Environmental partnership Hof - Caruaru/Brazil
The environmental agreement with the city of Caruaru was signed in September 2007 by Lord Mayor Dr. Harald Fichtner and his counterpart Tony Gel. The city of Caruaru is located in northeastern Brazil and has a population of around 300,000. Like Hof in the past, Caruaru is a center of the garment industry.
The agreement is based on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which call for poverty reduction.
The main initiator of the partnership was Mr. Martin Wahl from the bfz - International Division (Vocational Training Centers of the Bavarian Industry), which at that time was in charge of a project with the Confederation of Industry of the State of Pernambuco.
Since the signing of the environmental agreement, a wide range of activities have been carried out:
- Project "Sustainable Municipal Development through Partnership Projects," sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation. Thematic area waste and water. Coordinated by the Kompetenznetzwerk Wasser, supported by the Abfallzweckverband Hof. Project period 2013 to 2015.
- ASA North-South project "Environmental education and waste management", exchange of scholarship holders, 2014 already for the seventh time, project partner Abfallzweckverband Hof. Current info here.
- 2010: Joint art competition of the Abfallzweckverband Hof and the city of Caruaru
- 16.03. to 24.03.2009: Short-term expert mission in the field of waste and recycling management in Caruaru and Recife by Hermann Knoblich, Abfallzweckverband Hof, partnership project bfz Hof - FIEPE-Brazil
- 2008: Joint painting and handicraft competition of the Abfallzweckverband Hof and the city of Caruaru
- September 2007: Return visit of mayor Tony Gel in Hof with a delegation/visit of the fair geofora in Hof and one-week training course
- September 2007: Exchange of experience in the field of economic development by Mayor Dr. Harald Fichtner and Economic Development Manager Klaus-Jochen Weidner in Recife and Caruaru (lecture tour)
- Visitor groups, advanced training trips: Mainly through the mediation and coordination of the bfz but also of the TTW/LfU (Technology Transfer Water), a wide variety of groups from Brazil have been and continue to come to Hof and Bavaria to learn about waste and water management and to visit facilities such as the Waste Service Center Hof. The two-week "Summer Academy" organized by bfz, TTW and FH für Verwaltungsrecht should also be mentioned.
- Expert assignments: Through bfz mediation, several expert assignments in the field of water management.