The south London borough of Lewisham played host to the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, two weeks ago. South African president Jacob Zuma found time during his three-day state visit the UK to promote the work of one of local government's brightest prospects.

Mr Zuma met the Lewisham young mayor Jacob Sakil and confessed to be "highly impressed" by his involvement to give a voice for young people in Lewisham. Regarding the young mayor programme implemented by Lewisham, Mr Zuma said that it could represent a great opportunity for young people in South Africa as well.

Moreover, London Borough of Lewisham has been involved in a long term partnership with Ekurhuleni Metropolitan municipality in South Africa.

Firstly, a friendship agreement was signed in 2002 that paved the way for a mutual cooperation between the two municipalities. Since then, various projects have been held starting with book donations from the people of Lewisham to deprived areas of South Africa. In 2004 both municipalities received a grant under the Commonwealth Local Government Forum Good Practice Scheme for a two year project aimed at reducing unemployment in Ekurhuleni. More recently, in 2007, a volunteering programme has been launched through which 10 young care leavers went to Ekurhuleni to work on local projects.

Among these, other joint work has been managed to provide training for officers and sharing experiences through visits between municipalities.