On 11 June, State Secretary Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz and Patricia Sierra, President of the Barefoot Foundation set up by Shakira, announced their two organisations would be cooperating. Together with Shakira, they put their words into action by signing a Memorandum of Understanding. This move is a good example of BMZ’s cooperation with civil-society structures in its partner countries. GIZ AgenZ got the ball rolling and was active at various interfaces during the project’s early stages.

The foundation and BMZ share a joint aim, namely to open up access to education for the internally displaced and for children from socially disadvantaged families in Colombia, enabling them to make their way out of poverty. On the day they signed the Memorandum of Understanding, BMZ and Shakira organised a joint press conference in Villa Kennedy in Frankfurt. The Colombian singer was on tour at the time and was due to perform later that evening at the Festhalle.

Cooperation will also anchor development policy as a key issue in German society. ‘One million people are involved in development work in Germany. We want to double that figure!’, said Beerfeltz. Role models like Shakira motivate people to get involved in development, and sensitise them to the topic in the first place. An approach that certainly pays off – media coverage of the event topped 15 million people.