was launched in 2008 as a volunteering scheme for young people aged between 18 and 28. The current funding regulations describe the objectives and general terms and conditions of the programme, training and guid- ance, the so-called South-North component (a mech- anism to facilitate the placement of volunteers from so-called developing countries in Germany), support activities for volunteers and returnees, and legal and financial matters. The North-South component is available for assignments in countries on the DAC list of developing countries and regions . In some countries, weltwärts is not available owing to difficult conditions or the security situation on the ground.
Further information: Summary of the weltwärts development volunteers service ; Documents about the weltwärts volunteer service ; Information for imple- menting organisations in the North-South component ; Engagement global
Politics Days ( Jugendpolitiktage ) of the BMFSFJ. At this event, young people meet with politicians and represent- atives of society to discuss political issues and voice their concerns. In the past, young Germans have also taken part in the youth summits organised in the run-up to the G7/G8 and G20 summits. They provided the young generation’s perspective on the political agenda at the summits and called for a youth-specific view. In 2022, Germany hosted the Y7 Summit , where young people discussed the following themes: Sustainable & Green Planet, Economic Transformation for Shared Progress, Resilience of Democracies, and Global Health & Solidarity. In June 2019, the Y7 youth summit took place in Paris as the counterpart event of the G7 summit. The young partic- ipants from the G7 countries agreed on specific calls for action concerning the Y7 priority themes. The G20 summit took place in Germany in 2017. Young people met up beforehand at the Y20 youth summit in Berlin where they discussed their proposals with former Chan- cellor Angela Merkel. In 2015, young people from all over the world met for an international Y7 youth summit in Berlin, whose theme was “Responsibility to act“ (Verant- wortung zu handeln). They discussed what their govern- ments and they personally can do for sustainable devel- opment and drafted a position paper with their results , which they presented to and discussed with the then Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Manuela Schwesig.
discussion groups, larger debates or street actions. The aim is to engage in a conversation about the concerns of young people in Europe and to sensitise decision-makers and the general public to these concerns. The talks are organised by young people, youth groups, youth initia- tives, child and youth welfare organisations and many more. Funding schemes and support mechanisms/structures Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth / Bundesministe- rium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend (BMFSFJ) The Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth has six Directorates-General that reflect its responsibilities, of which Directorate-General 5 (Children and Youth) is one. Among other things, the Ministry funds youth organisa- tions and bilateral youth offices in order to strengthen youth exchange and exchange of professionals in the field of youth, mutual understanding and cohesion in Europe (see below). The ”Kinder- und Jugendplan” (Child and Youth Plan) is the most important youth-related financial instrument at the federal level. Funding is provided for projects run by inde- pendent organisations that are of importance to Germany as a whole. For example, the Ministry funds youth exchange programmes with a focus on sustainability. The BMFSFJ funds a major programme for international voluntary services for young people who are resident in Germany (International Youth Volunteer Service / Inter- nationaler Jugendfreiwilligendienst IJFD). With this, young people aged 18-26 years can volunteer for communi- ty-oriented projects all over the world, for example in the social or environmental field.
Federal Foreign Office / Auswärtiges Amt
The Federal Foreign Office is Germany’s foreign ministry. It funds the international
cultural volunteer programme “kulturweit”. As part of the German UNESCO commission, it is an international cultural voluntary service that forms part of Germany’s foreign culture and education policy. kulturweit offers young people from Germany aged 18 through 26 the opportunity to get involved in Germany’s foreign culture and education policy for six or twelve months. During the placement, they directly contribute through their work to cultural and educational institutions as well as UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites, geoparks and biosphere reserves worldwide.
Further information: About kulturweit
JUGEND für Europa (JfE)
JUGEND für Europa (JfE) is Germany’s National Agency for the EU programmes Erasmus+ Youth, Erasmus+ Sport, and European Solidarity Corps. JfE implements and supports projects for child and youth services experts, decision-makers, researchers and young people active in this field. The Agency works on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) and the European Commission. JUGEND für Europa is legally attached to IJAB - Interna- tional Youth Service of the Federal Republic of Germany (IJAB - Fachstelle für Internationale Jugendarbeit der Bundesrepublik Deutschland e. V.).
German youth delegations also take part in the UN Climate Change Conference .
On 20 June 2017, the National Action Plan Education for Sustainable Development ( Nationaler Aktionsplan Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung ) was adopted. It defines 130 objectives to embed education for sustain - able development in all areas (formal, non-formal and informal education) and at all levels of the education system. Throughout the country, many campaigns, projects and activities are designed and carried out and numerous conferences and meetings take place, of which the following is one example: As part of the European Year of Youth in 2022, the BMFSFJ launched the participatory campaign “Your Europe - Your Year!“ . Young people are called upon to participate in shaping policy, to contribute their own ideas and to become active by, e.g., organising small
Among JfE’s areas of activity are:
The LEMOCC project, too, receives funding from the BMFSFJ.
–Implementing the EU programmes Erasmus+ Youth, Erasmus+ Sport and European Solidarity Corps in Germany – Promoting youth policy cooperation across Europe – Supporting the implementation of the EU Youth Strategy in Germany
Further information: Children and Youth within the BMFSFJ ; International Youth Volunteer Service / Inter- nationaler Jugendfreiwilligendienst IJFD
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