THE UCLG ANNUAL RETREAT STARTS WITH A BELIEF IN COMMON HUMANITY
Around 300 local leaders and experts are meeting this week in Barcelona to prepare the action plan for the next years of the world’s largest global network of local and regional governments and their associations, United and Cities Local Governments (UCLG). Four months ago, in October 2022, the General Assembly of UCLG adopted the Pact for the Future of Humanity as the outcome document of the 7th UCLG Congress in Daejeon, Republic of Korea. The main goal of the UCLG Annual Retreat is to deploy the Pact’s vision within its commitment to common humanity and “the power of collective action, empowerment, shared ownership, cocreation, and international cooperation and solidarity”.
The UCLG Secretary General, Emilia Saiz, welcomed retreat participants to the “organizations’ kitchen”, a space for cocreating a strategy for collective action. Saiz highlighted that “the Power of We” means the collective effort to see, understand, and act on issues in the world in its totality”. The concept also means that UCLG is advocating an approach to urban issues that is centered less on numbers and more on humanity, with the “revolution of care” and “revolution of emotions” as cornerstones.
Both the UCLG collective vision and a guiding reference to actions and partnerships come together through the “Power of We”. This Power refers to the collaborative and transformative potential of the network of local and regional governments, and their partners gathered within UCLG to strive together for a better future for our societies and planet.
The capacity of UCLG as a driving force that works on stopping the polarization in cities was mentioned by Pedro Bravo, the founder of Sondalia, who was one of the creators of the “Power of We” narrative. The need to connect different levels of government and act as a movement rather than just a network was highlighted by Octavi de la Varga, from Local4Action HUB Barcelona province.
The representative from the European Commission, Andrea Ferrari-Bravo, valued the partnership with UCLG and the joint advocacy efforts on the localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He also mentioned that today there is an opportunity for UCLG and the different partners to be part of the renewal process of the Local Government Policy of 2013.
The Pact’s commitment to a Global Feminist Movement was reinforced by the intervention of Ana Falú, UCLG Ubuntu Advisor. She stressed the need to increase the number of women in local and national leadership positions, as well as the urgency to recognize the work of grassroots women in their communities and neighbourhoods.
The Vice-Mayor of Libreville and UCLG Policy Advisor, Annie Chrystel Limbourg Iwenga, made a call for action to enhance public-private partnerships. Furthermore, the SecretaryGeneral of FLACMA, Sergio Arredondo, highlighted the peoplecentred approach of the Pact and the need to prioritize and be present in the redefinition of the global agendas in the current context of polycrises.
The panel concluded with a call to empower narratives around care, empathy, inclusiveness, trust and solidarity.