Dialog between nations and cultures
As part of a youth exchange project by DACHSER and terre des hommes, five young people from Zambia visited Germany in July. They are working together with young DACHSER employees to tackle urgent topics: dealing with waste, protecting the natural world, and raising awareness in their families and work environment. The project is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
“No doubt I’ll benefit from the experiences, the discussions with other people, the new contacts, and ideas about future collaborations,” says Ireen Ng’andu from Zambia. “It was interesting to travel all around the country and present and share our project idea everywhere we went. I’m definitely looking forward to changing things back in Livingstone and sharing my experiences with the people there.”
Focus on waste management
The visit from Zambia was another milestone in the cooperation between the logistics provider and the children’s aid organization terre des hommes. With a group of young Germans having visited Zambia previously, now it was time for the return visit. In addition to various workshops, the Zambian delegation visited a recycling center and gained authentic insights from German trainees at the DACHSER Head Office in Kempten into the German apprenticeship system and the various occupations it covers. In the project context, the young Zambians were particularly interested in sustainability aspects, such as how the biogas plant on an organic farm worked. In discussion meetings about cultural commonalities and differences, the African guests spoke about possible career paths in Zambia after school. And the project is also beginning to have an effect on the German participants: a project on the topic of biodiversity saw two colonies of bees established on the campus of the DACHSER Head Office at the end of July.
“We live in a globalized world, and the only way to make that work in the future is if there is understanding and communication on all sides,” says Bernhard Simon, CEO of DACHSER, who supported and took a keen interest in the project. Even after the project concludes in December of this year, the German and Zambian youths will remain in contact and exchange ideas, playing an active part in the dialog between nations and cultures.