Hello from Bonn,

My path to GIZ began almost 20 years ago. After working for the German Development Service in Ghana, I went to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Nigeria on behalf of GIZ. There I experienced how West Africa is in the midst of a transformation process: autocracies were changing into democracies, and the role of regional organisations was becoming more and more important. Germany was one of the first countries to place advisors with regional organisations.

For me personally, the situation was challenging. I was in my early thirties, a woman of colour and a civilian, surrounded by police and military advisors from various European countries. The Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security within the ECOWAS Commission was also very male-dominated. It took a while for me to be accepted as an advisor. But in the end, it worked out, and working relationships with the external advisors and colleagues at the ECOWAS Commission were very cooperative and close.

This experience deepened when I spent six years working at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra – with three different generals. Each time, this meant building trust, establishing cooperation and making your voice heard. My realisation was that good partnerships are key to success – particularly when things get a bit bumpy.

What else do partnerships need besides trust? Honesty. Colleagues from the African Union summed it up very clearly not long ago: they want us to be open about the interests we are pursuing. And that is exactly what I believe: our interests need to be on the table. After all, we have always had them – the only question is whether we are honest about them. Not to push them through, but to make partnerships of equals possible.

One of the projects that had the strongest impact on me was in Uganda. In cooperation with the Ugandan Government, UNHCR and local communities, we transferred the water supply from emergency assistance to local and sustainable structures – to supply refugees from South Sudan but also the local population in northern Uganda with drinking water in the long term. There was a lot of scepticism in the beginning, but we kept going: with perseverance, small steps and a great deal of coordination and compromise. And it was a success.

After many years in Africa, I returned to Germany. I now represent a network; this means not only GIZ, but all the membership organisations – with their different perspectives, interests and cultures. This makes the job complex, but at the same time incredibly interesting. Especially now, in a world that is in a state of considerable disarray.

For many countries, this kind of disarray is nothing new. From the perspective of the so-called Global South, the current shifts are creating new opportunities – a different basis for dialogue, new scope to shape their own path and new options for action. In development cooperation, we too need to make use of these opportunities. With the courage to re-think the way we work together and, where necessary, to change it radically. What is important to me is that new opportunities and change are always grounded in human rights and seek to ensure justice.

Greetings!

Nana Odoi