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Newsletter – n°32 – April 2015

Headlines

PLATFORMA seminar for Dialogue and Capacity building of local and regional authorities in Asia-Pacific

The Regional seminar for dialogue and capacity-building of local and regional authorities in Asia-Pacific in the fields of development and local governance, took place on the 29^th and 30^th April 2015 in Manila (Philippines)...

News from the Secretariat

PLATFORMA elected representatives discuss upcoming priorities

PLATFORMA Political Council and Steering Committee brought together political representatives and staff of PLATFORMA members to discuss the work accomplished this past year and the future network’s working agenda and priorities, less than three months after two major events, the Signature of the first-ever Strategic Partnership with the European Commission and the addition of ten new members to the network...

The world at a glance

How can we empower local governments as leaders of development?

By Nomveliso Nyukwana, Mayor of Emalahleni, South Africa

“We have heard it many times before: the future is local. Developmental challenges are most evident at local level. Take, for example, my own municipality of Eastern-Cape Emalahleni Local Municipality in the South-East of South Africa. My country might meet some of the Millennium Development Goals targets...

Initiative worth following

The European Development Days 2015

On the 3^rd and 4^th of June, Brussels (Belgium) will host for the third time the European Development Days: under this flagship initiative of the European Year for Development, the European Commission showcases the ways in which Member States, the Commission, local and regional governments and citizens are contributing to the eradication of poverty and the promotion of human rights...

4th edition of the Assises of European Decentralised Cooperation

The Assises of decentralised cooperation, organised jointly by the Committee of the Regions and the European Commission, will be held for two half-days, on the 1st and 2^nd of April, in Brussels (Belgium)...

Calendar

Coming Soon

15 – 18 May (Gwangju, Korea): 5th World Human Rights Cities Forum, co-organised by UCLG Committee on Social Inclusion, Participatory Democracy and Human Rights; consult the event webpage

18 – 19 May (Quito, Ecuador): Latin American and Caribbean Forum on Territorial Economic Development, organised by UNDP

19 May (Orleans, France): European Conference, organised by AFCCRE; consult the event webpage

29 May (Brussels, Belgium): Conference "The Balkan and the Black Sea Area on the move: Perspectives for Regional Authorities", organised by the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions; consult the event webpage

[Archive]

May local governments be the solution?

In April, the human tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea reminded us how policies we implement at home can tragically wound the most vulnerable people and that these policies cannot be blindly enforced without other considerations that our assumed interests. It reminded us that whatever decisions we make here, it always has an impact over there. It underlined once more the necessity for promoting greater cooperation among regional and sub-regional organizations and among central and local governments. The earthquake in Nepal reminds us that local and regional governments are at the heart of prevention and disaster risk reduction strategies and also calls for greater cooperation in tackling those challenges. Resilient territories, elected representatives and local administration which are prepared and trained to bring adequate responses in the immediate aftermath of a disaster are instrumental and make a real difference. As representatives reminded it at the occasion of our Political Council and at the occasion of the meeting PLATFORMA organised in the Philippines and as experiences show, when everything collapse, mayors, president of regions, councillors are the ones who are faced with crucial decisions to make and expected to lead communities. Wishing well to the people of Nepal and looking towards a brighter future and planning for reconstruction, we will ponder the wise words of Nomveliso Nyukwana, the mayor of Emalahleni Municipality, South Africa, “local governments are on the frontline of dealing with development challenges and identifying solutions to these challenges. It is therefore only natural that they should lead development strategies for their areas”.

Find out more about it in this month’s edition and visit PLATFORMA webpage on the European Year for Development website.