News

 

UCLG Newsletter

 

 

 

 

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UCLG Newsletter

 

 

 

 

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In this Issue

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          Cities and Regions together towards Rio+20

·          Agenda of Local and Regional Governments in Rio: Urban Summit 18 June

·          International Conference on "Support to Decentralisation process in Tunisia: Urban realities and future prospects", Tunis, 28-29 May 2012

·          Supporting Local Governments dialogue with regional institutions in South-East  Asia, Phnom Penh (Cambodia), 3-4 May

·          350 local and regional elected officials agree to reinforce the Istanbul Water Consensus

·          UCLG at the 56th UN Commission on the Status of Women

·          Launch of the Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation

·          UCLG Mentoring Programme: Strengthen city to city Partnerships in Mozambique

·          News from UCLG Sections

·          News from UCLG Committees

 

• New Publications

 

UCLG Newsletter

 

 

 

 

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In this Issue

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  ... + info

 

UCLG Newsletter

 

 

 

 

----------------------

In this Issue

----------------------

          Cities and Regions together towards Rio+20

·          Agenda of Local and Regional Governments in Rio: Urban Summit 18 June

·          International Conference on "Support to Decentralisation process in Tunisia: Urban realities and future prospects", Tunis, 28-29 May 2012

·          Supporting Local Governments dialogue with regional institutions in South-East  Asia, Phnom Penh (Cambodia), 3-4 May

·          350 local and regional elected officials agree to reinforce the Istanbul Water Consensus

·          UCLG at the 56th UN Commission on the Status of Women

·          Launch of the Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation

·          UCLG Mentoring Programme: Strengthen city to city Partnerships in Mozambique

·          News from UCLG Sections

·          News from UCLG Committees

 

• New Publications

The National Federation of Tunisian Cities (FNVT) is organizing, jointly with United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and the Province of Barcelona, with the support of Cities Alliance, an international conference on "Support to decentralisation in Tunisia: Urban realities and future prospects", ... + info

The National Federation of Tunisian Cities (FNVT) is organizing, jointly with United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and the Province of Barcelona, with the support of Cities Alliance, an international conference on "Support to decentralisation in Tunisia: Urban realities and future prospects", to be held in Tunis on 28-29 May 2012.

The opening plenary session of the Conference will introduce current problems and issues and will be followed by three workshops for a more thorough analysis of the situation and to suggest possible solutions.

The topic of Workshop 1 will be "City, State and Citizen: entering into a new contract".

Workshop 2 will focus on "The City: taking action for its development".

Workshop 3 will analyze "Tunisia’s legal and regulatory framework".

The conference should gather mayors, urban managers, representatives of the ministries concerned and member citizens of the constituent assembly. It aims to provide a platform for exchanging experiences between cities in the North and South and to promote more coordinated efforts for the implementation of the most adequate recommendations that will enable setting up an appropriate decentralization system for cities.

 

Download the programme

Source: UCLG Mediterranean Committee
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The activities on learning exchange and mentoring between cities continue to grow, especially in the African context. Nonetheless, the interest and commitment to further extend peer learning in developing and developed countries will be considered for inclusion in the UCLG agenda.

 

The ... + info

The activities on learning exchange and mentoring between cities continue to grow, especially in the African context. Nonetheless, the interest and commitment to further extend peer learning in developing and developed countries will be considered for inclusion in the UCLG agenda.

 

The CityFuture grant enables us to follow up the activities in Mozambique for mentoring. Related to strategic planning, a mission took place in March in coordination with CIMES (Intermediary Cities) and ASF (Architects without borders), to strengthen partnerships between cities in Mozambique (XaiXai, Lichinga, Manhisa and Maputo) and with future cooperation partners such as the city of Porto Alegre. We expect ANAMM in Mozambique to soon make advances with an exciting development agenda. 

 

It is now time to scale up and increase coherence and network in our agenda. Recently, the UCLG programme manager, along with active African members and actors of the CityFuture Programme, attended a training held in London by the LGA United Kingdom. Further, the Sustainable Cities network from Canada invited the Committee to its annual symposium in Vancouver in order to explore possible joint activities.

 

Along with the Committee on Culture, UCLG sent the application for a networking event to take place on the fringe of the World Urban Forum (WUF6) in Naples in September. The event is entitled: Peer exchange of city leaders: tailoring global tools to foster local identities.  If you are interested in sharing your experience of urban planning and city management in light of local dynamics, please send us a brief monograph (half a page) so we can consider its inclusion as part of the event within the possibilities of space and time. For more details, see the hyperlink below.

 

ollowing the WUF, the UCLG World Secretariat will be hosting cities, networks and other UCLG Committees that are especially active in learning. The event: "City to city learning between peers: methodologies, results and lessons learnt" will take place UCLG World Secretariat in Barcelona to review methodologies and modes of city learning. 

 

Please click on the links below to access the following documents:

-      Newsletter

-      WUF networking event application

 

 
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Representatives of local governments from eight ASEAN countries came together on the 3rd and 4th of May in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in the framework of “the Regional conference on Strengthening decentralization and local governance in ASEAN countries through a Multi- ... + info

Representatives of local governments from eight ASEAN countries came together on the 3rd and 4th of May in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in the framework of “the Regional conference on Strengthening decentralization and local governance in ASEAN countries through a Multi- Stakeholder Approach”.

The conference was organized by UCLG-ASPAC, in the framework of the UCLG project ‘Supporting Decentralisation in Developing Countries’ and in collaboration with ‘Partnership for Democratic Local Governance in Southeast Asia (DELGOSEA)’, both projects co-financed by the European Commission. The initiative brought together 70 participants from national and local government, international organizations and CSOs to discuss the regional recommendations to strengthen decentralization and local government across the region. Special areas of focus over the two day conference were Good local governance for better Disaster Risk Management, Financing Urban Economic and Infrastructure Development and Strengthening Cooperation between Local Governments and Civil Society.

H.E. Mr Sak Setha, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Interior of the Royal Government of Cambodia and Mr Bagas Hapsoro, Deputy Secretary-General of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat stressed in the opening the need to work together to increase participation and include populations in decision making processes. They committed to continue the process of dialogue between local governments and the ASEAN, in the framework on ongoing integration within the South East Asian region.

Mr Andreas Röttger, Head of Regional Cooperation from the European Commission for Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam and ASEAN, welcomed the organization of this open dialogue as an opportunity to raise awareness about local governance issues in building and strengthening democracy. He said, "This is a timely initiative of local authorities to show that regional integration is not only a matter for the capitals. Indeed, effective local authorities and a vibrant local civil society are key drivers for development, prosperity and stability across the region."

The conference ended with the adoption of the “Phnom Penh Record of Principals” calling on National and Local Governments and broader civil society to establish an ongoing forum in the framework of the ASEAN to address existing and emerging issues affecting local communities across the region.

Final principles

Final Declaration
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The first meeting of the Comparative Study on Metropolitan Governance, a Metropolis Initiative led by the Secretariat for Metropolitan Development in the State of São ... + info

The first meeting of the Comparative Study on Metropolitan Governance, a Metropolis Initiative led by the Secretariat for Metropolitan Development in the State of São Paulo, with technical support from Empresa Paulista de Planificación Metropolitana SA (Emplasa), will take place in the city of São Paulo from 13 to 15 June. The meeting will compare the different strategies carried out by cities in relation to models of governance, and analyze how public-private relationships can determine the execution and financing of public and social policies in metropolitan areas. This Metropolis Initiative, approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting in Porto Alegre on 26 November 2011, proposes preparing a comparative study of the realities of metropolitan governance matters in a number of urban agglomerations. The analysis considers diverse factors, such as the definition of the agents of governance, the establishment of forms of financing, project responsibilities (from conception through to maintenance) and regulatory frameworks. The Initiative will involve case studies and feature a series of clear technical and policy recommendations to be promoted among Metropolis members.

The first Initiative meeting will launch this international discussion that will be carried out over three years, and we encourage all Metropolis members and partners to take part and share its experiences!

For further information about the meeting, documentation and how to participate and present case studies, visit the meeting’s webpage.

Source: Metropolis
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A High-level Local and Regional Authorities’ delegation presented eight recommendations to the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to achieve sustainable cities and regions.

 

On 23 April, United Cities and Local Governments ... + info

A High-level Local and Regional Authorities’ delegation presented eight recommendations to the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to achieve sustainable cities and regions.

 

On 23 April, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and UN-Habitat, with the support of Cities Alliance and UNACLA gathered local and regional governments leaders and networks together to a meeting in New York where they presented the key messages of these groups for Rio+20 to both United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, United Nations officials and the Group of Friends of Sustainable Cities.

 

Local and regional authorities engaged in a dialogue with the Group of Friends of Sustainable Cities on how to ensure that the views of local and subnational governments are included.

 

The document "Joint Messages of Local and Sub-national Governments", signed by UCLG, ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability), Metropolis, C40 Cities, NRG4SD, FOGAR, with the support of the Ford Foundation and UN-Habitat, put forward eight recommendations to reach a sustainable urbanization, metropolisation and regionalisation. The agreement emphasizes urbanization as a driver for economic world growth and development. Local and Regional governments highlight that it is in the cities around the world that the pressures of globalization, migration, social inequality, environmental pollution, climate change and youth unemployment are most directly felt. And, on the other hand, urban areas have for centuries been cradle of innovation and they produce currently above 75% of the worlds of GDP. In this regard, cities and regions stress the need of achieving cities that are environmentally sustainable, socially responsible and economically productive.

 

In the opening address of the meeting, the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the local and regional authorities, saying "your support has never been more crucial to delivering practical results that will defeat poverty, protect the natural environment and improve disaster risk reduction". 

 

Mr. Kadir Topbas, Mayor of Istanbul and UCLG President, underlined that local and regional governance should be clearly included in the international institutional framework of Rio+20. The UCLG President also stated that Rio+20 should set the ground for the Habitat III Conference and that a clear role should be devoted to local and regional authorities in the Post 2015 development agenda.

 

The Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Dr. Joan Clos, stressed that "nowadays, more than half of the population is living in urban areas and we are living a unique phenomenon of urban population increase. We call to prioritize sustainable urban development through good urban design, urban legislation, economy and governance to face the challenges of the 21^st Century".

 

Mr. Antonio Costa, Mayor of Lisbon (Portugal) and UCLG Co-President, put forward the important role that decentralized cooperation has played in the development agenda and in the innovation of governance. Local democracy and governance are important basis for national and global democratization and for the sustainability of our planet, he said. 

 

Mr. Gerard Tremblay, Mayor of Montreal (Canada) and UCLG Vice-President, advocated for strenghtening the partnership between local/regional authorities and the international community. He underlined the need to go to the next level of commitment and provide a clear visible role for local representatives at the negotiation table.

 

Mrs. Maria Sol Corral, Vice mayor of Quito reminded the international community that only with local governments able to implement inclusive policies and involve the citizenship in decision making we can achieve the kind of sustainable society we want. Fair, ecologically viable and equitable. Social inclusion needs to be on the agenda in Rio.

 

Mr. Sebastiao Almeida, Mayor of Garulhos, Brazil and Vice President of FMDV (Global Fund for Sustainable Development), focused on the urgency to meet the demands of the citizens, and stressed additional financial instruments will be required. He recalled the creation of FMDV aiming at gatering resources and knowhow to support the access of basic services for all.  

 

Mr. David Cadman, President of ICLEI and Councillor of Vancouver, emphasized the urgency to undertake action:  Rio+20 needs to be the turning point where current global trends such as population growth, urbanization, global warming and biodiversity loss are managed. 

 

Mr. Lluis Recoder i Miralles, Co-Chair for the North of NRG4SD and Ministry of Territory and Sustainability of the Region of Catalonia, stressed the importance of global Sustainable Development Goals with appropriate indicators evaluated according to specific targets. 

 

Claire Short, Chairperson of Policy Advisory Forum at Cities Alliance, wraped up the session acknowledging the messages provided by the local and regional leaders about the need to turn the negative effects of urbanization in positive challenges and solutions. She also welcomed the way in which local and regional leaders where organizing themselves to have a stronger voice before he international community.

She commended the work done by UCLG as umbrella organization and as political representative of the interests of local authorities and stressed the importance of the advocacy work done.

 

Zoubida Allaoua, Director of Finance at World Bank, highlighted the commitment of the Word Bank to support countries in their urban strategies and to foster learning and capacity building in cities.

 

Maria Luiza Ribeiro, Permanent Representative of Brazil to the UN and host country of the Earth Summit, noted Brazil’s conviction that cities are "laboratories" for sustainable development.

 

The Group of Friends for Sustainable Cities presented 7 recommendations in favour of the inclusion of cities and urbanization aspects in the outcome documents and proposed to the local and governments networks to work together beyond Rio+20.

 

 

 

Local and regional leaders from all continents attended the High-Level segment, including the President of UCLG and Mayor of Istanbul (Turkey), Mayor of Lisbon (Portugal) and UCLG Co-President, Mayor of Kazan (Russia) and UCLG Co-President, Mayor of Montreal (Canada) and UCLG Vice-President, the Vice President of FOGAR, the President of the Azuay Province (Ecuador), the Ministry of Territory and Sustainability of the Catalonia Region (Spain) and Co-Chair of NRG4SD, as well as Councillor of Vancouver (Canada) and President of ICLEI.

 

Participants acknowledged the need to go beyond the clusters and sectoral approaches on sustainability, and called for humanizing the debate and for an integrated framework to assessing sustainable development, as regards basic services, territorial cohesion, social inclusion and equity, culture and resilience.  They have emphasized the need for a more inclusive, multi-level and multi-actor governance and strong need to rethink the governance of sustainable development that is not limited to the inter-governmental level. Paul Carrasco, President of Province of Azuay and 1^st Vice-President of FOGAR, stated that it is essential that all subnational governments, cities, metropolises and regions, work together closely in order to reach the Sustainable Development Goals.

 

 

The session provided the opportunity to start examining the road from Rio+20 to the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, the Habitat III Conference, in 2016.

 

Read the Joint Messages from Local and Subnational Governments

 
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