The Free State of Saxony supports the goal of sustainable development in favor of a sustainable society in the sense of the United Nations Agenda 2030 and the associated Sustainable Development Goals. In joint responsibility with the federal government and local authorities, Saxony will contribute its share to achieving the goals by 2030 and beyond. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted as part of the 2030 Agenda apply to all countries on earth. One important component is support for development cooperation. The development policy guidelines of the Free State of Saxony have been integrated into the Saxon Sustainability Strategy 2018. www.nachhaltigkeit.sachsen.de
Saxony understands development cooperation as a cross-sectional task and wants to implement it with the willing participation of the population, the Development Policy Network Saxony e. V. (Entwicklungspolitisches Netzwerks Sachsen e. V. (ENS) and the other actors, such as the church development organizations or non-governmental organizations that are not organized in the ENS. The development cooperation of the Free State of Saxony is coordinated in the Saxon State Chancellery. Since 2017, the Free State of Saxony, in addition to long-standing and broad-based development education work at home, now also supports development projects and initiatives abroad. Development cooperation projects, for example in Lebanon, support countries facing major challenges due to increasing global migration. Through the North-South Bridges Foundation (Stiftung Nord-Süd-Brücken), civil society organizations from Saxony have the opportunity to apply for funding from a Saxon small projects fund. www.internationales.sachsen.de/entwicklungszusammenarbeit-4193.html
Furthermore, projects are being implemented in Uganda and Mozambique with the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) as part of the federal-state program of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
With project contents that are geared to the reality of people's lives, Saxony wants to provide help on the ground and at the same time support the societies in the states that take in or have taken in many refugees.
The Free State of Saxony has been carrying out development policy information and education work inside and outside schools for many years. Educational offers, event information and materials for sustainable education are available online www.bne-sachsen.de. Eight One World promoters are now active in Saxony, promoting global learning and sustainable living. The programs are aimed at educational institutions such as kindergartens, schools, adult education centers and youth centers.
The STUBE study support program includes weekend seminars and one-day events for students from developing countries at Saxon universities. In addition, the Free State is also participating in the ASA university cooperation from 2018, thus supporting the exchange of young people from industrialized and developing countries.
Dresden is also home to Germany's second scientific institute of the United Nations University (UNU), which is funded by the Free State of Saxony and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The United Nations University Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES) deals with international strategies for sustainable resource use and forms an important interface between science and politics. UNU-Flores is the only sub-unit of the United Nations based in Saxony and a unique player in development science.