Bonn Federal City and Centre of International Cooperation Table of Contents Foreword by the Mayor of Bonn 2 Content Bonn – a New Profile 4 Bonn – City of the German Constitution 12 The Federal City of Bonn – Germany’s Second Political Centre 14 International Bonn – Working Towards sustainable Development Worldwide 18 Experience Democracy 28 Bonn – Livable City and Cultural Centre 36 1 Foreword to show you that Bonn’s 320,000 inhabitants may make it a comparatively small town, but it is far from being small-town. On the contrary, Bonn is the city of tomor- “Freude.Joy.Joie.Bonn” – row, where the United Nations, as well as science and Bonn’s logo says everything business, explore the issues that will affect humankind in about the city and is based on the future. Friedrich Schiller’s “Ode to Bonn’s logo, “Freude.Joy.Joie.Bonn.”, incidentally also Joy”, made immortal by our stands for the cheerful Rhenish way of life, our joie de vi- most famous son, Ludwig van vre or Lebensfreude as we call it. Come and experience it Beethoven, in the final choral yourself: Sit in our cafés and beer gardens, go jogging or movement of his 9th Symphony. “All men shall be brot- cycling along the Rhine, run through the forests, stroll hers” stands for freedom and peaceful coexistence in the down the shopping streets and alleys. View the UN and world, values that are also associated with Bonn. The city Post Towers, Godesburg Castle and the scenic Siebenge- is the cradle of the most successful democracy on Ger- birge, the gateway to the romantic Rhine. Go for a walk in Foreword man soil and its name is synonymous with decades of the Südstadt quarter or the sweeping green of Freizeit- Foreword peace in Europe since the middle of the last century. It park Rheinaue (Rheinaue Leisure Park) and the Bundes- was no coincidence that the Council of Europe and Euro- viertel (Federal District) – in a nutshell: enjoy how won- pean Community, the predecessor of today’s European derful it is in Bonn, how lively and cheerful this city is, and Union (EU), chose the instrumental version of the “Ode to how open-minded and diverse its people are. Joy”, based on the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, as the European Anthem. Ashok Sridharan Bonn also stands for the internationality and cosmopoli- Mayor of Bonn tanism developed in the city since becoming the seat of the Federal Government in 1949. In the meantime, Bonn has gained a sound reputation as Germany‘s United Nations City hosting approximately twenty UN agencies. Their efforts are geared towards ad- vancing sustainability and securing the future of our pla- 98% of Bonn’s citizens love their city. The cultural offer net. This will again become clear in November 2017, when plays a major role in this affection according to an Infas 20,000 participants are expected to attend the World study among people living in Bonn. Climate Summit in Bonn. A new facet of Bonn‘s profile is the strong presence of In his 2013 review of the city for “Frankfurter Allgemeine” authorities dealing with cyber security in one form or an- newspaper the author Helmut Bünder fittingly describes other - another topical issue these days. Bonn as follows: We invite you to find out more about Bonn. And we will continue to play a role in the annual celebrations for the “Those who are looking for international working flair Day of German Unity. paired with an extensive leisure and cultural offer, and In 2011, Bonn hosted the celebrations for the Day of Ger- can handle a dash of Rhenish cheerfulness, will feel at man Unity and the North Rhine-Westphalia Day: The fes- home in Bonn.” tivities for Germany’s national day wonderfully presented Bonn in all of its facets – small, yet grand, and local, yet “Those who prefer the anonymity of big city life and con- cosmopolitan. We will continue to play a role in the annu- sider telling jokes a waste of time will feel out of place.” al celebrations for the Day of German Unity in the future 2 3 A conference at the World Conference Center Bonn, the former plenary chamber of the Bundestag Bonn – a New Profile Why was a new profile needed for Bonn in the first place? The Bundestag’s decision in 1991 therefore represented Berlin had become the German capital in 1990 as one of the arrival of a major challenge for Bonn and its citizens, the stipulations of the Unification Treaty, which also sta- but one that they would not succumb to: The time had Bonn — a New Profile ted that „the seat of parliament and government shall be come to develop a new profile for this city that had for so Bonn — a New Profile decided upon after the establishment of German unity.“ A long been the synonym for German politics. fierce debate ensued on which political functions should be moved. When, on 20 June 1991, the Bundestag (the A few weeks after the Bundestag had passed its resolu- lower house of the German Parliament) decided to move tion, the regional powers from Bonn, the Rhein-Sieg Dis- its seat and the core functions of government to Berlin, trict and the Ahrweiler District presented the “Five-Pillar the situation was as follows: Bonn as a city had been de- Model”, a master plan for the future development of Bonn fined by politics for over four decades and, although it had and the region. The vision was based on Bonn as a Fede- used the slogan “Bonn is more” for many years, this ral City; as a centre of European and international coope- “more” had long since disappeared behind the policyma- ration; as a city of science and research; as a city with a king headlines that it produced on a daily basis. future-oriented economic structure and as a cultural centre. In June 1991 the world seemed to stand still for Bonn. The foundations for structural change were solid: The What did the Bundestag mean by “core functions of Berlin/Bonn Act of 1994 regulated the division of labour government”? The uncertainty surrounding the future of between the Federal Capital of Berlin and the Federal Bonn was overwhelming; after all, a study had shown that City of Bonn. The compensation agreement, which over 30,000 jobs were connected to the city’s role as “Fe- provided 1.43 billion euros, offered the opportunity to deral Capital” – 30,000 of 134,000 – the consequences implement concrete projects, set structural change in for the city were potentially devastating. motion and create new jobs. However, Bonn’s citizens would not be true natives of the In any case, to cut a long story short, the path that was Rhineland if they did not have faith in one of the articles taken based on a vision over a quarter of a century ago of the Rhenish Carnival’s “Constitution”: “Et hätt noch has proven to be the right one. immer jot jejange”, which roughly translates as “it always ends well”. 4 5 The United Nations flag in front of the UN Tower The opening of the UN Campus in 2006 Bonn’s New Profile – an Overview The greatest international success is however the estab- lishment of United Nations organizations and institutions Bonn: The Federal City such as the Climate Secretariat of the United Nations The Berlin/Bonn Act that was passed on 26 April 1994 (UNFCCC). The international activities of the United explicitly guarantees the preservation of Bonn as a politi- Nations in Bonn focus on climate and environmental cal centre and stipulates the fair division of labour issues, volunteer programmes, development cooperation Bonn — a New Profile Bonn — a New Profile between Berlin and Bonn; which is why six Federal Minis- and disaster risk reduction. The shared motto of the tries have their primary seat on the Rhine. They represent growing United Nations family in Bonn is “The UN in Bonn the policy areas determined in the act: education and – working towards sustainable development worldwide”. science, culture, research and technology, telecommuni- The UN Campus has been the nucleus of international cations, environment and health, food, agriculture and Bonn since the summer of 2006. The former high-rise forestry, development policy and defence. All other buildings of the Bundestag in Bonn are now occupied by ministries maintain their secondary seat on the Rhine. UN organizations and institutions. Over twenty federal agencies, including the Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) and Federal Audit Office Next door is the World Conference Center Bonn built (Bundesrechnungshof), have moved to Bonn. The city is around the old plenary chamber of the Bundestag, which therefore the second political centre of the Federal Repu- has just been extended to also accommodate large con- blic of Germany, a country characterized by highly federal ferences according to UN standards. During the past ye- structures as the name implies, and this status is ars, Bonn has time and again shown that it is also a suita- expressed by its designation as a “Federal City”, a term ble venue for major conferences, as is documented by its originally coined in Switzerland. hosting of two World Climate Summits, the International Conference on Freshwater, the United Nations Talks on Bonn: International City — Germany’s United Afghanistan, the International Conference for Renewable Nations City Energies and the Conference of the Parties to the UN As Germany’s United Nations city Bonn fulfils tasks of Convention on Biological Diversity. national interest. The idea to develop Bonn into a centre of international cooperation was already mentioned in the resolution passed by the Bundestag in 1991.