Green Cities – Green Industries – Green Jobs

More and more people live in urban areas. Cities have to find solutions to challenges such as rising traffic and increasing waste, and they must address climate change by developing concepts for sustainable living and growth, for example by improving the energy efficiency of housing. Green jobs and skills play a key role in the development of a green economy and green urban societies.

From 25 to 26 November 2014, the City of Magdeburg organized a conference on “Green Cities – Green Industries” in close cooperation with GIZ, whose Magdeburg office, together with Magdeburg University and the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation, is a member of the UNEVOC Network dedicated for advancing sustainability in TVET.

The conference was attended by several private companies such as Mercedes Benz, Brandt and Wengler, and representatives of Magdeburg’s network of city partners, which includes Ankara (Turkey), Pathum Thani and Bangkok (Thailand), Taipei and Harbin (China), Saporoshje (Ukraine), La Pobla de Vallbona (Spain), Tübingen (Germany), Warsaw (Poland) and Wiener Neustadt (Austria). The aim was to promote the exchange of experiences and to strengthen a network of city partnerships committed to green and sustainable growth. City partners also signed the

Magdeburg Protocol that states the member cities' joint intentions and recommended actions for green and smart cities.

UNESCO-UNEVOC’s Green TVET expert on loan from BIBB, Ms Dagmar Winzier, joined the conference and held a presentation on “Green skills for green jobs in urban areas – Promising practices from the international perspective”. She gave good-practice examples and innovations for skills that promote environmentally-conscious urban development.

Discussions considered the following question, and recommendations were made in these areas:

How can cities and industries achieve zero waste?
How to develop innovative and low-carbon recycling?
How to create a new generation of low-carbon entrepreneurs?
How to navigate material streams in cities?
How can SMEs achieve resource efficiency?
How can virtual environments contribute to green working spaces?
How to include TVET in green growth strategies?
How to implement green TVET in curricula and training programmes?
How does the handicraft sector implement qualification requirements for green technologies?
What qualifications are needed in the water and wastewater sector for greener cities?
What are the needs for refurbishing housing by energy retrofitting?
What are regional outputs and jobs within the renewable energy sector?
How will mobility look like in a sustainable city?
What are the prerequisites for cities as a place to live and work?