Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs reaffirms its commitment to the goals of the United Nations' Education 2030 Agenda
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At the meeting of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder (KMK) in Berlin on 17 and 18 October, the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder adopted a joint declaration on the United Nations' Education 2030 Agenda (SDG 4).
In the declaration, the KMK underlines "the high degree of agreement between the education policies of the Länder and the goals of the Education 2030 Agenda, whose core goals - participation, equal opportunities, quality of education and lifelong learning - are the subject of intensive education policy efforts by the Länder". The comprehensive concept of education, which underlies the 2030 Agenda Education as well as the German education system, promotes the development of the individual personality and a free, democratic and sustainable society in equal measure. The KMK refers to the numerous education policy measures and initiatives of the Länder in the fields of action of the Agenda. The international exchange under the umbrella of UNESCO and other international organisations offers the opportunity to receive valuable suggestions for the development of one's own strategies and to present one's own good practice to other countries. The KMK affirms that it will "continue its commitment to the goals contained in the 2030 Agenda for Education together with national and international partners in the future".
The President of the German Commission for UNESCO, Prof. Dr Maria Böhmer, welcomes the KMK's declaration: "Worldwide economic progress in harmony with social justice and within the Earth's ecological limits - this is what the 17 Global Sustainability Goals of the United Nations are geared towards. Education is both a goal and a key factor in achieving all the goals. Global challenges can only be solved together. That is why the commitment of the countries to the Education 2030 Agenda is essential. With their commitment to equitable and quality education for all, the countries are making an important contribution to the global community.
In 2015, the member states of the United Nations adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which describe the central future tasks of humanity. Global Sustainable Development Goal 4, differentiated by the 2030 Agenda for Education, calls for "ensuring inclusive, equitable and quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030". UNESCO coordinates the implementation of the Education 2030 Agenda at the international level.
Mayor Michael Grötsch; State Environment Minister Franz Untersteller; Karl-heinz Frings, Managing Director of GBG; Martin in der Beek, Technical Managing Director of rnv; Gregor Kiefer, Head of Construction Management, GBG. Photo: City of Mannheim / Markus Proßwitz
The city is to become cleaner and quieter: Under the heading "blue_village_Franklin", important future topics such as new mobility, energy efficiency, climate-optimised living or smart grids are being tested with the conversion of the former military area FRANKLIN. The SQUARE project, two model houses renovated according to the latest energy standards, and the electromobile bus lines 66 and 67 are part of this master plan. Franz Untersteller MdL, State Minister for the Environment, Climate and Energy Management, visited the two model projects in the new urban quarter on Tuesday, 4 August, as part of his summer tour "Environmental Future".
"With SQUARE, the city of Mannheim and the Mannheim housing association are showing a way to design climate- and energy-optimised living in existing buildings," said the Environment Minister during his visit. "It is impressive to see what has been implemented here in terms of building refurbishment, electromobility and smart grids. And it will be exciting to evaluate the results of this model project and make them usable for other projects."
Lord Mayor Dr. Peter Kurz explains: "With Franklin, an ecological urban quarter for over 9,000 people is being created that will set new standards. Our goal is to consume as little energy as possible throughout the district, to generate as much renewable energy locally as possible and to cause as few emissions as possible. In this context, the SQUARE model project presents two interesting approaches to solutions."
Back in 2014, the model project for energy-efficient building refurbishment SQUARE (smart quarter and urban area reducing emissions) was awarded a prize in the "Klimaschutz mit System" (Climate Protection with a System) competition run by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment. The SQUARE project application was prepared by the City of Mannheim's Economic Development Department in cooperation with the Climate Protection Control Centre. Thanks to the award, SQUARE was able to be included in the ERDF funding programme at the time and supported with three million euros. "SQUARE stands for one of the most ambitious projects in the field of GreenTech and climate protection in the city of Mannheim in the past decade. It is one of the pioneering projects developed from the "Blue City Mannheim" strategy concept of the Economic Development Department. The green tech innovation strategy from 2013 is still highly topical and sets the course for climate-neutral mobility and smart grids," emphasizes Mayor Michael Grötsch.
GBG - Mannheimer Wohnungsbaugesellschaft finally successfully implemented the model project on FRANKLIN. The first tenants moved in at the end of 2019. The two almost identical buildings were renovated according to different standards, one building according to the EnEV standard (SQUARE now), the second building with passive house elements according to an EnerPhIT standard (SQUARE next). Technologies such as smart grids, seasonal heat storage using ice storage and intelligent mobility concepts are being tested. The total of 48 rental apartments are spread across 3- to 5-room apartments between 84 and 109 sqm. "We are very excited about the insights we will gain through SQUARE. According to the calculations and simulations, we can achieve a CO2 saving of more than 50 percent in the comparison of the two buildings. In order to be able to save even more CO2, we are relying on the generation of regenerative energies. The ENEV building therefore received a photovoltaic system, the EnerPhIT building a solar thermal system," explains Karl-Heinz Frings, Managing Director of GBG.
"This is where the city of the future with the energy system of the future is being created," explains Bernhard Schumacher, head of the Smart Cities business unit at Mannheim-based energy company MVV. To this end, MVV is using smart technologies and the new possibilities of digitalisation on Franklin and is linking the various sectors intelligently and efficiently with each other - "not only to bring electricity, water, heat and mobility to the district, but also to make the new district the beacon of a necessary energy turnaround at the same time". MVV is also demonstrating what is already possible today in terms of electromobility on Franklin. In addition to environmentally friendly car-sharing solutions, such as FRANKLIN mobil, publicly accessible charging points are being set up, which will be networked with the energy management system and made more flexible. At the same time, the heating sector also plays an indispensable role. MVV has therefore built an innovative low-temperature heating grid here, which also enables the efficient integration of renewable energies.
Another item on the agenda of the visit is the three electric buses of the type E-Citaro, which have been in operation in Franklin on line 67 since April 2019. One of the buses was also funded under SQUARE. The environmentally friendly buses run every 20 minutes between the conversion areas on Franklin and the Käfertal Bahnhof stop. This will give people who already live, work or go to school in Franklin a direct connection to the rnv public transport network. "We are delighted to have EvoBus as a strong partner for this forward-looking project right on the spot," says Martin in der Beek, Technical Managing Director of rnv. "Over the past year, we have gained a lot of valuable knowledge in the operation of conventional electric buses and at the same time proved that the technology can stand up to the rigours of everyday public transport." In the future, however, other forms of propulsion will also be examined, he added. "We are currently looking intensively at the use of hydrogen buses in public transport and will soon be testing this technology at the rnv," reveals in der Beek. "Traveling by public transport is already more environmentally friendly per se than traveling by car, but we want to do even more for climate protection and therefore also convert our vehicle fleet to emission-free drives as far as possible."
Video report SWR Fernsehen RP (4:08 min.) from 24.1.2019: "Wohnbiotop muss Sanierung werden - Zukunft von Studierenden-Wohnheim ungewiss" (Residential biotope must be redeveloped - Future of student dormitory uncertain)
SWR film link: www.swr.de/swr-fernsehen/landesschau-rp/Wohnbiotop-muss-saniert-werden-Zukunft-von-Studierenden-Wohnheim-ungewiss,av-o1089451-100.html
Internationally, the German government promises effective climate protection measures. But with the current energy policy, it is impossible to keep these promises. In his lecture at the 3rd Citizens' Energy Convention, Prof. Volker Quaschning explained to the State Secretary for Energy Rainer Baake, who was present at the event, the undesirable developments in German energy policy and the need for change for a functioning energy transition.
The video is worth watching, it is a factual as well as unsparing analysis of the current energy policy of the German government. In the meantime, there is also an interesting discussion on the topic on the YouTube page, especially with regard to the State Secretary Rainer Baake, who was addressed several times by the speaker.
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