In regards to accelerating the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030, UCLG ASPAC and Smart Change Jakarta jointly organised a U20 Mayors Summit Side Event on Tuesday, 30th September 2022. The insightful event featured some fascinating speakers, who presented and discussed fruitful topics related to the indispensability of digital or e-governance towards accelerating sustainable development goals and overall climate resiliency.
One of the highlights of the event was the Keynote Speech by H. Anies Rasyid Baswedan, S.E., M.P.P., Ph.D., Governor of Jakarta. He underlined the importance of “the people’s” quality of life in making the city “a living city”. The Governor of Indonesian Capital also affirmed that the approach to attaining digital governance and smart cities is to ensure that the city is provides equal opportunity and services for everyone. Putting the people first is an essential concern and goal for local governments,as those closest to communities, as Mr. Baswedan confirmed in his keynote speech in the case of DKI Jakarta province.
Jakarta is home to nearly 11 million people, with additional daily commuters from neighbouring municipalities. This condition is exacerbating the challenges faced by the city government. Making sure to enhance the living aspects of DKI Jakarta is one thing, but it is also important to bear in mind the importance of the surrounding municipalities of Jakarta, especially in the case of climate issues. Mr. Baswedan acknowledged that climate change issues cannot be addressed on regional scale, they transcend and cross border beyond the jurisdictions of regional administrations. It is a call for local governments to strengthen and broaden their collaborative arms. He also stated that Jakarta and Berlin’s sister city cooperation is one of the ways Jakarta supports the UN 2030 agenda and the Paris Agreement on sustainable and low-carbon development.
Honourable city leaders and institutional representatives attended the event. Surely, Mr. Baswedan keynote speech enlightened and calls for collaboration for all local governments in order to support and achieve several global agendas. Local government’s role to recover stronger amidst the COVID-19 pandemic is essential. Mr. Baswedan pointed out the cruciality of dialogue between city leaders and national leaders. This is in line with the outcomes of U20 initiative which called “Communiqué”, an action-oriented document by mayors and governors of U20 cities to urge the G20 leaders to take concrete actions on several matters. Local government and good governance are two subjects that cannot be separated. Only through good governance and collaborations will the cities be able to thrive and prosper in order to “recover together, recover stronger”.
