On Thursday 1 October at 10.45 am, a delegation from Chemnitz’s twin town, Timbuktu (Mali), will visit the Chemnitz Waste Management and Street Cleaning Service (ASR) and take a guided tour to learn about waste recycling.
Members of the media are invited to attend. Please register by 11.00 am on 30 September by emailing: pressestelle@stadt-chemnitz.de. You will receive an ASR visitor pass in advance.
The delegation includes Yahia Tandina, Chair of the Special Commission of the Timbuktu Local Authority, and Haoua Touré, the Timbuktu Local Authority’s official representative for waste disposal and recycling. They will be accompanied by Marcel Maiga, the mayor’s representative for relations with Chemnitz and a member of the Chemnitz–Timbuktu Partnership Association (Verein zur Partnerschaft Chemnitz Timbuktu e. V.).
The delegation will be travelling to Germany from 28 September to 3 October to take part in the networking meeting of German-West African local authority partnerships in Bonn. Following a professional exchange with other German-West African local authority partnerships, the delegation will travel on to Chemnitz on 30 September.
At the request of the Timbuktu local authority, they will visit the City of Chemnitz’s Waste Disposal and Street Cleaning Service (ASR) in Chemnitz. The delegation members wish to gain an insight into the City of Chemnitz’s waste management system and its recycling methods.
Furthermore, the representatives from Timbuktu will visit the Karl-Schmidt-Rottluff Grammar School. There, they will be guests in a Year 11 French class. A visit to the Schloßberg Museum is also planned. The aim of the visit to Chemnitz is to get to know the city and to explore potential cooperation projects.
On Friday 2 October at 3 pm, Lord Mayor Sven Schulze will welcome the delegation to the Town Hall for a concluding meeting.
A delegation from Timbuktu had already visited last November, to mark the finale of Chemnitz’s 2025 European Capital of Culture programme. At a public event at the Stadtwirtschaft, the Malian visitors spoke with residents of Chemnitz and shared their experiences of life in Timbuktu.
Background
In spring 2026, the city of Chemnitz successfully applied to take part in the networking meeting of German-West African local authority partnerships in Bonn. The guests’ entire trip is being funded by Engagement Global with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development. Representatives from Chemnitz and Mali last attended a similar conference in Erfurt in 2016.
Town twinning
The partnership between Chemnitz and Timbuktu has been in place since 1968. The oasis city near the River Niger in Mali, West Africa, has a population of 54,000, but the wider metropolitan area is home to 680,000 people. In the 15th and 16th centuries, it was regarded as a centre of learning in the Islamic world. In April 2012, the city was occupied by Islamist rebels and was not recaptured until January 2013. During the occupation, there were attacks and acts of violence. The infrastructure and cultural heritage were almost completely destroyed. Since then, local authorities have been working to stabilise the situation and improve the supply situation.
The city of Chemnitz supported the reconstruction of schools and infrastructure through donations. Material aid, such as school supplies, medical equipment and solar power systems, has also been provided to Timbuktu in recent years. Since 2023, Chemnitz has also been supporting the Rendevouz Educatif reading festival, which is specifically aimed at young people.