#BUS2023 #CitiesforPeople #OurCitiesOurFuture #UCLGMeets
@BUS_2023 has opened its doors and more than 600 representatives from different cities have come to discuss major societal challenges, enjoy the (not so usual) good weather in Brussels and propose urban solutions. To put it in numbers: 2,600 politicians, academics and civil society representatives, among them more than 160 mayors. Quite a variety, but that’s not a deterrent. As @SmetPascal, Secretary of State of the Brussels-Capital Region says: “Cities are different, but we share the same challenges. At this summit we are going to find the answers together.” Brussels is buzzing: “Brussels is not only a political and diplomatic capital. We are a real city. A city that is correcting mistakes of the past today by giving the city back to the people.”
From June 12 to 15, democracy, climate change, migration, feminism, inequalities, the power of care or the role of the media, among others, will be the topic of conversation. And at the center, cities, the space where it all happens because, as @GregClarkCities says: “cities are places of concentration and provide superpowers. They have the power of networking and the power of scale. When cities work together, they can multiply solutions.”
Although not only cities, mayors and local governments, urban journalism also cares about the future. With the hashtag #MediaforCities we tweet about responsible journalism, a tool to drive change in cities towards a more affordable, inclusive and sustainable urban future. Because cities lead the transformation of challenges into opportunities and, as @vonderleyen, President of the @EU_Commission says, “they are the closest to people and their dreams for the future”.
We have gathered once again and, what unites us all here are common goals and tackling inequalities because as @OECD_local @lamia_k_c stresses: “poverty cannot be the new normal. Inequalities jeopardize growth and recovery. Mayors are at the front line to take action. We stand by you, Mayors!”