RCE KwaZulu Natal - 2023

Concrete Peace Service Reverse 2022
Basic Information
Title of project : 
Concrete Peace Service Reverse 2022
Submitting RCE: 
RCE KwaZulu Natal
Contributing organization(s) : 
GroundTruth (http://www.groundtruth.co.za/), Germanwatch (https://www.germanwatch.org/en),Iliso Care Societya, Youth Climate Action Network, Estación Blológica Aguali and Red de Jóvenes en Acción por el Clima
Focal point(s) and affiliation(s)
Name: 
Ayanda Lepheana
Organizational Affiliation: 
GroundTruth
Format of project: 
Concrete Peace Service Reverse 2022
Language of project: 
English, Germany, Spanish
Date of submission:
Thursday, September 1, 2022
Geographical & Education Information
Region: 
Africa and Middle East
Country: 
South Africa
Location(s): 
KwaZulu Natal
Address of focal point institution for project: 
9a Quarry Rd

Hilton, 3245

KZN
Ecosystem(s):
Target Audience:
Socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the area : 
In order to strengthen civil society actors in countries of the Global South, Engagement Global NRW has been organizing the "Concrete Peace Service Reverse" together with civil society in North Rhine-Westphalia for several years. As part of the program, activists from countries in the Global South come to North Rhine-Westphalia for a few months to work with NGOs based there. The participants came from GroundTruth, Iliso Care Society both from South Africa, Youth Climate Action Network and Estación Blológica Aguali both from Nicaragua Red de Jóvenes en Acción por el Clima from Honduras to develop and strengthen civil society stakeholders by means of exchange and cooperation. This cooperation will foster economic, scientific and technological self-reliance; foreground experience and existing capacity as well as sustainable development in developing countries. A further goal is the opening up of additional channels of communication between the global North and South Countries.

Description of sustainable development challenge(s) in the area the project addresses: 
The world is facing a major climate crisis.
The impact of the climate crisis is not the same for all countries and populations. Ironically the disasters which are now severely affecting many developing countries were historically not caused by their actions or carbon emissions, but more by the developing or so-called well-developed nations. Intensive development with associated consumerism and large-scale burning of fossil fuels have been the major driver that has put life on the planet at risk. Developing countries, who are often the most affected by climate change, also have the lowest capacity to address such devastating effects and efforts to adapt to and mitigate them. Climate change is thus a cross-cutting issue. However, the global North-South systems often operate in silos and there are a number of challenges in adopting the necessary policies and practices to address the world climate crisis. By addressing transformative, transgressive social learning: and rethinking how we respond in times of systemic global dysfunction, this proposal seeks to optimise South-South and North-South cooperation (Lotz-Sisitka, et.al., 2015).
Contents
Status: 
Completed
Period: 
September, 2022
Rationale: 
There is clearly a need for the following:
• To develop and strengthen civil society stakeholders from the countries of the Global South by means of exchange and cooperation
• To strengthen the role of NGOs and civil society organisations in development cooperation and humanitarian aid
• To sharpen public awareness related to development cooperation, humanitarian issues and sustainable development
• To mobilise society to engage in sustainability practices
• To strengthen citizen science processes as situated and co-engaged practices in social change and sustainability
Objectives: 
• Strengthening civil society stakeholders of the countries of the Global South
• Capacity building for young employees of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
• Establishing and consolidating ties between NGOs in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) and the countries of the Global South
• Transferring knowledge and awareness of the reality with respect to the living conditions and social relations in Germany to propagators from countries of the Global South
• Connecting NGO activists from the countries of the Global South (promoting South South as well as North South and South North cooperation).
Activities and/or practices employed: 
• Youth Climate Action Day (Leading group discussions on mobility)
• Global Solidarity and Strengthening Civil Society Seminar in Bonn
• The application of the Handprint CARE (O’Donoghue, et.al., 2020 and Sarabhai, et. al., 2022) concept in support of changing political structures and socio-ecological challenges.
Results: 
• Three days of “Warming up”: General introduction to “Politics and Civil Society in Germany“; held in Dortmund/ North Rhine-Westphalia. Here shared housing will be adopted so as to optimise cooperation and reduce costs.
• Ten weeks job shadowing in an NGO in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW); accommodation will be provided by the host NGO or preferably by private hosts.
• Three days of visiting European Union organizations and Civil society organizations, halving interval evaluation; review of participants experiences; preparation of upcoming internship; to be held in Brussels.
• internships in a variety of social facilities in Germany (e.g.: kindergarten, HIV/AIDS support projects, old-age homes, child and youth welfare, women’s shelter, drug help units/street work, One-World-Shop, nature conservation, etc.) located in NRW; shared housing.
• Three days of wrapping-up the stay; Recap of the impressions gained during the stay, preparation of “follow up“ activities; to be held in Berlin.
Funding: 
The program is sponsored by the Ministry of Development and Economic Cooperation (BMZ) and organised by Engagement Global NRW (https://www.engagement-global.de/homepage.html)
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
(https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs) and other themes of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
SDG 1 - End poverty in all its forms everywhere 
Direct
SDG 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages 
Indirect
SDG 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 
Direct
SDG 5 - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 
Indirect
SDG 6 - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all 
Direct
SDG 8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all 
Indirect
SDG 10 - Reduce inequality within and among countries 
Indirect
SDG 17 - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development 
Direct
Theme
Traditional Knowledge  
Direct
Agriculture 
Direct
Forests/Trees 
Indirect
Plants & Animals 
Direct
Waste 
Direct
ESD for 2030-Priority Action Areas
Priority Action Area 2 - Transforming learning and training environments 
state: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 3 - Developing capacities of educators and trainers 
state: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 4 - Mobilizing youth 
state: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 5 - Accelerating sustainable solutions at local level 
state: 
Indirect
Update: 
No
I acknowledge the above: 
Yes