Development cooperation is a central task of international politics. Even if the competences for development cooperation basically lie with the federal government, the State of Thuringia strives to contribute to this policy field and to cooperate with the federal government on a case-by-case or project basis.
The development policy guidelines for the Free State of Thuringia were updated and adopted again in March 2018. The new guidelines were jointly developed by the state government and civil society in a broad dialogue process and, alongside the Thuringian Sustainability Strategy and the Integrated Energy and Climate Protection Strategy, contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals in Thuringia for our One World.
With the development policy guidelines, Thuringia acknowledges its responsibility for development policy and for shaping a policy in the sense of globally sustainable development.
The Thuringian state government sees development cooperation as a cross-cutting task and, against this background, supports initiatives and projects of the development policy network in Thuringia. The "One World Network Thuringia" as the umbrella organization of the development policy commitment of the Thuringian non-governmental organizations is the most important cooperation partner of the Thuringian state government. In addition, the Free State of Thuringia welcomes the work of social groups, churches and other non-governmental development cooperation agencies and supports them in their self-responsible action through mutual exchange of information and experience.
Since 2016, the Thuringian state government has been involved in funding the One World promoter program. The promoters advise and network civil society organizations and initiatives in Thuringia and Germany that are engaged in One World work and initiate projects and actions with which they demonstrate alternatives for a sustainable society. To this end, they strengthen knowledge and competence with regard to ecological and social sustainability and promote political participation and civil society engagement.
Sustainable educational work is at the center of the country's development policy concept. For this reason, the Thuringian Development Education and Information Days (THEBIT) have been promoted since 1995 (with a restriction during the pandemic). Their aim is to familiarize Thuringian schoolchildren with problems in the countries of development cooperation, to raise awareness of One World issues and, in this form, also to make an active contribution to reducing xenophobia and practicing tolerance.
Although Thuringia does not have a designated partnership with a country or region of the Global South, the promotion of projects in the Global South is increasingly concentrated in priority areas that are essentially determined by the civil society commitment of associations in Thuringia.
Following the principle of "help for self-help", various measures for the education and training of local experts have been promoted within the framework of the development cooperation of the Free State of Thuringia over the past 20 years.
Contact persons
Thuringian State Chancellery
Department 3B - Development Cooperation
Government Road 73
99084 Erfurt
Phone: 0361 57-3215340
Fax: 0361 57-1211014
Dr Bettina Reinisch bettina.reinisch[at]tsk.thueringen.de