The Development and Peace Foundation is a cross-party and non-profit-making organisation funded by the federal states of North-Rhine Westphalia, Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony. The Foundation sees its role as a forum for the German and international debate about social and political responses to globalisation. Its aim is humane and sustainable development worldwide. With its publications and events, the Foundation operates at the interface between policy-making, research, civil society and the economy.

As an international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations, the federally owned Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH supports the German Government in achieving its development-policy objectives. It provides viable, forward-looking solutions for political, economic, ecological and social development in a globalised world. Working under difficult conditions, GTZ promotes complex reforms and change processes. Its corporate objective is to improve people’s living conditions on a sustainable basis.

Forming the heart of the current congress center are the former Plenary Chamber of the Parliament and the Waterworks. Starting 2010 the extension with the hotel will complement the existing facilities and enable events for up to 5000 people.

„The UN in Bonn – for sustainable development worldwide“ – this motto of the United Nations is also a key note for ministries, scientific institutions, companies and organizations based in the international city. Bonn serves as a conference destination for various sustainability topics, from climate to early warning to biological diversity.

One of the World Conference Center Bonn’s fields of expertise is sustainability. The congress center initiates and supports events, such as the symposium GreenMeetings Germany or the first German electric vehicle congress.

The congress center is located in the immediate vicinity of the United Nations Campus, the international broadcaster Deutsche Welle, the headquarters of Deutsche Post, Postbank and Deutsche Telekom, the museums at the “Museums-Meile” and many other international institutions. This makes the World Conference Center Bonn a place of international dialogue, where future related topics with global importance are discussed to find answers for the future.

Germany’s international broadcaster has the legal mission to convey a comprehensive picture of life in Germany and, additionally, to deal with “German and other positions on important issues” and in particular to provide a forum aimed at “promoting understanding and dialogue between cultures and peoples.” Deutsche Welle fulfils its mission with the programmes of DW-RADIO in 30 languages, DW-TV in German and English as well as programme slots in Arabic and Spanish, and DW-WORLD.DE – the multimedia and multilingual internet website. DW is comprised of a multinational team of roughly 1,500 employees from more than 60 countries. DW runs the DW-AKADEMIE for broadcasting professionals from developing countries and Eastern Europe. Deutsche Welle is headquartered in Bonn. DW-TV is located in Berlin.

A fund allocated by the European Union, the ERDF aims to strengthen economic and social cohesion in the European Union by correcting imbalances between its regions. In short, the ERDF finances:

• direct aid to investments in companies (in particular Small and Middle-sized Enterprises) to create sustainable jobs,
• infrastructures linked notably to research and innovation, telecommunications, environment, energy and transport,
• financial instruments (capital risk funds, local development funds, etc.) to support regional and local development and to foster cooperation between towns and regions,
• technical assistance measures.

North Rhine-Westphalia is the only state to have a ministry in place which unites the most important fields of political activity for the future under one roof.

The goal of the Ministry of Intergenerational Affairs, Family, Women and Integration is to support modern ideas on how several generations can live together, to provide more assistance for families, to promote equal opportunities for women and men and to ensure the participation of immigrants and their children in the social life of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Further important aims are to achieve a harmonious coexistence of different cultures, equal rights and social justice.

The Ministry is also very active in the field of development cooperation and works closely together with its partner country Ghana and its partner province Mpumalanga, South Africa. Thus, the Ministry makes an important contribution towards the realisation of the United Nation's Millennium development goals.

19 organizations within the United Nations, among them the Climate Change Secretariat, the Secretariat to Combat Desertification and the Volunteers’ Programme, are working from Bonn in the name of sustainable development worldwide. 

Bonn stands for cooperation, dialogue and synergy effects. In addition to the United Nations, federal ministries as well as scientific institutions, development aid services, business and the media, non-governmental organizations and, of course, the City of Bonn itself have become committed components of the Bonn-based sustainability field. They all act as the driving force behind many sustainability initiatives and co-operations – from local to global, from on-site projects to education.

Important conferences have helped to increase the city’s significance and to shape its international profile. The UN Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2008, regular conferences of the UN Climate Change Secretariat as well as the international Global Media Forum are only a small sample of what makes up the City of Bonn as a location for international conferences.

The "Foundation for International Dialogue of the Sparkasse in Bonn" was launched in 2005 in order to promote international discussions and foster cooperation in the Federal and UN city of Bonn. Bonn is an international and cosmopolitan city and thus has a unique position amongst other German cities. The city and the region of Bonn therefore have the best potential to become a place for international dialogue.

Some of the Foundation's aims are to promote

• international understanding,
• development cooperation,
• European integration, and
• study and research in the fields of international politics and history.

The Foundation intends to achieve its aims by promoting intercultural and interpersonal dialogue. It does so by supporting international events and congresses, or by staging such events itself. Furthermore, the Foundation provides support for the activities of institutions and associations which are committed to work for international understanding and intercultural dialogue. In so doing, a contribution can be made and citizens can be encouraged to get involved.

As an independent, non-profit organization BICC is dedicated to promoting and facilitating peace and development.

On the basis of applied research, BICC offers consultancy, policy advice and training. Its international staff carries out self- and third-party financed projects. BICC collects and publishes information, carries out evaluations and prepares publications and makes these materials available to NGOs, governments and private organizations. It is co-publisher of an international scientific book series (Sustainable Peace and Global Security Governance) and the annual State of Peace Report (Friedensgutachten). The Center organizes exhibitions, conferences, expert workshops and talks.

BICC was founded in 1994 with the support of the Land North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) as a non-profit limited liability company (GmbH).

In 2002, BIMUN/SINUB e. V. was founded by students of Bonn University with the goal to hold an annual Model United Nations conference. Ever since, teams of volunteering students have supported and extended the association's activities. Our self-conception is based on the idea of raising awareness about issues of international significance and promoting the ideals of the United Nations, especially among younger people. The main focus of our work is to foster cultural exchange as well as political education and international understanding. BIMUN/SINUB e.V. is a non-profit organization.

InWEnt – Capacity Building International, Germany, is a non-profit organisation with worldwide operations dedicated to human resource development, advanced training, and dialogue. Our capacity building programmes are directed at experts and executives from politics, administration, the business community, and civil society. We are commissioned by the German Federal Government to assist with the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations. In addition, we implement education for sustainable development programmes in Germany for the German audience. Through exchange programmes, InWEnt also offers young people from Germany the opportunity to gain professional experience abroad.

The Center for Development Research (ZEF) is an international and trans-disciplinary scientific research institute of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University Bonn. It started its research activities in 1997 and its international Graduate Program in 1999. ZEF’s overall goal is to contribute with its research to combating poverty and promoting sustainable human development. Therefore, ZEF cooperates closely with researchers and research institutes in the field of development policy and cooperation from all over the world.

ZEF follows an integrative and trans-disciplinary research approach. Natural and social scientists as well as economists work together and in close cooperation with local partners on research questions and solutions to development relevant issues. Currently, ZEF carries out projects in Ghana and Burkina Faso, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Vietnam, India and South Africa.

ZEF’s Interdisciplinary Graduate School for Development Research (BiGS DR) aims at educating future decision-makers from developing as well as industrial countries for international careers in a development related setting. During the last decade, 402 young scientists from 77 countries have participated in ZEFs graduate program. Most of the students from developing countries have returned to their regions of origin in Africa, Asia and South America or found jobs in international organizations.

The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), also known as the Bonn Convention, is an intergovernmental UN treaty aimed at conserving migratory animals globally. The species listed range from elephants to antelopes, from whales to fish, from bats to birds. These animals face multiple threats on their long-distance journeys, such as hunting and fishing, habitat destruction and climate change. Only if all the different countries along the migratory pathways work together can the conservation of migratory species be effective. Out of this need CMS was born in 1979 and has since then grown into a global leader campaigning for migratory species.

EADI is the prime professional association for development studies in Europe and forms a European-wide network of institutes, researchers, and students of various disciplines in the field of development studies. The association was founded in 1975 and is an independent and non-profit making international non-governmental organisation. Its Secretariat is based in Bonn, Germany.

EADI promotes:

• Quality in research and education in development issues,
• The exchange of relevant information among members and with others,
• The strengthening of relevant knowledge networks at the regional and global level, 
• The influencing of both national and European decision-makers in the field of development co-operation.

EADI offers a range of online information services on development research: the EADI Portal, a guide through the network’s knowledge base, features online publications and ongoing development research programmes; EL@ND, the European Libraries Network for Development, gives access to twelve library catalogues focusing on development research. Various database services offer information on publications, training, funding and job opportunities.

EADI’s most prominent activity is a General Conference devoted to a topical theme every three years. The EADI International Summer School is a Europe-wide educational programme for young scholars and Master’s students and takes place on a regular basis. The “European Development Co-operation to 2020 (EDC2020)” programme under the 7th Framework Programme under the Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities theme of the European Commission (www.edc2020.eu) is a European Research Programme with three key components: emerging donors and new actors in international development (e.g. China, India and other regional powers), energy security and climate change and their impact on developing countries in particular.

Quality management is a major concern of the association, resulting in a project on accreditation standards in development studies, as well as a classification of interdisciplinary development studies journals.

EADI is part of ICCDA – the Inter-regional Coordinating Committee of Development Associations.

The German Commission for UNESCO (DUK), whose secretariat is based in Bonn, is one of 195 National Commissions of UNESCO. These are national cooperating bodies, unique in the UN system, which act, inter alia, in an advisory capacity for their governments in all matters relating to UNESCO and involve the intellectual and scientific communities of their countries in UNESCO’s work.

The DUK is an organisation contributing to Germany’s cultural and educational foreign policy. It receives an institutional grant from the Federal Foreign Office. Its 100 members reflect the broad spectrum of institutions and associations active in Germany in UNESCO’s areas of competence: education, science, culture, and communication. It advises the Federal Government, Parliament and all other relevant bodies in all UNESCO issues. It coordinates the contribution of German experts and civil society to the drafting of UNESCO’s programmes and activities.

On the basis of a unanimous resolution of the German Federal Parliament on the UN Decade, the DUK coordinates the implementation of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development in Germany. The DUK is supported in this task by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

IFOAM is the worldwide umbrella organization for the organic movement, uniting more than 750 member organizations in 108 countries.

IFOAM actively participates in international agricultural and environmental negotiations with the United Nations and multilateral institutions to further the interests of the organic agricultural movement worldwide. IFOAM is uniquely recognised for taking on this important role. The introduction of the Principles of Organic Agriculture and the recognition of IFOAM by international institutions is of enormous importance for the further development of organic agriculture.

Through IFOAM programs, conferences and events, IFOAM is laying the groundwork for the further development of organic agriculture and its markets worldwide. Through IFOAM World Congresses, International Trade conferences, commodity specific (coffee, seeds, wild products, etc.) and other events, IFOAM brings together the key players from all over the planet to facilitate trade in organic products.

Tourismus and Congress GmbH Region Bonn / Rhein-Sieg / Ahrweiler (T&C) was initiated in the scope of the Bonn-Berlin compensation measures. T&C focuses on strengthening the tourism regions Bonn, Rhein-Sieg, and Ahrweiler, the development and realisation of comprehensive tourism and event advertising, and national and international ticketing.

Duties and responsibilities of the T&C include: Ticketing BONNTICKET, congress-service, cooperation with domestic and foreign tour operators, accommodation distribution and distribution of packages, marketing of the tourism region Bonn / Rhein-Sieg / Ahrweiler, national and international press work and PR, project management and product development.

The aim of the North Rhine-Westphalian branch of the United Nations Association of Germany (UNA-Germany) is to inform the people in North Rhine-Westphalia about the United Nations and to promote the understanding of the role of the UN in international policy. A particular target group are young people such as students. The North Rhine-Westphalian branch of UNA-Germany puts special emphasis on the 19 UN-Organizations located in Bonn, the most important headquarters of the UN in Germany.

Developed as a result of the Rio Summit, the UNCCD is a unique instrument that has brought attention to land degradation in some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and affected populations in the world. Thirteen years after coming into force, the UNCCD benefits from the largest membership of the three Rio Conventions and is recognized as an instrument that can make an important contribution to the achievement of sustainable development and generate global benefits.

The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is the UN organization that promotes volunteerism to support peace and development worldwide. Volunteerism can transform the pace and nature of development, and it benefits both society at large and the individual volunteer. UNV contributes to peace and development by advocating for volunteerism globally, encouraging partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming, and mobilizing volunteers.