UCLG

In July 2018, 38 countries are going to report to the UN on the progress they have made in achieving the SDGs. The CIB Working Group wishes to support the LGAs in these countries with two things:

1.  To reach out to the national government to get involved in the process of drafting this report

2.  To complete information that will be useful for UCLG to draft a report that will be presented to the UN on how local governments are involved in the process.

The success of the SDG agenda depends on local action. Mobilizing and training local officials to rally behind the SDGs is thus a perquisite of achieving this shared agenda.

An upcoming, noteworthy event is the Fifth Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, to be held in Cancún (Mexico) from 22-26 May 2017.

UCLG and the CIB Working Group are working hard to get the local perspective heard at the upcoming High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (10-19 July, New York), by collecting stories from the ground, through active involvement of Local Government Associations (LGAs). At the same time, UCLG has been developing a training module for LGAs on effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will be tested at various events this year, including the CIB annual meeting.

April saw the first Steering Committee of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC) since its successful High-Level Meeting which took place in Nairobi in November 2016. UCLG Champion for Development Cooperation Mr. Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor of Kitchener and UCLG Treasurer, represented UCLG at the meeting, chaired by the new co-chairs Germany, Bangladesh and Uganda.

In the past months, UCLG has been working to communicate the 2030 Agenda to its members and to support them in “localizing” the SDGs in their communities. Based on the outcomes of the narrative and dialogue developed in 2014 on “Localizing the Post 2015 development Agenda”, the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments, UNDP and UN Habitat decided to continue to join forces for the development of a toolbox for the “localizing” the SDGs.

The GOLD IV Report makes a strong case for the territorial approach for development, effective multi-governance frameworks and multi-stakeholder alliances in order to make the transition towards sustainable urbanization and the implementation of the SDGs and the new agendas. The conclusions of the report leave no doubt that these three issues are of key importance for their success. 

"Associations need to radically change if the context in which it operates is changing severely". This quote comes from Mrs. Jantine Kriens, the CEO of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG), and was underlined by several other CEOs and Presidents during the two community fora for local government associations (LGAs), organized by the CIB Working Group during the UCLG world congress in October in Bogotá.   

The high-level jury of the UCLG City of Bogotá Peace Prize has selected the five finalists for the prize. The Peace Prize is a triennial award for local governments that have implemented innovative initiatives in conflict prevention, conflict resolution or peace building, that have proven to have had a significant positive impact.

As you might know already, the UCLG committees and working groups play an active role in (the preparations for) the World Congresses of UCLG. With the UCLG Bogotá World Congress (12-15 October 2016) approaching, let us inform you about the CIB Working Group activities for this important event.