11-15 November 2019 | DURBAN – The World Summit convened alongside meetings of the World Congress and other UCLG governing bodies in Durban, South Africa, from 11-15 November 2019, bringing together over 2,000 delegates and other stakeholders. The triennial gathering is designed to bring the world organisation’s constituencies together to review and build on a legacy of commitments and advance UCLG’s role in shaping the multilateral agenda from a local and regional perspective. A key objective of the Summit was to “co-create” the course of UCLG over the next three years and shape its contribution to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
UCLG ASPAC was represented by more than 150 participants including mayors, councillors, and chairman of local government associations from China, South Korea, Indonesia, India, Nepal, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Philippines.
Recognising the need to adopt multilevel as well as multi-stakeholder approaches to local governance, Summit sessions were organised around several parallel tracks, as well as multiple spaces for informal exchanges, networking and co-creation of policy agendas. These included:
- The Eurasia and Pacific Assembly Track was held on 13 November, led by UCLG ASPAC with key speakers are UCLG ASPAC President, Mayor of Surabaya-Ms. Tri Rismaharini, Mayor of Xi’an-Lee Mingyuan, and Vice Governor of Jeju-Mr. Jun Sung-tae. Discussions addressed the themes of Aligning Local Priorities with the 2030 Agenda; Resilience, Urbanisation and Heritage; and Public Space.
- The Town Hall Track, led by civil society. Five town hall sessions convened on: Accessible and Inclusive Cities; Gender Equity and Women’s Empowerment; the Right to the City; Sustainable Urban Development; and Addressing Informality in Cities.
- The Local4Action Track: an inclusive and collaborative space bringing together different spheres of the UCLG networks. More than 50 sessions took place dealing with a variety of topics under the headers of Global Conversations, Local Policies and Voices, LAB, Inspiring Voices and fora on regions and peripheral cities. On 15 November 2019, Cites Unies France (CUF) and UCLG ASPAC organised a special session on UCLG international solidarity fund: a new tool to help local authorities in crisis to build back resilient.
- The Local4ActionHub – an informal networking space and venue for launching flagship initiatives and policy discussions, facilitated by UCLG regional networks. On 13 November 2019, UCLG ASPAC led the localising Sendai Framework for DRR topic jointly organised with UCLG Learning.
The Statutory Track, comprising meetings of official bodies of UCLG.
A number of Special Sessions addressed key emerging issues, notably: co-creating open, inclusive, transparent and sustainable territories; migration; resilience; culture; biodiversity; and Beijing+25. The UCLG Learning Forum, focusing on key elements of the UCLG Learning Strategy for 2019-2021, also took place.
Addressing the UCLG Assembly Track Result, UCLG ASPAC President Mayor Tri Rismaharini highlighted the key outcomes as follow:
- Accelerate the localisation of SDGs especially in the fıeld of education, health and housing,
- Committed to tackle climate change and promote climate resilience in our cıties and communities especially in achieving target E of the Sendai Framework for DRR,
- Encourage young people and women to involve themselves more on local economic development,
- Strategise more on waste water systems that are efficient and low-cost to improve the wellbeing of the poorest citizens,
- Prioritise sustainable transportation; connect public space taking into account environmental resilience and cultural heritage.
The General Assembly, Former UCLG President, Mpho Parks Tau, South Africa, emphasised the importance of UCLG’s function as a learning network, noting this is being enhanced through training programmes on localizing global agendas such as the 2030 Agenda, the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), and the NUA.
The World Congress concluded with the election of Mohamed Boudra, Mayor of Al Hoceima, Morocco, and President of the Moroccan Association of Communal Council of Presidents (AMPCC), as UCLG President and other two UCLG ASPAC candidates were Mayor of Xi’an, Dr. Lee Mingyuan was elected as UCLG Co-President and Mayor of Iriga City, Ms. Madelaine Yorobe Alfelor as UCLG Treasurer. The World Congress also formally announced the appointment of Daejeon as host of UCLG Congress in 2022.
