Assembly Track

9:00-10:00: Inauguration

The Assembly Track gathers the continental and thematic priorities of the World Organization. Each of the Sessions of the Assembly are led by one of the UCLG Sections and co-chaired by regional political leaders, and gathers inputs from all other UCLG Regional Sections in order to co-create the formal inputs to the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments on key priorities of the World Organisation.

10:00-11:30: Assembly on Decentralisation and Local Finance, led by Africa

 Getting Local Finance Right entails ensuring sufficient access to finance for local governments. In order to meet the challenges of sustainable urban development, the legislative frameworks must open the door for an empowerment of local and regional governments and an equitable distribution of financial influx.

The session, led by UCLG-Africa, will discuss how to develop an political environment for decentralisation and an enabling environment for the financing of local and regional governments, the role of decentralizing financing to increase local and regional governments’ capacity to act, and articulating strategies that allow for the reinforcement of the financial management of cities and regions.

11:30-13:00: Assembly on Aligning Local Priorities with the 2030 Agenda, and the Right to the City: “Lightning rounds: European actions on the SDGs” led by Europe

The Universal Development Agendas will never happen unless they are mainstreamed and owned at the local level. Over 60% of the targets of the SDGs are achievable at the local level yet, currently, the lack of coordination between the different institutions that share SDG-related competences is clearly affecting their implementation. While the major challenges facing cities and rural areas are the very close, they often materialized in different ways and addressing in the materialization of the issues raised but often interrelated and need to be addressed in a common way.

This session will be an opportunity to discover the different ways in which European municipalities and regions are implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. Come meet local and regional officials and learn more about the day-to-day actions implementing the 2030 Agenda. This interactive session will feature a wide-ranging discussion covering numerous topics, including European environmental legislation, gender equality, European neighbourhood policy, international development policy, as well as Europe’s contribution to the global SDG agenda.

Facilitator: Ms. Marlène Siméon, Director of Platforma

Europe and SDGs

Mr. Fernando Medina, Mayor of Lisbon

European local government associations and SDGs

Ms. Angelika Poth-Mögele, Executive Director of European Affairs of CEMR

Mr. Jan van Zanen, Mayor of Utrecht, President of Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG)

Setting an agenda towards gender equality

Ms. Jocelyne Bougeard, Deputy Mayor of Rennes

Mr. Anders Knape, Lord Mayor of Karlstad, Executive President of CEMR

A Europe open to its neighbourhood

Mr. Mindaugas Sinkevicius, Mayor of Jonava, President of Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania (ALAL)

Ms. Núria Marín Martinez, Mayor of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, President of Barcelona Provincial Council

The European Development Policy

Ms. Carla Montesi, DG DEVCO, European Commission

Mr. Jean-Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General of UCLG Africa 

European priorities and Global Agenda

Mr. Carlos Martinez Mínguez, Mayor of Soria, Vice-President of UCLG

Ms. Gunn Marit Helgesen, Councillor of Telemark, President of Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS)

Wrap-up

Mr. Frédéric Vallier, Secretary General of CEMR

13:00-14:30: Assembly on Resilience, Urbanization and Heritage, led by Eurasia and Asia-Pacific

Resilience and disaster reduction are high on our agenda, owing to the threats presented by a rise in natural or man-made disasters. The resilience of cities and regions is at the heart of the Sendai framework localisation strategy, and the Assembly and will address the commitments and actions of LRGs, as key to the achievement of target E of Sendai Framework for DRR.

The relationship between resilience and the heritage of our cities, in particular the conservation of heritage in view of the Climate Emergency, will be further explored during the session led by Eurasia and Asia Pacific.

Ms. Tri Rismaharini, Mayor of Surabaya, President of UCLG-ASPAC

Mr. Jun Sung-Tae, Vice Governor of Jeju

Mr. Li Mingyuan, Mayor of Xi’an

Mr. Ilsur Metshin, Mayor of Kazan, President of UCLG-Eurasia

Ms. Alena Gubanova, Mayor of Astrakhan, Vice President of UCLG-Eurasia

Mr. Rashid Ayupov, Mayor of Turkestan