10-12 August 2021 | XI’AN, one of UCLG ASPAC active members, took concrete action in engaging youth to get involved in the local development. Under Xi’an Local4Action Hubs, the Global Youth Leadership Training Programme in 2021 was co-organised by Xi’an Municipal People’s Government, Xi’an Jiaotong University, UCLG, and UCLG ASPAC and held at Xi’an Jiaotong University.
Local4Action Hubs—Youth Education and Dialogue Hub was established in Xi’an in 2020 and has become one of the most important platforms for the cooperation between Xi’an City and UCLG. Based on higher education resources of Xi’an, the programme, taking cultural exchange as an opportunity, aims to create a platform for global youth education and dialogue, guide youth to focus on the global agenda such as the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and inspire them to shoulder the responsibility of the times.
Taking the theme “Urban Governance Modernisation and Sustainable Urban Development”, the training programme aims to share the urban governance cases and practices of local governments with the youth of the world, displaying Xi’an strength to the achievement of the SDGs. A total of 123 participants from 47 cities in 16 countries were enriched with five lectures and a high-level youth dialogue forum.
At the opening ceremony, Xi’an Municipal Government and Xi’an Jiaotong University signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on Xi’an Local4Action Hub. The two sides agreed to continue to organise Global Youth Leadership Training Programmes and High-level Youth Dialogue Forum under the framework of UCLG, and to enrol civil servants from member cities of UCLG ASPAC to study for master’s and doctoral degrees at Xi’an Jiaotong University (Xi’an will provide “The Belt and Road” Scholarship) to promote the cooperation between China and Central, South and West Asia.
The theme of the forum was “Cross-cultural Youth Cooperation and Sustainable Development Goals in the Post-Epidemic Era”. Wang Shuguo, President of Xi’an Jiaotong University; Qiang Sheng, Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Xi’an Municipal Party Committee; Madelaine, Treasurer of UCLG and Mayor of Iriga, Philippines; Byanju, President of UCLG ASPAC and Mayor of Dhulikhel, Nepal; Joo Nak-young, Mayor of Gyeongju, Republic of Korea; Abby Binay, Mayor of Makati, Philippines and Dexter, Mayor of Catbalogan, respectively addressed at the forum to share the experiences of local governments in empowering youth growth and development, and to promote the contribution of youth to the achievement of sustainable development goals.
The three-day training programme received overwhelmingly positive feedback, and the participants said that the governance cases and experience of local governments introduced in the lectures were highly inspiring and informative, which greatly enriched their insights.
The UCLG Local4Action Hub is a major initiative to step up the local governments’ cohesion in promoting the achievement of SDGs and to build a platform for cities around the world to exchange and cooperate. At present, nine cities and organisations around the world have implemented this initiative, covering local public services, women’s political participation, culture, youth development, and climate, etc. fully reflecting the international influence and appeal of UCLG.
UCLG ASPAC congratulates Xi’an for the great initiative and will continuously support the city’s efforts for development.
