The UCLG General Assembly gathered yesterday to receive the reports from the Presidency, the priorities of the UCLG Sections, and the recommendations from the Town Halls and Policy Councils. The General Assembly ended with an agreement for a collegial presidency, with four Presidents for a four-year term.
When delivering the report from the Presidency, Honorary President Mohamed Boudra presented some of the work done over the last three years, guided by the outcome documents of the previous Congress held in Durban in 2019, and “shaped by an unprecedented difficult context.”
He stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic impact forced governments and citizens to put care at the center of all action. UCLG took a step forward too, led by the feminist municipal movement, to put care first in all areas of work and to initiate the process for the Pact for the Future of Humanity, because, he said, “it is through the “Power of We” that cities and regions are ready to deliver a world that cares.”
Among the many achievements, he highlighted the increasing presence and relevance of UCLG in multilateral spaces, such as the review of the New Urban Agenda and the Committee on Sustainable Urbanization — in which the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional governments, facilitated by UCLG, has been recognized as interlocutor.
Another notable point of progress toward stronger and more systematic engagement by the United Nations with subnational authorities included UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ proposal for a post-COVID-19 “Common Agenda” and the elevation municipal voices through the creation of a new UN Advisory Group on Local and Regional Government.
In terms of key partners, UCLG has worked closely with intergovernmental organizations, such as the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, the International Organization for Migration, UNDRR, and UN Women. In its efforts towards ecological transition and climate action, UCLG has been present in all the COPs, advocating for a redefinition on how we interact with the planet and for transforming production and consumption patterns.
Election of the UCLG Presidency and Vice-Presidents
During the UCLG World Congress, the UCLG members appoint the Vice-Presidents from among the nominations put forward from the Sections and the Forum of Regions. The new UCLG Vice-Presidents for the period 2022-2026 are as follows:
For Africa, Mr. Oumarou Dogari Moumouni, Mayor of Niamey.
For ASPAC, Mr. Ashok Kumar Byanju Shrestha, Mayor of Dhulikhel and President of the Municipal Association of Nepal.
For Eurasia, Mr. Aysen Nikolaev, Head of Sakha Republic.
For Europe, Ms. Carola Gunnarsson, Lord Mayor of Sala and Vice-President of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR).
For MEWA, Mr. Yücel Yilmaz, Mayor of Balıkesir.
For North America, Ms. Taneen Rudyk, Councillor of Vegreville and President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).
For Metropolis, Ms. Claudia López, Mayor of Bogotá and President of Metropolis.
For the Forum of Regions, Mr. Pablo Jurado, President of CONGOPE.
For Latin America, Fernando Gray, Mayor of Esteban Echeverría.
The new UCLG World Council will meet on Friday, 14 October 2022 during the last day of the Congress to adopt the Pact for the Future of Humanity and the work programme for 2023.