UCLG ASPAC’s Highlights at the 7th UCLG World Congress “Breaking Through as One”

October 10-14, 2022 | Daejeon – UCLG ASPAC held its Executive Bureau and Council Meeting 2022 on the occasion of the 7^th UCLG Congress and World Summit of Leaders and Officials of Cities and Regional Governments, hosted by the city of Daejeon. UCLG ASPAC’s presence ensured the support of its member cities and local governments at the global level and ample collaboration opportunities among members, such as through the ASPAC Networking Night. Above all, UCLG ASPAC, together with its members, spotlighted the Asia-Pacific perspectives and voices in the largest gathering of cities and local governments organised from October 10 to 14, 2022, and officially opened by President Yoon Suk-yeol of the Republic of Korea.

1. Approval of new members: Indonesia (Tanjung Jabung Barat Regency, Samarinda City, West Kalimantan Province), and Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP). UCLG ASPAC warmly welcomed all new members signed by the hand-over of the Membership Certificate to ULAP’s National President, Quirino Governor Dax Cua on-site;
2. Approval of budgets and work plan for the following year; included was the report from the financial aspect on the improved membership fee collection;
3. Plan to organise the 2023 UCLG ASPAC Executive Bureau Meeting in the Nepalese Municipality of Dhulikhel on April 12-13, 2023, and the 9^th UCLG ASPAC Congress in Yiwu, China, mid-November 2023;
4. Support for Mayor Lee Jang-woo of Daejeon Metropolitan City as UCLG President 2022-2025 and Mayor Li Mingyuan of Xi’an as UCLG Co-President 2022-2025;
5. Appointment of Mrs. Madelaine Arlene Alfelor Gazmen as the Ambassador of UCLG ASPAC for 2022-2024;
6. Adoption of the initiative of the establishment of a Digital Governance Committee;
7. Adoption of the new look of the UCLG ASPAC website and UCLG ASPAC Dashboard;
8. Announcement of Mr. Nelson Collantes (Focal Mayor for Mobility and Transport of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) and Mayor of Tanauan City) as a new Chair of UCLG ASPAC Co-President representing Southeast Asia sub-region and Chair of UCLG ASPAC Committee of Southeast Asia (SEA Committee).

The Asia-Pacific Perspectives

Representatives from UCLG ASPAC participated in lively discussions during the Congress’ main sessions and town halls, including Ms. Noraini Roslan (Mayor and President of Klang Municipal Council), Mr. Emil Dardak (Vice Governor of East Java), Ms. Fozia Khalid Warraich (Chairperson of Toba Tek Singh District), covering a wide range of topics, such as the calibre of public services, the use of public space as a catalyst for bettering mental health, culture and climate, tracking and reporting of SDGs, enhanced food systems, and many more.

Representatives from UCLG ASPAC participated in lively discussions during the Congress’ main sessions and town halls, including Ms. Noraini Roslan (Mayor and President of Klang Municipal Council), Mr. Emil Dardak (Vice Governor of East Java), Ms. Fozia Khalid Warraich (Chairperson of Toba Tek Singh District), covering a wide range of topics, such as the calibre of public services, the use of public space as a catalyst for bettering mental health, culture and climate, tracking and reporting of SDGs, enhanced food systems, and many more.

 

Partnership for the Shared Goal

Taking the momentum to join forces, UCLG ASPAC strengthened its inter-regional collaboration through the signing of Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with UCLG Africa and Middle East and West Asia (MEWA), covering various aspects supporting cities and urban life in achieving the 2030 Agenda, including knowledge exchange, various capacity development activities, and development of joint programmes.

Besides, UCLG ASPAC also formalised a partnership with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) on the common vision to promote women’s leadership, by signing an MoU under the Municipal Innovation – Women in Local Leadership (PMI-WILL) programme. The MoU aimed at increasing women’s empowerment in the political environment and their participation in decision making to ensure more inclusive/gender-responsive services at the local government level. Both parties agreed on strengthening the UCLG ASPAC Women’s Standing Committee through technical support, exchange visits of UCLG ASPAC Women’s Committee with other networks, supporting two Local Government Associations of Sri Lanka and Cambodia (UCLG ASPAC members) for their participation in the UCLG ASPAC Women’s Standing Committee as well as supporting women’s committee for Capacity and Institutional Building (CIB) on gender equality and inclusiveness discourse.

Way Forward

The 7^th UCLG Congress produced the UCLG Pact for the Future of Humanity, which was adopted by the Congress participants, approximately 3,000 local and regional governments, local government groups, and their partners (CLICK). The World Congress also resulted in the new collegial Presidency, rotating for the following four years (2022-2026):

 

• Carolina Cosse, Mayor of Montevideo – Year 1 (current President of UCLG)
• Ugur Ibrahim Altay, Mayor of Konya – Year 2
• Jan Van Zanen, Mayor of The Hague, President of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) – Year 3
• Lee Jang-Woo, Mayor of Daejeon – Year 4

From the Asia-Pacific, Mr. Li Ming-yuan (Mayor of Xi’an) was also announced to extend his mandate as the Co-President and Mr. Ashok Kumar (Mayor of Dhulikhel and President of the Municipal Association of Nepal) as the Vice-President for ASPAC.

UCLG ASPAC congratulates Daejeon Metropolitan City for the successful organisation and thanks all city leaders and representatives for jointly amplifying the voice of the region in the biggest cities and local governments gathering!