Event reports
The Lord Mayor was accompanied by a 25 member delegation which consisted of representatives of different SMEs in Stuttgart, Germany. Dr. Schuster presented the city of Stuttgart among 180 participants and explained why the city could be a best practice example for urbanization and sustainability.
The fields of action for sustainable development would be demography (migration), a high-tech economy (green technology) and a knowledge-based society (education and science). The German society is – especially in comparison to India – demographically unbalanced. There are less children and lots of elderly people. To tackle this problem, the government has to create a children-friendly as well as migrant-friendly society. To reach the goal of a “welcome culture” for migrants, Stuttgart invented the three “Is”: „International, Integrative und Intercultural“. This means to create positive framework conditions for immigration and naturalization in favor of a ”welcome culture“ to attract foreigners, to let all citizens participate in social and professional life by integrating them through offers in the areas of education, work and civil society and to promote cultural diversity as an enrichment.
To maintain and further develop the knowledge, it is important to support lifelong learning and expand education opportunities. Especially the German dual system (learning part time at school and on the job) is highly appreciated internationally and could be used in an adapted form in other countries.
The lecture was held under the motto of “StadtRäume-CitySpaces” of the current Year of Germany in India.