The 2015 UCLG Council Meetings took place from 23 – 26 November 2014 in Haikou attended by around 400 representatives of local and regional authorities and their partners from 49 countries. The significant number of UCLG ASPAC representatives from host country and Rep. of Korea have made the Asia Pacific section more visible during the meetings which the UCLG ASPAC Secretary General Dr. Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi led the delegations from the Asia Pacific section.
The followings are substantial points resulted from Haikou meetings that call the active involvement, participation and representation of Asia Pacific members:
UCLG ASPAC aims to get 20% women representation in 2016 (next term of World Council).
- The vital importance of political involvement from Mayors around the world in developing the strategy and defining the roadmap for 2015.
- The commitment of ASPAC to contribute to the global agenda of local governments and to promote learning and innovation.
- The international agenda, with events on Gender Equality (Beijing+20), Disaster Risk Reduction (Sendai, in March), the World Water Forum (Daegu, in April), Financing for Development (in July), the Post-2015 Development Agenda (in September) and Climate Change (COP 21, Paris in December), will be essential to the development of the Global Agenda of Local and Regional Governments, and towards Habitat III.
- The establishment of the partnership with the European Union which marks a new phase in the relations between both institutions, as well as the acknowledgment of local governments in European policy.
- The consolidation of the Global Taskforce as a joint mechanism to bring the constituency together.
- The need to build on the legacy of Habitat II and request a special role for local and regional governments as a sphere of government. The second World Assembly of Cities and Local Authorities (WACLA) to convene on the occasion of the UCLG World Congress and Habitat III Conference in 2016.
The Mayor of Quito, Mauricio Rodas, was elected as Co-President and was entrusted to strengthen the presence of UCLG in Latin America.
The Executive Bureau will be held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in June 2015 at the invitation of the city’s Mayor, Jose Fortunati. The World Council in 2015 will be held in Paris, France, in the framework of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP 21), at the invitation of Co-President Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris.
In the days preceding the World Council, more than 10 sessions – including the meetings of UCLG’s Committees and Working Groups – took place, focusing on promoting learning on themes that will be the cornerstones of UCLG’s contribution to the global development agenda. The ASPAC representatives did make interventions and contributions in the committee/working group meetings,
Asia Pacific representatives took part as speaker and made intervention in the Roundable Sessions “Local Public Service Provision: Key Towards Bridging Inequalities.”Daejeon Metropolitan City (through their Deputy Mayor Mr. Eunjoo Kim) was speaking in the Roundtable 1 focusing on “Service Provision in Inclusive Cities and Territories.”Mrs. Illiza Sa’aduddin Djamal, Mayor of Banda Aceh City, delivered a presentation in the Roundtable 2 on Access to Water key for a Sustainable Futurewhich was chaired by UCLG Secretary General. Mayor Abraham ‘Jess’ Burahan, Secretary General of League of Municipalities of the Philippines, made intervention during Roundtable 3 that discussed about “Innovating in Governance to Bridge Inequalities.”
UCLG Co-President Mrs. Jacqueline Moustache-Belle, Mayor of Victoria, chaired the UCLG Executive Bureau Meeting where UCLG President Dr. Kadir Topbas was unable to attend. In the meeting, the Deputy Secretary General of Governors Association of Korea Mr. Choi Choong Joo, presented an update about the World Water Forum 2015 that will be hosted by Daegu Metropolitan City.
The Council meeting was opened and chaired by Co-President Mr. Chen Jianhua, Mayor of Guangzhou. During the Council meeting, the Vice Governor of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Mr. Jeongha Park delivered remarks on behalf of UCLG ASPAC President Mr. Won Hee-ryong who was absent. In his remarks, President Won shared a new learning program that Jeju would provide for ASPAC members in 2015. President Won also shared that Jeju Province is part of UCLG pilot Cities 2014 for Culture which gives Jeju a great chance to delve into Jeju’s cultural policy towards sustainable development. Jeju will continue its efforts to link culture to sustainability.
