In our series ‘Introducing’, which is also published in our magazine akzente, we introduce you to some of our staff and what they do.
‘Social security systems must protect poor social groups, above all, from the risks associated with illness, unemployment and old age,’ says Johanna Knoess. A political scientist, she has headed one of GIZ’s worldwide advisory programmes since April 2013 and, on behalf of the BMZ, is working with her colleagues on developing innovative models for sustainable and inclusive social security systems. Johanna Knoess is a true cosmopolitan: her family originally comes from Ethiopia, but she grew up in Germany and has worked for GIZ in Indonesia, where she advised the government on the implementation of social reforms. ‘We had to mediate between five ministries and coordinate work with other international donors as well,’ she recalls. It was during this time that she met her partner. ‘He’s an American and works for the World Bank. We’re now living in Germany but we can certainly envisage moving overseas again,’ says Johanna, who is expecting her second child. As well as spending many years with GIZ, she has worked for organisations such as the World Bank, the International Labour Organization and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
‘My employer is one of the leading business start-up centres for the IT sector in Africa,’ says Yann Le Beux. Two years ago, the Centre for International Migration and Development (CIM) placed the 28-year-old engineer with the Senegalese non-profit organisation CTIC, which works in the ICT sector. ‘Senegal, Kenya and Ghana are the most active countries in Africa as far as the development of the IT industry is concerned,’ says Yann, who comes from France. CTIC is funded by the public and private sector and provides support to new businesses in the IT industry. Until 2011, Yann worked in Great Britain and the United States, supporting business start-ups on behalf of the French Embassy. In 2012, 11 of the companies receiving advice from CTIC increased their earnings by 85%. Yann’s daily routine in Senegal is extremely varied: he meets partners, clients and journalists, and organises workshops with universities and events for the IT community. He coordinates his work with a BMZ-funded project which aims to improve the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises in the microfinance sector. ‘Dakar is an exciting place to live, I love it!’ he says. ‘And Africa is changing incredibly fast.’
‘A well-functioning civil society depends on people valuing and making use of their rights to make their voices heard,’ says Angela Ostlender. The 48-year-old has worked as a GIZ development advisor in Hanoi since November 2012. Thanks to the country’s booming economy, the pressure of change in many areas is immense. ‘We want to help ensure that citizens have a say and that government agencies take their concerns seriously,’ she explains. Angela and her team provide advice to local organisations wishing to help build the capacities of the country’s civil society. The work involves preparing funding applications, planning and monitoring activities, and checking on progress. With a wealth of professional experience, Angela, who is from Germany, is keen to share her expertise. Before GIZ, she worked for a political foundation in Brussels for 20 years. She has taken a two-year leave of absence to work as a development advisor in Viet Nam. ‘I had a real desire to work at the grassroots level in another country.’ Now she is at the heart of the action, racing through Hanoi’s rush-hour traffic on her motor scooter. ‘My heart was in my mouth at first, but now it’s great fun. There’s only one rule of the road – never stop!’
Environmental protection as a child in rural Ethiopia, Samson Tolessa experienced first-hand how harmful open kitchen fires can be. One of his lifelong ambitions has been to change this situation. ‘Nowadays, low-smoke stoves are available which only burn half as much wood,’ says the engineer, who is currently working on biomass for GIZ at Uganda’s Ministry of Energy & Mineral Development. ‘We are developing market structures for the production and sale of these stoves and hope to work with the ministry to draw up legislation that makes their use in schools compulsory.’ After completing a second degree in renewable energies in Oldenburg, Tolessa worked for GIZ in Ethiopia for 12 years which gave him a good insight into the company’s professionalism, expertise and practical approach. Internationality is important to Tolessa, who as head of a team of experts from the energy programme, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), enjoys the collaboration between German and Ugandan colleagues. And his family also loves Uganda, where ‘everything is so green.’ Tolessa is helping to keep it that way.
‘Biodiversity is the sum of life on earth. It forms the basis of human existence and activity,’ says Claudia Mayer, 42. From her office at GIZ in Germany and in her work with international stakeholders, the economic geographer is working to raise people’s awareness of the cultural and economic value of biodiversity. Using resources sustainably was initially an issue that concerned Claudia Mayer during her academic career. In Costa Rica and Colombia, South Africa and Nicaragua she conducted research into social and environmental standards in the production of coffee and bananas. ‘It gave me an appetite for international cooperation,’ she says. After completing her PhD, Claudia Mayer faced a major decision: academic life or international cooperation? She applied to GIZ and then spent seven years in Ecuador and Brazil, working on projects geared to the conservation and sustainable use of tropical forests in the Amazon region. ‘Through contact with a wide range of people – negotiating partners, indigenous peoples, small farmers and colleagues in the field – you are often forced to change your perspectives. I am now able to apply the strategies we developed and the experience I gained to other situations.’ Mayer sees her work as meaningful: ‘We help our partners to contribute to the preservation of biodiversity.’