UCLG held its annual Executive Bureau meeting and other parallel events from 25 to 28 May 2016 in Kazan, Russia. During this 4-day meeting, several sessions were set for policy debate on Sustainable Cities and Living Together and other sessions for various working committees, including Urban Strategic Planning, Statutory Affairs and Financial Management Committee. For the core executive bureau sessions, this meeting discussed Habitat III process along with the policy positions. In the Special Focus Sessions, this meeting addressed the organization’s strategy for 2016 – 2022 as well as the upcoming UCLG Congress in Bogota.
UCLG Co-president, J. Moustache-Belle, in one of the sessions, delivered three important messages worth noting by local governments in international debates. Firstly, Belle remarked on the development agenda which she said would need to focus on strengthening local democracy and capacities with citizens. Furthermore, she emphasized that there should be a clear link that differs international agendas from local government agenda. She also acknowledged that local governments are actually sphere of (central) government and thus the local authorities need a new place at the global table in order to be able to contribute to the discussions and decision-making process.
Issue on urbanization and economic growth also came up on this event. Participants agreed that they all need new form of urbanization in order to create prosperity in cities and that the real key for economic growth in cities actually lays in the creativity of all citizens.
This meeting delivered the decision appointing Jeju to become the host of Culture Summit in 2017. UCLG ASPAC also congratulated Busan (Republic of Korea) for becoming one of the Special Mentions in the Culture 21 Awards, for its case on “Historic Downtown Culture Cluster – Totatoga.”
Secretary General of UCLG ASPAC conveyed the decisions made at its recently held Executive Bureau meeting in New Delhi of the regional section’s endorsement on a new mayor of Guangzhou, Mr. Wen Guohui to run as the Co-President of UCLG in the Bogota Congress. She also thanked the Culture Committee for selecting Jeju as the host of the Summit and welcome members to take part in ASPAC’s Congress in Jeollabuk Province.
