BARCELONA DISTRICT 11: CITY-TO-CITY COOPERATION WITH PALESTINE
Barcelona City Council presented District 11: Cities of Palestine, a new framework designed to provide continuity and strategic direction to the city’s cooperation with Palestine. Developed jointly with Cities of Palestine, the Barcelona Provincial Council, Metropolis and the Association of Palestinian Local Authorities (APLA), the initiative aims to strengthen longterm partnerships between municipalities through technical cooperation, humanitarian action and institutional exchange.
Rather than focusing solely on emergency responses, District 11 seeks to reinforce the role of local governments in sustaining public services, supporting local governance and accompanying Palestinian municipalities over the long term. By combining political solidarity with practical municipal cooperation, the initiative reflects a growing commitment among cities to use decentralized cooperation as a tool for peace, resilience and territorial development
More information: https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/ relacionsinternacionalsicooperacio/en/district-11
TOOLKIT ON ADOPTING PROVEN IDEAS IN CITIES
The OECD and Bloomberg Philanthropies launched the Toolkit for Adopting Ideas from Other Cities, a practical resource designed to help local governments move from inspiration to implementation. Based on evidence gathered from 76 city governments across 43 countries, the toolkit provides a structured methodology for identifying successful practices, assessing their relevance, adapting them to local realities and embedding them into municipal policies.
Organized around 14 practical actions, the publication responds to a common challenge faced by city leaders: how to translate lessons learned from peers into effective local action. By strengthening the way cities exchange knowledge and adapt proven solutions, the toolkit seeks to make international peer learning more systematic, strategic and results-oriented, reinforcing collaboration as a driver of innovation in local governance.
More information: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/atoolkit-for-adopting-ideas-from-other-cities_a225ac72-en.html
HOW EU DELEGATIONS WORK WITH LOCAL AND REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS
CEMR-PLATFORMA presented preliminary findings from a study on how EU Delegations engage with local and regional governments and their associations under NDICI–Global Europe and Global Gateway. The study offers a snapshot of opportunities and challenges in EU cooperation with local governments, while opening a discussion on the future of EU development policy ahead of the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework.
More information: https://ccre-cemr.org/platforma
