Hans-Peter PlagPublished on May 08, 2025, last updated May 08, 2025.
On April 7, 2025, about 30 participants came together at the Virginia Wesleyan University in Norfolk to contemplate on the green recovery of West Africa. At the center of the deliberation was the question of whether bringing Norfolk and Djenné Cercle in Mali as sister cities would contribute to this recovery and at the same time have many other mutual benefits for both cities. The meeting page reports that most participants were in support of the initiative aiming to bring the two cities together in the sister city program.
The meeting was opened by Christian Hofer, who provided a detailed overview of the activities of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) in Africa. He explained the structure and work of the GEF, as well as the limitations. The GEF supports environmental restoration projects with grants that go through local governments.
The Mina Barberis, the director of the Norfolk Sister City program, introduced the audience to the overall sister city program as well as the specific program of Norfolk. She underlined the value of the program for both Norfolk and the sister cities. This was followed up by a brief introduction of Place4Us as a collaborative virtual platform for the initiative.
In the remaining part of the meeting the participants split up into smaller groups to discuss several questions related to the potential benefits of having Djenné Cercle as a new sister city of Norfolk. The group focusing on potential mutual environmental benefits concluded that there were many commonalities in the environmental challenges, and considering these challenges from different cultural and economic settings could be of considerable benefits for both cities. The group discussing flood management and flood prevention found that both cities could learn from each other. A third group focusing on potential economic benefits realized that there is a high potential for new economic activities particularly related to technologies for circular economy and renewable energy, as well as activities aiming to increase food security in both locations. The fourth group considered cultural benefits resulting from a relationship between the two cities. Here, too, the group saw many potential benefits. In summary, the reporting back to the plenary indicated a general consensus that both Norfolk and Djenné Cercle could benefit from having a sister city relationship.
