Events in IKI’s anniversary year

In its anniversary year, the International Climate Initiative (IKI) made use of a wide range of events to engage in dialogue with its partners worldwide and answer questions about the funding programme – and, naturally, to celebrate its 15 years of success as an organisation.

Elke Steinmetz (BMUV), Miriam Ott (AA), Philipp Behrens (BMWK) and Axel Benemann (BMUV) cut a cake with ‘15 years’ written on it. — An anniversary year also includes a cake: it was cut by the representatives of the IKI ministries Elke Steinmetz (BMUV), Miriam Ott (AA), Philipp Behrens (BMWK) and Axel Benemann (BMUV).

Birgit Schwenk stands between two bar tables and holds a microphone in her hand

The International Climate Initiative is a funding instrument for climate action and biodiversity conservation, on which we are focusing our attention this evening. In the course of the past 15 years, we have continuously developed the funding programme and improved project quality. We have successfully worked together with many partners and realised numerous important topics. In the meantime, three ministries - the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), the Federal Foreign Office (AA) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) - are combining strengths in the IKI to drive the transformation in developing and emerging countries forward. I am delighted to see so many colleagues here today who are committed to this aim. Let us make use of this evening to share experiences and ideas, to learn from each other - and to celebrate together.

Birgit Schwenk, Head of the Climate Action Department of the BMWK

The IKI anniversary was also celebrated in the IKI focus countries. This picture gallery gives a brief insight into the different parts of the world.

A woman stands in front of an LED wall on which a slide with the IKI anniversary motif is shown. — Presentation at the IKI Interface Workshop Viet Nam.

Two stacks of gray notebooks with the lettering 15 years — Notebooks of the interface project in South Africa.

A group of people stand between two roll-ups. The one on the right has the IKI anniversary motif — The participants of the IKI Interface Workshop South Africa.

Discussion at the interface workshop of the Ukraine.

Exhibition stand of the Indian interface project at the World Sustainable Development Summit.

IKI mug with the anniversary logo from the Indian interface project.

Hybrid workshop of the Indonesia interface project.

UN Climate Change Conference 2023 (COP28)

At the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, the IKI hosted the high-level event ‘Closing the gaps: A fast track for climate action and finance’ in the German Pavilion. Keynotes for this event were given by Stefan Wenzel, State Secretary in the BMWK, and UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner.

International Forum for Coal Regions in Transition

On 26 and 27 October 2023, the ‘International Forum for Coal Regions in Transition’ was held in Berlin, attracting more than 100 stakeholders working towards a just energy transition in former coal regions.

The lettering "Changing Transport" is displayed as a scuplture in front of a world map.

Transport and Climate Change Week

At the sixth ‘Transport and Climate Change Week’, held in Berlin from 11 to 15 September 2023, the IKI hosted a networking event for the implementing organisations from its transport projects.

Federal Government Open Day

Well-attended information stands, interesting talks with the grown-ups, fun activities for the little ones – and a visit from the State Secretary. All this and more made up a packed programme for the Federal Government Open Day, held in Berlin on 19 and 20 August 2023.

Read our Open Day retrospective here

7 people at bar tables in front of an IKI banner and an Urgewald roll-up. The audience sits in the foreground.

Conference of the IKI Complaint Mechanism

What can be done if – despite every possible effort being made – the promotion of climate action, biodiversity and development also has a detrimental effect on humans and nature – albeit unintentionally? Experts discussed these topics on the premises of the IKI project management agency Zukunft - Umwelt - Gesellschaft (ZUG) gGmbH in Berlin from 20 to 21 June 2023.

Find out more about the IKI complaint mechanism event

Bonn Climate Change Conference

This year’s Bonn Climate Change Conference was held from 5 to 15 June 2023 and was an important part of preparatory activities for COP28. The IKI took advantage of the conference to host a side event to discuss the current status of the IKI Strategy with the IKI community.

Global NDC Conference

The Global NDC Conference took place in Berlin from 31 May to 2 June 2023. The event was hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), which funded the conference as part of the International Climate Initiative. The IKI was also in attendance and invited delegates to join its ‘Dinner Cruise with NDC Conversation’.

Export Dialogue 2023

At the 2023 Export Dialogue, stakeholders from business, research and policymaking accepted the invitation of Euler Hermes Aktiengesellschaft to discuss the transformation challenges facing the export sector. This was the first time that the IKI was able to showcase its work at the event.

Find out more about the 2023 Export Dialogue

Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue

The ninth instalment of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD), one of the world’s leading global energy transition forums, took place in Berlin at the end of March 2023. The BMWK invited the climate community to a networking evening and also used the occasion as an opportunity to raise a glass to the IKI’s 15th anniversary.

IKI Brown Bag Lunches

The IKI also touched on some key topics itself this year with its own IKI Brown Bag Lunch (BBL) format.

Scheduled as a regular lunchtime event, this virtual format offers implementing organisations the chance to provide an informative look behind the scenes at their own projects and then talk about these projects with other stakeholders. The format is aimed at IKI ministries, ZUG and other organisations from the IKI network. The IKI organised seven well-attended BBLs during 2023.

Click on the individual event link for detailed information about the topics addressed at each of these 2023 IKI Brown Bag Lunches.