Project: Women empowerment and technical services, Norrköping-G7
The Municipality of Norrköping has collaborated with Uasin Gishu County in Kenya for several years through the municipal partnership NORELD. Building on this established cooperation, a new inception project has been initiated with the aim of preparing for continued and deepened collaboration. During 2024, joint activities were carried out in cooperation with the Municipality of Arvika, the Council of Governors (CoG), and the G7 Women Governors Caucus, comprising the counties of Homa Bay, Embu, Nakuru, Kwale, Meru, Machakos, and Kirinyaga. As part of this preparatory phase, two conferences were held: one in Nakuru, Kenya, in November 2024, and one in Norrköping and Arvika, Sweden, in May 2025. The conferences included field visits, lectures, and knowledge-sharing activities. The concluding discussions demonstrated a strong shared commitment to continuing and further developing the cooperation.
This project aims to lay the foundation for a future, more comprehensive collaboration by addressing identified challenges within waste and water management. Shortcomings in these areas contribute to environmental problems and risks to public health, underscoring the importance of well-functioning technical services for long-term sustainable development. During the preparation phase, the partners will conduct a problem analysis, initiate the development of an action plan, and strengthen organizational capacity within technical services through continued knowledge exchange. The collaboration with Embu County, Homa Bay County, and the wider G7 network also seeks to integrate a gender equality perspective and strengthen organizations led by women. In addition, during the concluding conference in Sweden in May 2025, a request was expressed to explore future collaboration related to domestic violence. The preparatory phase therefore also aims to assess opportunities for networking and cooperation within this area.