Ugandan delegations exchange knowledge with Dutch counterparts - 22-04-10
From the 12th until the 20th of April 2010, delegations of three Ugandan local governments had the chance to see the Netherlands and their partners in their own surroundings during an exchange activity. The three Ugandan municipalities all have a partnership with a Dutch municipality: Kamuli with Goes, Bushenyi with Gemert-Bakel, and Kalangala with De Ronde Venen.
The first three days of the exchange activity consisted of a joint programme organised by VNG International, during which workshops and sessions were held on cultural intelligence and intercultural communication (building essential bridges between cultures to interpret and translate experiences), knowledge management (on how to institutionalise knowledge) and waste management (sessions with experts, visit to VAR, to World Wide Recycling, and a workshop about the institutional framework and history of the waste management system in the Netherlands).
From Wednesday afternoon until Monday evening, the Ugandan delegations each went to their Dutch partner municipality. Here the participants visited the waste management facilities, dumping sites, and recycling and composting sites. Furthermore, attention was paid to the organisation of local government in the Netherlands, the functioning of the Dutch council, and public services such as environmental educational centres, primary and secondary schools and the fire department. Discussions provided vital input for the projects.
On the final day, all the Dutch and Ugandan delegations met again at the town hall of De Ronde Venen and the week was evaluated. Cultural differences were identified and the participants explained how they translated certain situations to their own situation. Lessons learned were discussed, which contributed to a better understanding of the Dutch municipal waste management systems, the Dutch culture and off course each other as partners. Overall it was a very interesting week in which a lot of knowledge was gained, shared, and applied and during which the project partners developed new incentives and ideas to implement in their own waste management systems, to make sure "waste doesn’t go to waste"! According to the mayor of Kamuli: "I would have made different choices if I had been to the Netherlands before, now my understanding of the waste cycle, innovative solutions, and institutional arrangements has made it easier for me to know where to start and what to aim for when I want to establish change back home" "We have to make the transition tailored to our own situation and the help of Goes is appreciated even more".