#UCLGMeets, #FactoryoftheFuture, #HumanRights, #FeministLeadership or #EarthquakeinSyria are some of the hashtags used by those participating in the first two days of the UCLG Retreat 2023, in person or from home.
“The Factory of the Future is already underway”, say some tweeters. The Factory needs cooperation, collective action, and the exchange of knowledge to prevail because its gears do not work with just the efforts of a few. Moving forward requires the diversity of all the voices, including the local and regional, that make up the #UCLGMeets family. That is what people share from their accounts: the joy of coming together again in Barcelona, “working together, once again, for human rights and towards a care revolution” or “underlining the importance of capacity development, the search for new solutions and continuous learning to transform the bold #PactfortheFuture into #local4action”.
In less than 280 characters, many tweets talk about creativity, urban journalism and the diversity that makes us a united community. Tweeters also listen to reinforce, the importance of feminism, and the need to repair injustices. Sustaining a democratic and just urban life is not a question of women, but of democracy, and the way both citizens and decision-makers handle daily events. Through tweets, people talk about solidarity and respect for the victims of earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. They highlight the importance of local governments that have been able to respond quickly to the terrible catastrophes that unfolded in Turkey and Syria.
The maximum number of characters does not matter, because with a few words, everything that constitutes the #PowerofWe is already said: We Care, We Listen, We Meet, We Research, We Learn, We Act, and We Advocate.
In these first two days that mark the beginning of the Retreat, “we come together because the strength of the municipal movement will guarantee a better future for all humanity”, but we also come together to be able to “see who we are, where we come from and where we want to go in the future.”