On 18 June 2022, more than 5000 visitors took up the invitation of the German Federal President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the City of Bonn and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) by coming to an open day in Bonn. The special setting of the park that surrounds the Chancellor’s Bungalow, Villa Hammerschmidt, Palais Schaumburg and the BMZ was the scene of an extensive programme that included talks, music and hands-on activities. During the open day, the visitors were also able to find out more about the work of the BMZ’s executing agencies, one of those being PTB’s International Cooperation Group. It was the first time that this event was able to be staged since 2018.
Despite the hot temperature, this open day attracted a large number of visitors to the banks of the Rhine and gave them the chance to gain insights into the work of the Federal President, several federal authorities and some German and international organizations too. The focus was on various subjects that currently relate to development policy such as the situation in Ukraine, global food security, climate protection as well as the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences. “We are pleased to have the chance to present some of our work in these fantastic surroundings,” says Susanne Wendt, Head of PTB’s Working Group on Processes of International Cooperation. “Even with the temperature being at 36 degrees, we had conversations with a lot of interested people who came up to our stand. We were able to tell them about what our work entails and why setting up an effective and efficient quality infrastructure is so important for our partner countries. It really was a successful day full of interesting conversations, exchanges and feedback.”
Svenja Schulze, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, visited PTB’s stand too. The centrepiece of its presentation was the Capacity Development Online Navigator, a knowledge management tool that enables effective and state-of-the-art collaboration for people who are planning virtual events. Experiencing restrictions to contact and travelling during the Covid-19 pandemic led to the CDO Navigator being developed. “It was important for us to keep formats like training courses, workshops, conferences and team meetings going – even while we were living through a pandemic. At the same time, we didn’t want the quality of such events to suffer. This led us to develop the CDO Navigator,” describes Suzana Lange, one of PTB’s intermittent short-term experts who has many years of experience. “We collected tips from people who are holding events for other people who are holding events. And this tool with its tips matches the context of our work perfectly. All the contents of the CDO Navigator have been tested in PTB projects and can therefore be recommended to our partners. This exchange of information has given us the chance of cooperating more sustainable while being more closely oriented to the demands that are being made. This will also be useful once the pandemic is over.”
You will find further information on the Capacity Development Online Navigator here: https://www.cdo.ptb.de/
Photos © Diana Kleinschmidt, PTB
