Newsletter – n°34 – June 2015

News from partners

A territorial approach in the future global agenda is essential to ensure the successful coordinationand implementation of national development policies and international agreements.

The UCLG Executive Bureau meeting, which took place between 10 and 12 June 2015 in Porto Alegre (Brazil) gathered around 200 representatives of local and regional governments from over 35 countries to discuss the role of local and regional governments in the upcoming international agenda currently being negotiated.

In his opening speech, the Mayor of Istanbul, Kadir Topbas, recalled the great generational responsibility that this moment represents, and underlined two key requirements to ensure that the vision of local and regional governments is taken into account in the construction of the international agenda: ensuring advocacy activities around UCLG and the Global Taskforce, as articulation mechanisms for local and regional governments; and working to bridge the gaps between big agendas and the real needs of citizens. 

LOCALIZING THE GLOBAL AGENDA

The global agenda is marked by several upcoming international agreements, such as the COP21, the international climate accord aimed to replace the Kyoto Protocol; the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, the new set of global development goals; and Habitat III, the global summit on housing and sustainable urban development.

Participants thus recalled the need to involve local and regional authorities in this future international development framework in order to ensure that the new development agenda is people centered, which is the key for a sustainable and prosper future. Indeed, local and regional governments as a specific sphere of government are crucial actors in addressing global and local challenges, such as climate change, food security and gender inequality.