Urban Journalism Institute
Municipal Times Journal

Local4Action: Innovative action-oriented solutions 

More than 35 Local4Action events will be held by UCLG and its partners throughout the Summit, including intergovernmental organizations, civil society, and academia.

The opening day for the Local4Action track will be on 11 October, with discussions focusing on tools for accessible cities, including guidelines, training programmes, advocacy campaigns, and a model policy for rights-based public procurement of ICT in cities.  The first day will also feature an event for raising awareness on the 11 Principles of Effective Governance in Africa, and on the concept of proximity in urban planning and policymaking. 

On Wednesday 12 October, the Local4Action events will focus on human rights, feminism, health, and open government. The day will include a discussion on the role of local and regional governments as key actors in designing and implementing innovative public policies to raise awareness on gender-based violence, as well as to promote the protection, full recovery, and empowerment of female survivors. A global campaign on “Inform Women, Transform Lives” will be presented with examples and case studies on access to information can support women to transform their lives and their communities. The Feminist Municipal Movement will also debate the next steps in the framework of the Local4Action events. 

Coinciding with the celebration of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on 13 October, the focus of the Local4Action will be on the climate emergency, climate justice, resilience, and flood risk management. Other topics being discussed include: health and public spaces; public services;  generating quality employment; SDG monitoring through Voluntary Local Reviews; children’s perspective on metropolitan strategies; territorial trust for, from, and by intermediary cities; and cultural rights. 

On 14 October, the final day of the World Summit, the Local4Action events will feature several events reflecting on the future and the next steps required. This will include areas such as the implementation of the New Urban Agenda; local democracy; local governments’ associations; international solidarity; governance for peace; food systems; complex crisis recovery; financing sustainable urban development; social inclusion in the post-COVID-19 context; and the post-2030 scenario. 

During the World Summit, participating organizations will introduce helpful tools and guidelines that support the local implementation of SDGs, such as: 

  • A model policy for ICT procurement (G3ict)
  • The Accessibility GO! Guideline (World Blind Union)
  • The Cities4All Training Program (World Enabled)
  • The Digital Rights Governance Framework (CC4DR)
  • A Flood Risk Management tool (Connective Cities)
  • Financing Sustainable Urbanization recommendations (FMDV)