Circular
14/2021
Barcelona, 3 June 2021
 
To the members of the World Council
To the Secretaries General
To the Vice-Presidents of United Cities and Local Governments
To the Chairs of UCLG Committees, Working Groups, Communities of Practice and Fora

For information: To the Presidency

2021 UCLG Executive Bureau
Report of the #UCLGMeets week
 

Dear members,
 
Following the 2021 UCLG Executive Bureau, held virtually on 18-20 May 2021, we are pleased to enclose the report of the #UCLGMeets week.
 
We thank all members and partners for their active participation and insightful contributions. We hope you share with us the positive perception of the outcomes of the meetings.
 
In the report of the week, you will find the following items:

1. The key decision report of the statutory meetings;
2. The summary of the policy outcomes of the week;
3. The call to end violence in Palestine and Israel as endorsed by the Executive Bureau;
4. The membership requests approved by the Executive Bureau;
5. The calendar of key events for the coming months and until the end of 2021.
6. 
   

Highlights of the #UCLGMeets week

The 2021 UCLG Executive Bureau was organized under the theme “Care at the heart of local service provision for an inclusive recovery” and focused on ways local and regional governments can place care at the centre of their activities and agendas, and redefine the potential of local service provision.

More than 470 participants attended the different sessions throughout the week, including over 90 local and regional elected officials and high-level representatives from the international community. Out of a total of 65 countries, 160 cities and more than 55 local and regional government associations were represented, and the visits to the UCLGMeets platform amounted to more than 2,450.

Against the ba.ckdr.op of unprecedented transformation and building on the lessons learned in 2020, reflected in the UCLG Decalogue, members and participants engaged in debates to define what the needs of our communities are, and what it means to develop societies that truly care. The solidarity displayed by local and regional governments, the importance of local and regional decision-making and the new common goods were seen as the stepping stones that would bring us closer to this new reality.

The Pact for the Future that we have been mandated to develop in our past World Council, remains the goal for transforming how we relate with each other, with the planet, and with our institutions, building on the framework of the Sustainable development goals.
 
The Executive Bureau, which coincided with the global accessibility awareness day, has seen our constituency reinstate its commitment to developing our cities with equity and inclusion at the centre, as we shape and define a new social contract that works for the people, for the planet, and for governments.

The UCLG Presidency is particularly grateful for the active participation of Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations on the right to adequate housing; Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat; Phumzile Mlambo-Ngucka, Executive Director of UN-Women; Lamia Kamal, Director of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities; Greg Munro, Director of Cities Alliance; and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director of the World Health Organization.

The UCLG leadership also shares its warm thanks to all members, sections and partners of UCLG and of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments, for their participation and contributions throughout the week.

As always, the World Secretariat team remains at your disposal for any further information you might need. Please do not hesitate to contact us at: UCLGExBu@uclg.org

Sincerely,

The UCLG World Secretariat

Please click on the links below to access the following:

• Check out our coverage and key moments;
• Have another look at the UCLGMeets Platform to read interesting content and access the UCLG TV;
• You can also read IISD’s coverage of the week.