September and October 2014 have been the busy months for the Secretary General of UCLG ASPAC, Dr. Bernadia I. Tjandradewi. She has been invited by partners and members to participate in various conferences and forums. She has used those occasions to meet members and partners, hear their feedback, and at the same time promote UCLG ASPAC to potential partners.
Together with Mayor Ferdinand Abesamis, Vice President of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), the Secretary General represented the Asia-Pacific region at the High-Level Global Dialogue on Localizing the Post 2015 Development Agenda in Turin, Italy on 14 and 15 October 2014. Organized by the Global Task Force, UNDP and UNHABITAT, they both presented the local governments’ views on past implementation of MDGs and on how to raise the ownership of Post 2015 Development Agenda amongst local actors, particularly local governments. The report on the “Global Consultation on Localizing the Post-2015 Development Agenda” will be submitted to UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, to contribute to the report he is due to give to the UN General Assembly in November 2014. The Dialogue was participated by ministers and high-level officials from national and local governments, representatives from EC and international agencies.
She has also made a meaningful visit to Changwon in South Korea where she delivered her remarks at the Asia-Pacific Symposium on Global Citizenship of UNESCO from 23-24 October. She stressed that “the best development results are achieved when local governments work in partnership with community groups and other actors, including private companies. Strong cooperation can make a multiplier effect for big impact.”
The Secretary General has had a short visit to the Philippines and meet around hundreds of LMP members at their Mindanao Island Cluster Conference on 28 October 2014 in Pampanga. In her speech, she underlined the local governments’ cooperation in ASEAN member states under the framework of DELGOSEA (good governance promotion) implemented by UCLG ASPAC and KAS Manila, and the role of local governments in the ASEAN Economic Community 2015. She has also shared the activities of UCLG ASPAC in 2015 on wards including the ASEAN Mayors Forum to be held in mid-2015.
Related references:
Global Task Force (www.gtf2016.org)
Global Citizenship Symposium (http://www.unescobkk.org/education/news/article/from-peers-to-planet-changwon-forum-to-continue-gce-momentum-asia-pacific-expert-symposium-on-glo/)
