News

 

As we approach the 6^th World Water Forum co-organized by the French Government, the City of Marseilles and the World Water Council, we would like to inform you that the 14^th and 15^th of March will be dedicated to local and regional ... + info

 

As we approach the 6^th World Water Forum co-organized by the French Government, the City of Marseilles and the World Water Council, we would like to inform you that the 14^th and 15^th of March will be dedicated to local and regional authorities.

 

As you know, at the 5^th World Water Forum (Istanbul 2009), UCLG, ICLEI and the World Water Council worked together to mobilize over 250 elected officials from around the world to adopt the Istanbul Water Consensus, which a large number of you signed and some have already implemented. To date, more than 800 cities and regions have joined the Istanbul Water Consensus and we hope to obtain 1000 signatories for the 6^th World Water Forum.

 

Being well aware of the future potential of the Istanbul Water Consensus and eager to increase its political significance, UCLG and the World Water Council would like to propose a policy preamble to the Consensus during the 6^th World Water Forum.

 

To this end and to facilitate wider ownership of the Istanbul Water Consensus, we invite you to send us your proposals for amendments to the Consensus itself and also to share the strong political messages for Local and Regional Authorities that you want to convey at the 6^th World Water Forum.

 

All your proposals for amendments and political messages should be sent to Ms. Celine Dubreuil (c.dubreuil@worldwatercouncil.org) and Mr. Mohamed Boussraoui (m.boussraoui@uclg.org) by no later than 6 February 2012.

 

Please click here to access Istanbul Water Consensus and other documents of the Forum: http://www.worldwaterforum6.org/en/commissions/political/local-and-regional-authorities-political-process/?id=220sitemap

 

 
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As we approach the 6^th World Water Forum co-organized by the French Government, the City of Marseilles and the World Water Council, we would like to inform you that the 14^th and 15^th of March will be dedicated to local and regional ... + info

 

As we approach the 6^th World Water Forum co-organized by the French Government, the City of Marseilles and the World Water Council, we would like to inform you that the 14^th and 15^th of March will be dedicated to local and regional authorities.

 

As you know, at the 5^th World Water Forum (Istanbul 2009), UCLG, ICLEI and the World Water Council worked together to mobilize over 250 elected officials from around the world to adopt the Istanbul Water Consensus, which a large number of you signed and some have already implemented. To date, more than 800 cities and regions have joined the Istanbul Water Consensus and we hope to obtain 1000 signatories for the 6^th World Water Forum.

 

Being well aware of the future potential of the Istanbul Water Consensus and eager to increase its political significance, UCLG and the World Water Council would like to propose a policy preamble to the Consensus during the 6^th World Water Forum.

 

To this end and to facilitate wider ownership of the Istanbul Water Consensus, we invite you to send us your proposals for amendments to the Consensus itself and also to share the strong political messages for Local and Regional Authorities that you want to convey at the 6^th World Water Forum.

 

All your proposals for amendments and political messages should be sent to Ms. Celine Dubreuil (c.dubreuil@worldwatercouncil.org) and Mr. Mohamed Boussraoui (m.boussraoui@uclg.org) by no later than 6 February 2012.

 

Please click here to access Istanbul Water Consensus and other documents of the Forum: http://www.worldwaterforum6.org/en/commissions/political/local-and-regional-authorities-political-process/?id=220sitemap

 

 
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Since its birth, the Committee on Culture of UCLG has advocated to consider culture as a key element of sustainability. Rio+20 has been a priority target for the last two years.

 

The zero draft of the outcome document of Rio+20 Conference was released on 10 ... + info

 

Since its birth, the Committee on Culture of UCLG has advocated to consider culture as a key element of sustainability. Rio+20 has been a priority target for the last two years.

 

The zero draft of the outcome document of Rio+20 Conference was released on 10 January 2012. The zero-draft has been named "The future we want" and is available here: http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/index.html. This document is based on the contributions from States, international organizations and stakeholders, including local authorities and UCLG. Paragraph 16 refers to the importance of culture for sustainable development and several paragraphs refer to the role of cities and local governments.

 

The World Secretariat of UCLG has been able to write several amendments to the zero-draft. You can find these amendments here:

http://www.cities-localgovernments.org/upload/docs/docs_en_telechargements/C_2_2012_The_future_we_want_Zerodraft_UCLG_Inputs.doc.

hese amendments aim to guarantee that the outcome document gives a key role to local governments and better reflects the importance of culture for sustainable development.

 

Continuous advocacy is necessary. Your involvement is important. You will find a model letter (here: http://www.cities-localgovernments.org/upload/docs/docs_en_telechargements/C_2_2012_ENG_Model_Letter.doc). We kindly ask you to adapt it to your condition and we invite you to use it to advocate before your national delegation to Rio+20 and other partners.

 

UCLG will hold two important meetings in the city of Rio de Janeiro on the days before the conference: the UCLG Executive Bureau and a one day event on sustainable development issues. We will keep you informed and involved.

 

Should you require any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact the Secretariat of the Committee:agenda21culture@bcn.cat and +34 933 161 009.

 

 
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The zero draft of the outcome document of Rio+20 Conference, based on the contributions from States, international organizations and stakeholders, including local authorities and UCLG’s submission earlier shared, is now available.

 

In the enclosed ... + info

 

The zero draft of the outcome document of Rio+20 Conference, based on the contributions from States, international organizations and stakeholders, including local authorities and UCLG’s submission earlier shared, is now available.

 

In the enclosed document, "The future we want", we have highlighted:

 

1.    paragraphs that we would like to see kept

2.    amendments to the existing text.

 

Discussions on the text will take place on 25-27 January and during March in New York.

 

The current version will certainly be shortened, therefore continuous advocacy before national delegations and partners is necessary to ensure that the key references to cities, local and sub-national governments are kept in the final text: we invite you to contact your national government (please find model letter enclosed).

 

REGISTRATION

 

Regarding the registration process to Rio+20 Conference please find attached a registration form to be sent back with all the information requested before 30 April 2012.

 

In order to register the wider local authorities’ representatives delegation, and looking at the very limited accommodation capacities on those dates, we would like to invite you not to register delegations of more than 5 persons.

 

Ø  We strongly recommend you to contact your national delegation and to request the inclusion of local government representatives.


As you know, UCLG will hold two important meetings in the city of Rio de Janeiro on the days before the conference: the UCLG Executive Bureau and a one day event on sustainable development issues for local and subnational authorities in partnership with UN-Habitat and sisters’ organizations.

 

Ø  Logistical arrangements including hotel accommodation are now being looked at and we will provide more information as soon as possible.

 

We will soon provide you an updated calendar of the local government actions on our way towards the Summit. Please do not hesitate contacting us should you have additional questions. 

 

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

 

-                      Zero draft outcome document Rio+20 commented

-                      Model letter to be sent to national government

 

-                      Registration form for Rio+20

 

 
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The International Observatory for Participatory Democracy (IOPD) encourages you to present a candidacy application for the 6th Edition of the "Best Practice in Citizens´ Participation" Distinction given for initiatives developed at the local level. ... + info

The International Observatory for Participatory Democracy (IOPD) encourages you to present a candidacy application for the 6th Edition of the "Best Practice in Citizens´ Participation" Distinction given for initiatives developed at the local level. The IOPD Distinction for Best Practice in Citizen Participation has been created to recognize those innovative experiences and ideas in the area of participative democracy that promote participation and involvement of citizens in processes of elaborating and implementing public policies. 

The invitation is open to all local governments, municipal entities and extra-municipal entities that are members of the IOPD and have promoted a citizen participation initiative within the last four years that is still in effect at the time of the candidacy application. 

The award will be presented next 11th June 2012 in Porto Alegre (Brasil) within the framework of the XII IOPD Conference.

The presentation period for applications will began on January 15th and ends on February 15th, 2012. 

The award basis and the submit form are already available in the OIDP website.

+ info: www.oidp.net

 

 
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The UCLG World Council held last 11 December 2011 in Florence (Italy) decided to adopt the Global Charter-Agenda for Human Rights in the City at the proposal of the Committee on Social Inclusion, Participatory Democracy and Human Rights. ... + info

The UCLG World Council held last 11 December 2011 in Florence (Italy) decided to adopt the Global Charter-Agenda for Human Rights in the City at the proposal of the Committee on Social Inclusion, Participatory Democracy and Human Rights.





The Charter-Agenda was adopted the day after the International Day on Human Rights, which the Committee celebrated organizing a round table on "Local Governments and Right to the City" on 9 December. More than 40 local government representatives participated in the debate to discuss about how to foster local policies aiming to  take forward the recognition, respect and fulfilment of human rights in cities.

The Global Charter-Agenda for Human Rights in the City is an initiative that emerged from the Local Authorities Forum (FAL) for Social Inclusion and Participatory Democracy that took place in Caracas in 2006. Based on the discussions between local governments from around the world that took place in this Forum, a group of experts from various countries wrote a first draft (2007-2008), which was then discussed and amended by elected representatives, experts and representatives of civil society from all over the world (2009-2010).

 

Under the leadership initially of Barcelona Provincial Council and subsequently of the city of Nantes and the Pays de la Loire Region, the initiative has been collectively discussed at several international events, including the last three FALs and World Social Forums (Nairobi, 2007; Belém do Pará, 2009; and Dakar, 2011), the 5^th World Urban Forum of UN HABITAT (Rio de Janeiro, 2010), the 4^th World Forum on Human Rights in Nantes (2010) and the 3^rd UCLG World Congress (Mexico City, 2010).

 

All this advocacy work and the collective drawing up of the Charter-Agenda has made possible building strategic links with social movements, with United Nations agencies (particularly HABITAT and UNESCO) and within our organisation, UCLG.

 

In the current situation of economic crisis and a possible reduction in rights, the Charter-Agenda is a tool for local governments to build more inclusive, democratic and solidarity-based societies in dialogue with urban dwellers.

 

Please, click on the following link to read the last version of the Charter-Agenda:

§  Global Charter-Agenda for Human Rights in the Citysitemap



 

 

 
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United Cities and Local Governments is pleased to share with you the local and regional authorities’ messages in support of sustainable development policies, and our contribution to the zero draft outcome document of Rio+20, encompassing inputs from UCLG members, committees ... + info

 

United Cities and Local Governments is pleased to share with you the local and regional authorities’ messages in support of sustainable development policies, and our contribution to the zero draft outcome document of Rio+20, encompassing inputs from UCLG members, committees and partners.

 

UCLG gives a special attention not to limit the debate to environmental or economical matters and to re-humanise the sustainable development policies. The key messages put forward are the role of cities, local and regional governments in mitigating and adapting to climate change; disaster risk reduction and sustainable urban planning; governance in the governments of proximity and their capacity to provide basic services and particularly access to water; culture as fourth pillar of sustainable development and the rights to the city. Proposals for a new inclusive international governance framework are also looked at.

 

Download UCLG’s contribution to Rio+20 Draft Zero document

 

 

 

 
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