Svensk partner: Malmö stad

Malmö och Lusaka lanserar digital verktygslåda för ungas delaktighet i miljöfrågor

3 maj, 2021

Lusaka i Zambia och Malmö stad har genom sitt partnerskap hittat nya vägar att stärka ungas möjlighet till inflytande i lokala miljöfrågor. Med utgångspunkt i barnkonventionen har de utvecklat en digital verktygslåda som ska förenkla för andra kommuner att involvera unga i lokala miljö- och klimatfrågor.

Sedan 2014 har Malmö och Zambias huvudstad Lusaka samarbetat i ett kommunalt partnerskap med fokus på miljö- och energifrågor. Deras senaste projekt, LuMa Youth for change, började med den gemensamma ambitionen att adressera ungas brist på inflytande i lokala miljöfrågor. FN:s barnkonvention fastslår att barn och unga har rätt att höras i frågor som rör dem, men städerna kunde snabbt konstatera att det alltför ofta inte är så inom miljöområdet.

Barn och unga kommer att behöva leva med de beslut som fattas inom miljöområdet väldigt länge. Samtidigt saknar de rösträtt och har inte tillgång till de kanaler som vuxna har för att påverka. Både Malmö och Lusaka har en ung befolkning, så här såg vi en liknande utmaning för våra städer.
Linnea Uppsäll, Projektledare vid Miljöförvaltningen i Malmö stad

*Ungdomar engagerades genomgående under projektet, här syns Malmö och Lusakas projektledare och lokala ungdomsrepresentanter under en radioworkshop i Lusaka*

Lusaka och Malmö identifierade båda ett behov av att utveckla bättre strategier för att delaktiggöra unga och ta tillvara på de viktiga perspektiv som unga besitter. Tillsammans planerade och testade kommunerna nya metoder. De identifierade också passande plattformar för att ge unga större möjlighet att påverka och delta i en kvalitativ dialog runt lokala miljöfrågor. Målet var att i slutändan kunna öka kommunernas kapacitet att inkludera unga i sitt miljö- och klimatarbete.

Ungdomars röster fanns i fokus genom hela projektet, under en radioworkshop fick ungdomar i Lusaka spela in samtal om vikten av ungas delaktighet i miljöfrågor. Lärdomar drogs även från andra kommuner som har arbetat med inkludering av barn och unga, bland annat besökte projektet Helsingborgs ungdomsråd. I Lusaka har projektet inneburit att ett nytt ungdomsråd, Junior Council, håller på att etableras. En tydlig plan för rådet har lagts upp utifrån workshops med unga och politiker i Lusaka. I Malmö har utbildningsinsatser genomförts och olika metoder för dialog mellan unga och beslutsfattare har testats. I Malmös initativ Grönt elevråd har unga kunnat ge input till stadens nya miljöprogram och genom programmet Unga Havsambassadörer har deltagande ungdomar både kunnat sprida engagemang på sina skolor och fört dialog direkt med företrädare för Utrikesdepartementet och Miljödepartementet.

*Projektet lärde sig också av andra svenska kommuner, här syns projektgruppen och styrgruppen under ett studiebesök till Helsingborgs ungdomsråd*

Metoderna som testats har sammanställts av kommunerna till den digital verktygslådan Ungas delaktighet i miljö- och klimatarbete som lanserades under 2020. Där finns konkreta verktyg för hur andra kommuner kan engagera unga, så som en checklista för dialog med barn och unga.

I och med att vi testade olika metoder i projektet så ville vi dela erfarenheterna till tjänstepersoner i andra kommuner på ett sätt som är lätt att ta till sig och vidareutveckla. Vi märkte att mycket av materialet som fanns är väldigt djupgående och omfattande, så vi ville sänka trösklarna och avdramatisera nervositeten i dialogen mellan kommunala tjänstemän och barn och unga. Då blir det enklare att komma igång!
Linnea Uppsäll, Projektledare vid Miljöförvaltningen i Malmö stad

Den digitala verktygslådan från Malmö stad är ett gott exempel på hur kommunala partnerskap kan producera resultat som gör det enkelt att sprida vidare metoder och lärdomar till fler kommuner. Verktygslådan har spridits till fler förvaltningar i Malmö stad och delats med andra kommuner, bland annat inom det nationella nätverket Klimatkommunerna.

*Workshop inom projektet om ungas delaktighet i sociala frågor runt sexuell och reproduktiv hälsa*

Malmö and Lusaka, Zambia

Project: Youth for Change

Lusaka and Malmö are two cities with a young population. Together we have identified a need to develop better strategies for youth participation to make use of the potential and perspectives that young people possess. Inclusive processes will provide us with better policies, better decisions and increase local democracy. This is especially important when dealing with climate change issues, since they require long-term political decisions that can be unpopular, but necessary.

Lusaka is developing a Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP) whilst Malmö is planning for a new Action Plan for the Environment Programme. We plan to include young people in in these climate change policies by increasing awareness in both cities of the importance of youth participation and knowledge of tools for youth participation. We also plan to introduce methods for quality dialogue and identify suitable platforms for youth dialogue.

In the long term we hope that the project will contribute to increased local democracy and that our municipalities are better equipped to include young people and achieve climate change goals.

This project has long-term objectives in two categories: strengthened local democracy and better environment/lessened climate impact. We believe that better quality decisions on how to mitigate climate change, made possible through empowerment and inclusion of a wider spectrum of society, will also contribute to alleviating poverty.

More involved citizens
Inclusion of young people
Better equipped to achieve municipal goals for inclusion of young people
Better equipped to achieve municipal goals for climate change
Better quality in decisions regarding climate change
Better use of young people’s capacity
Increased local democracy
More engaged citizens
Raised climate awareness among citizens

Awareness III Urban gardening

In Swakopmund there is limited access to locally produced, affordable and nutritious food. This is due to lack of knowledge and possibilities combined with harsh climatic conditions. This affects food security and health status of the citizens.

This project is aiming at having more people in Swakopmund and Malmö to grow and eat their own food.

This will be done by increasing knowledge and skills about sustainable and water-effective gardening. It will also investigate the possibilities to increase access to land for gardening in community gardens, allotment plots etc. and access to water. Urban gardening can be the basis for small scale businesses selling the surplus on markets, cafés, restaurants and bed & breakfast operators.

This project especially in combination with the local sustainable marine food project, with their aim to educate and engage, link closely to the previous ESD and Eco Tourism projects that Malmö and Swakopmund have been working with. Having sustainable local food production and markets affect the tourism in a positive way which will also improve the local economy; tourists can be offered urban garden walks, buy fresh fruits and vegetables at the urban farmers market and eat fresh locally produced fruits and vegetables at the restaurants.

Awareness III – Local Sustainable Marin Food

The City of Malmö recently adopted the new Global Goals For Sustainable Development and made a commitment to implement them on a local level. This project also has an aim to promote partnerships between “North and South” which is in line with the goal “Partnerships for the goals” (no. 17).

This project specifically focuses on goal no 14 “Life Below Water” where the objective is to conserve and sustainably use the oceans and marine resources for sustainable development and also act upon goal number 1 “No Poverty”.

In Swakopmund, there is limited availability of locally caught fish, seafood and algae, although there is good access in the sea and many people find it difficult to get hold of cheap and nutritious food. There is also little knowledge about the sea and marine life and great need for environmental education. At the moment it’s not allowed for individuals to sell their own catch. The municipality lacks regulatory documents in this matter and knowledge how to address these issues for citizens adequately.

This project is linked with the Steering Group, previously approved (ref no 2015-0045) and should be seen as a part of the cooperation with Urban Gardening (already granted) and Renewable Energy (applied).

LuMa Sustainable Energy

Malmö and Lusaka both have an interest in increasing the capacity of municipalities to tackle the effects of an unsustainable energy use: alternatives to charcoal in Lusaka and energy efficiency in Malmo. These are complex issues, related to all three dimensions of sustainable development, which will require a high degree of citizen participation in order to succeed.

Therefore, we are interested in working with new forms of citizen dialogue and inclusion, but also to increase awareness among policy makers and key functions in the municipality. In both municipalities citizen participation will be part of policies, including underrepresented groups in policymaking and implementation. Lusaka aims to develop a SEACAP, a Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan, while Malmo wants to test methods for multistakeholder partnerships in order to move from policy to implementation.

By inviting citizens and other stakeholders to participate in the knowledge alliances and citizen dialogue, the project aims to strengthen local democracy as well as to increase awareness for a better environment. Better quality decisions, healthier citizens and affordable sustainable energy solutions will also contribute to alleviating poverty, and are in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Potential Alternative Energy Sources for Swakopmund

This is a three-year project resulting from the cooperation between Malmö municipality and Swakompund in Namibia. The cooperation is in the field of environmental management and this is aimed at improving on the usage of different sources of energy other than coal.

The objectives of the project are to provide hot water for the townships in a cheap and environmentally friendly way and to support community members to start small businesses that build and sell solar collectors. This will be done by creating simple and cheap solar collectors that can be used in the townships and to train community members on how to build them. There will also be a parallel process with information and education towards the more wealthy parts of the city to make them act as role models and start using solar collectors; although maybe a more advanced model.

The long-term expected results is that there will be decreased usage of coal as energy source and thus less degradation of the environment with regards to immediate results, it is expected that there will be increased knowledge among community members about solar energy and how it can be used, increased use of solar power in the city and more small businesses started by former unemployed community members which in turn is hoped to address the issue of poverty. Both Malmö and Swakompund are deemed to benefit from the project in terms of knowledge and skills that will result from the technical part of implementation.

Revamping Waste Management in Swakopmund through Recycling and Re-use

The objectives of the project are to recycle waste in a structured way, reduce the waste at the landfill and to create jobs for unemployed citizens.

This will be done in two ways:

Start recycling of household waste in the residential areas, where the households can separate the recyclable waste themselves. This will decrease the volume of waste dumped on the landfill.
Structure the separation of the recyclable waste on the landfill by supporting the local entrepreneurs to hire people permanently; giving those regular working hours, a fair salary and protective clothing.

The municipality will give the entrepreneurs storage space by the landfill which will give them the possibility to store the waste until the price is right. That will give the entrepreneurs a better economy which enables them to hire people. To be allowed to use the storage area, the entrepreneurs will have to fence the area which will decrease the problem with waste from the landfill spreading out into and polluting the desert.

TangMa Training Programme SUD

Tangshan and Malmö share an economic background of reliance on old-style heavy industry, but both are moving towards the future in pursuit of a more sustainable urban fabric.

In Malmö, pioneering sustainability concepts have been tried out in practice, in the transformation of part of the old industrial Western Harbour into housing, business and recreational spaces, with particular attention paid to social and ecological, as well as economic, facets of sustainability. Since then, the mainstreaming of provisions for increased urban sustainability is the guiding star for all development projects undertaken in Malmö.

Tangshan shares Malmö’s ambitions, and has taken her sister city’s achievements as an inspirational backdrop when focusing now on its own grand-scale urban development pilot project: the Caofeidian International Eco-city. In the light of their common interests, the city leaders have agreed that it is time to extend the sister city relations and activities to the practitioners’ level.

Therefore, a series of thematic training sessions are proposed, at which experts from both cities will come together as trainees to take part in seminars, workshops and site visits. These sessions will be held three times per year, alternately in China and in Sweden, within two parallel training programmes that focus on:

sustainable urban design;
the utilisation of organic waste as a resource for urban renewable energy, respectively.

TangMa Training Programme OWRE

Cities are now home to more than half of the global human population, and the urban share will continue to increase. Two areas of great concern in this context are waste management and clean energy provision.

Tangshan, a city with ambitious plans for its prestigious venture of constructing the Caofeidian International Eco-city, addresses these issues as parts of its catalogue of priorities. Malmö has already acquired valuable experience in the combination of the two topics in unique pilot systems for the utilisation of organic waste as a resource for urban renewable energy.

A three-year training programme has been drafted, at which experts from both cities will come together as trainees to take part in seminars, workshops and site visits for mutual benefit and progressive capacity building in Tangshan and Malmö alike. The objectives are to prepare the launch in Caofeidan of this kind of systems and to help both partners arrive at strategies for large-scale implementation. The expected results include the provision of better baselines and benchmarks that will assist in attaining these objectives.

Expected results:

Designated areas and concrete plans for the establishment of an OWRE (Organic Waste as a resource for Urban Renewable Energy) systems solution within the Caofeidian International Eco-city. Construction under way. Tests being conducted.
A collection of completed technical and complementary pre-studies defining and answering key-questions in preparation for the establishment of OWRE systems by Tangshan in Caofeidian.
Strategy documents for both cities, in which the issues of comprehensive OWRE solutions for the future is included, with references to the experiences made within the framework of the exchanges performed under the TangMa OWRE training programme.

TangMa Learning

TangMa Learning is conceived by the sister cities of Malmö (Sweden) and Tangshan (China) as a new programme with the TangMa Project aimed at facilitating education in sustainable development to target groups outside the ingoing programmes of sustainable urban design (SUD) and utilisation of organic waste as a resource for urban renewable energy (OWRE).

With the participation of educators from different sectors, this three-year long programme aims to formulate new methods and to establish new mechanisms to enable activities that will eventually result in the following changes both in Malmö and Tangshan:

the civil society and businesses in Malmö and Tangshan raise increaslingly strongdemands on city authorities to create sustainable cities;
builders actively engaged in construction works in Malmö and Tangshan Bay Eco-city increasingly understand theis roles, responsibilities and the skills required for sustainable construction.