Working with Eurocities
The best part of being a member of Eurocities is the access to a trusted network of European cities and the short, direct lines of communication that make collaboration easier, even across borders. Whether it’s exchanging practical ideas on sustainability, sharing crisis-response strategies, or simply learning how another city tackled a similar challenge, Eurocities creates the space for meaningful, low-barrier exchanges. For cities like Bonn, this means being able to connect quickly with peers. It’s less about grand declarations, but more about the quiet, everyday value of knowing who to call, who’s been there before, and who’s ready to share what worked, or what didn’t.
A success story made possible through Eurocities’ support is the elevation of Bonn’s sustainable culture strategy onto the European stage via the Eurocities Lille Call to Action for Sustainable and Inclusive Culture. By engaging with this initiative, Bonn was able to connect its local cultural sustainability efforts, such as green cultural infrastructure, inclusive programming, and climate-aware event management, with a broader European dialogue. This helped position Bonn’s approach within a pan-European context, enhancing visibility and enabling knowledge exchange with other cities committed to cultural sustainability.
Equally valuable has been the opportunity to maintain and deepen ties with Bonn’s Ukrainian partner city, Kherson, despite the ongoing war and difficult travel conditions. While formal bilateral meetings remain challenging, Eurocities’ conferences and side events provide rare, low-threshold opportunities for informal but meaningful exchanges between Bonn and Kherson representatives. These encounters help sustain personal connections and mutual support. In some cases, they also enable multilateral discussions with other partner cities of Kherson, fostering a wider network of solidarity that would be hard to assemble otherwise.
Bonn, as an international city deeply engaged in sustainability, gains substantial value from its participation in the Eurocities SDG Task Force. Through this platform, Bonn collaborates with other European cities to exchange practical solutions and overcome common challenges in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level. The Task Force enables Bonn to benchmark its progress, adopt innovative approaches from peer cities and contribute its own expertise, particularly in areas like climate neutrality and multilateral governance.
Additionally, Eurocities is an excellent base to find partners for European projects such as Erasmus+. The short, trusted lines of communication across Europe not only accelerate action but also reinforce Bonn’s role as a reliable and connected actor in international urban cooperation.
Eurocities has helped cities like Bonn strengthen their voice at the European level by providing a unified platform to advocate for urban priorities, from climate action and social inclusion to digital innovation and crisis resilience. Through Eurocities, Bonn gains the opportunity to access EU policy debates, contribute to joint position papers, and collaborate with peer cities to shape legislation that reflects local realities. This collective representation ensures that urban perspectives, including those of mid-sized, internationally engaged cities like Bonn, are heard in Brussels, helping to turn local challenges into shared European solutions. The network also enables rapid exchange during crises, reinforcing the value of trusted, city-to-city cooperation across Europe.
What people need to know about the city
Bonn is a green, medium-sized city of roughly 330,000 inhabitants in the heart of Europe, beautifully situated on the banks of the river Rhine. With its idyllic green surroundings, it waits to be explored by nature-lovers, hikers and cyclists. Here, at the gateway to the Upper Middle Rhine Valley – a UNESCO World Heritage site – visitors encounter a hospitable place with rich history, many cultural offerings, a cosmopolitan flair and open-minded citizens. Bonn is a multicultural city where people from around 180 nationalities live peacefully together.
Bonn has developed a profile that is unique in the world as a second political centre and a place for international dialogue – Germany’s United Nations city focusing on environment and development. UN Bonn has become the hub of UN efforts geared towards global sustainable development with 23 UN secretariats, among them the UN Climate Convention and the SDG Action Campaign. The city also hosts 170 globally active institutions and NGOs and many other players in the field of sustainability, development and cooperation. The landmark of the city’s international district is the UN Campus.
Bonn’s excellent Friedrich-Wilhelms-University is part of the most intense research area in Europe with more than 150,000 students, 20,000 scientists and around 50 renowned science and research institutions.
Bonn is one of the cities with the highest quality of life in Germany . The city features a rich history and a great number of cultural events throughout the year. The Museum Mile and several other museums, including the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven, are located in and around the city centre. Visitors come from all around the world to enjoy various events and festivals and to go to the theatre and the opera.
Bonn has put sustainability at the centre of its work. The city has pledged to achieve climate neutrality before the year 2035. Bonn is actively engaging with European and global networks and is currently active in six project partnerships with cities around the globe. Learn more about Bonn’s comprehensive Sustainability Strategy adopted in 2019 and the action leading up to its implementation on the city website.
