Laying the foundations for sustainable cooperation around the world

Foundation stone laid for new GIZ building - GIZ continues to invest in Bonn

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH today laid the foundation stone for its new training centre, the Academy for International Cooperation (AIZ), in the south-west Bonn district of Röttgen. From its new home, the AIZ will continue its work of preparing experts and managers in international cooperation for assignments abroad. The project is part of GIZ’s investment in a total of three new buildings in the city.

Tanja Gönner, Chair of the GIZ Management Board, welcomed around 50 guests at the future AIZ base in the Röttgen district of Bonn. GIZ acquired the property formerly occupied by the Andreas Hermes Academy adjacent to the Kotten forest in 2013. Now work is getting under way on renovating the existing buildings, and a new building is being constructed. In her welcome, Gönner argued ‘Lifelong learning is essential if we are to tackle the challenges currently facing us, and I firmly believe that Röttgen is the perfect place to do it.’
GIZ’s Academy for International Cooperation provides needs-oriented initial and continuing training for the company’s employees and for staff working in a wide range of international cooperation organisations. One of its core activities is to prepare experts and advisors for foreign assignments in developing countries and emerging economies.

Bonn’s Mayor, Ashok Sridharan, added that GIZ’s presence in the city had helped to make Bonn a global hub for sustainability.

GIZ Managing Director Hans-Joachim Preuß explained that the new building is being constructed to the latest environmental standards and will comply with the criteria for the ‘Certificate in Gold’ under the scheme run by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB). The new two-storey wood and glass building has been designed by Waechter + Waechter Architekten BDA and will house versatile training rooms and the AIZ’s award-winning ‘Learning landscape’, an interactive experiential trail that raises awareness of the issues of intercultural cooperation. Renovation work on the existing building is scheduled to be completed by late 2016. It will house accommodation and offices, including family apartments and childcare facilities for those attending training courses. The new building is due for completion by late 2017. GIZ is investing a total of EUR 28 million in the Röttgen site.

The new project is a clear signal of GIZ’s commitment to Bonn as a key hub for international cooperation. The company already has a property on Bonn’s Friedrich-Ebert-Allee, the Meander Building, which currently houses 500 GIZ employees. Another office building on the site, with space for a further 900 staff, is due to open in 2019.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federal enterprise with worldwide operations. It supports the German Government in the fields of international cooperation for sustainable development and international education. GIZ helps individuals and societies to develop their own prospects and improve their living conditions.