Highlights for Wednesday, 13 November 2019
The Ndlovu Youth Choir performs at the official opening of the UCLG Congresss 2019.
The United Cities and Local Government (UCLG) World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders officially opened on Wednesday during a ceremony entitled “Local and Regional Governments, Sentinels of Dreams.” To the sounds of the Ndlovu Youth Choir, South African poet and storyteller, Gcina Mhlophe, opened the Summit in the evening. Welcoming high-level guests and delegates, Mxolisi Kaunda, Executive Mayor, eThekwini Municipality, South Africa, said the Summit would build on the great work of local and regional governments around the world, ensuring a better future for all cities through debate and dialogue.Graça Machel, Chairperson, Board of Trustees, African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), announced plans to call on the UN Secretary-General to convene a global peace forum of all nations and nationalities, and involving cities and towns around the world.Fabrizio Hochschild Drummond, UN Under-Secretary General, invited UCLG delegates to support the UN75 Initiative, stating it consists of dialogues on the future envisaged by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Mpho Parks Tau, President, UCLG, highlighted the unveiling of the International Municipal Investment Fund, which is based on a partnership between UCLG, the UN Capital Development Fund and the Global Fund for Cities Development.Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Acting President, South Africa, reflected on challenges that cities face in providing tangible development opportunities in a context of shrinking resources and unequal wealth, and stressed the need to give a voice back to the people.The Congress also met in plenary to consider the reinvention of local democracy, and held its inaugural Assembly Track sessions on decentralization and finance, Agenda 2030 and the Right to the City, and resilience. This new Track, organized at the regional level, has been established for the Congress as a permanent policy process for UCLG.The Executive Bureau of the UCLG World Council also convened for its last meeting under the current mandate. A new Executive Bureau will be appointed for the 2019-2022 mandate in Durban during a meeting of the UCLG World Council.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports from the #UCLGCongress Durban 2019. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary report from the Congress, which is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
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Official Opening of UCLG
Master of Ceremonies Gcina Mhlope, South African Anti-Apartheid Activist, Poet and Actress, welcomes participants to the meeting.
Graça Machel, Chairperson, ACCORD Board of Trustees
Fabrizio Hochschild Drummond, UN Under-Secretary-General
The Ndlovu Youth Choir performs during the opening ceremony.
Emilia Sáiz, UCLG Secretary-General; Mpho Parks Tau, President, UCLG, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Acting President, South Africa; and Graça Machel, Chairperson, ACCORD Board of Trustees, dance to the music of the Ndlovu Youth Choir.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Acting President, South Africa
Sihle Zikalala, Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
A view of the dais during the opening ceremony.
Town Hall Track
Mayors join representatives of civil society networks during the inauguration of the Town Hall Track, which offered a space to "co-create" the future of the municipal movement.
Peter Rene Hohmann, Head, Global Programmes, Cities Alliance
Violet Shibutse, Governing Council Chair, Huairou Commission
Speakers during the discussion on 'Accessible and Inclusive Cities.'
Speakers during the discussion on 'Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment.'
Sri Husnaini Sofjan, Huairou Commission
Fernanda Hassem, Mayor of Brasiléia, Brazil
Jennifer Canaveral Guzman, Urban Development Institute, Colombia
Federico Poitier, Director, External Affairs and Partnerships, World Enabled
Assembly Track
Jean-Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary-General, UCLG Africa, welcomes participants to the Assembly Track, aimed at gathering the continental and thematic priorities.
Philipp Heinrigs, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Francois Paul Yatta, UCLG Africa
Panel speakers during the discussion on 'Lightning rounds: European actions on the SDGs,' led by Europe.
Panel speakers during the discussion on 'Resilience, Urbanization and Heritage,' led by Eurasia and Asia-Pacific.
Jan van Zanen, Mayor of Utrecht, President of Association of Netherlands Municipalities
Fernando Medina Maciel Almeida Correia, Mayor of Lisbon, Portugal
Participants ask questions during the session.
Special Sessions
Panel speakers during the session 'The Future of Culture' (L-R): Jordi Pascual, Coordinator of UCLG Culture Committee; Obed Bapela, Deputy Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, South Africa; Catarina Vaz Pinto, Vice-Mayor on Culture, City of Lisbon, Portugal; Luca Bergamo, Vice Mayor of Rome, Italy; Christine Mackenzie, President, International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA); and Marc Villarubias, Director, Cultural Cooperation, Lyon, France.
Christine Mackenzie, President, IFLA
Obed Bapela, Deputy Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, South Africa
Panel speakers during the session on 'The future of housing: local governments for the right to adequate housing' (L-R): Sheela Patel, CGLU-UBUNTU; Laia Bonet, Deputy to the Mayor of Barcelona, Spain; Leilani Farha, UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing; Eduard Cabré Romans; Global Platform for the Right to the City (GPR2C).
Panel speakers during the session on 'The future of biodiversity' (L-R): Gino van Begin, Secretary-General, ICLEI; Marie Daigle de Lafontaine, City of Montréal, Canada; Sara Kupka, Regions4; Kobie Brand, Regional Director of ICLEI Africa; and Madelaine Yorobe, Mayor of Iriga, the Philippines.
Local4Action Track
Panel speakers during the session on 'Advancing nature-based solutions for resilient and socially inclusive cities: public space potentialities.'
Participants during the session on 'SDGs and decentralized cooperation: Working on Agenda 2030 locally and globally.'
Participants during the session on 'The power of youth in building resilient urban communities.'
Local4Action Hub
Panel speakers during the session 'Presentation of the tenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF10)' (L-R): Diana Lopez, Head, Local Government and Decentralization Unit, UN-Habitat; Hamdah Al Shamsi, United Arab Emirates (UAE); and Reginald Lashbrook, DPM.
Committee on Statutory Affairs
UCLG members gather for the Committee on Statutory Affairs.
Emilia Sáiz, UCLG Secretary-General
Mpho Parks Tau, President, UCLG
Executive Bureau Meeting
View of the dais during the Executive Bureau Meeting (L-R): Berry Vrbanovic, UCLG Treasurer; Uğur İbrahim Altay, Mayor of Konya, Turkey, and Co-President of UCLG; Roland Ries, UCLG Co-President, Senator, and Mayor of Strasbourg, France; Thembisile Nkadimeng, South African Local Government Association (SALGA); Mpho Parks Tau, President, UCLG; Emilia Sáiz, UCLG Secretary-General; Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona, Spain, and Co-President of UCLG; and Mxolisi Kaunda, Executive Mayor, eThekwini Municipality, South Africa.
Thembisile Nkadimeng, SALGA
Mxolisi Kaunda, Executive Mayor eThekwini Municipality, South Africa
Reinventing Local Democracy
Panel speakers during the session: Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona, Spain, and President of Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB); Souad Abderrahim, Mayor of Tunis, Tunisia; Roland Ries, Mayor of Strasbourg, France; Sanjay Pradhan, CEO, Open Government Partnership; Keboitse Machangana, Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) Amos Masondo, Chairman of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), South Africa.
Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona, Spain, and President of Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB)
Sanjay Pradhan, CEO, Open Government Partnership
Around the Venue
Delegates network and consult throughout the day.
