United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG)

🌟 Third Day of the #UCLGMeets 2025 Retreat: Intergenerational Dialogue 🌟 The third day of the #UCLGMeets 2025 Retreat was filled with enriching exchanges and deep reflections on the future of our cities and communities. It also provided a space to highlight the role of youth in shaping local governance. The Intergenerational Dialogue explored how local governments can foster collaboration across generations, empower youth as active agents of change, and provide opportunities for the growing ageing population. It was a moment to recognize youth participation as an integral aspect of governance, beyond just bringing them on board. The Experiences of Leadership session delved into the personal leadership journeys of local officials, sharing insights to enhance inclusive and future-focused governance. 🔑 Solidarity and Collaboration Jan van Zanen Mayor of Municipality of The Hague and President of UCLG highlighted the importance of solidarity, diplomacy, and local efforts to address global challenges. He emphasized that, as a collective of local leaders, we must continue to focus on collaboration and joint action. He called on local elected leaders to set a new standard for governance—one that prioritizes participation, solidarity, and responsibility. Young elected officials from all over the world addressed the importance of redefining public services, laying the groundwork to support and listen to communities of all age groups, and expressing the value of working in networks. "It has been a nurturing space of exchange between generations, genders, and regional experiences. We leave happy and convinced that we must listen to each other." 🤝 High-Level Political Commitments Participants shared stories of impact and discussed commitments for the Second World Summit on Social Development, prioritizing actions for a just and resilient future. These commitments are essential to ensuring that local policies align with the needs and aspirations of both present and future generations. 🌱 Resilience and Hope Berry Vrbanovic UCLG Co-Chair and Mayor of City of Kitchener, shared his experience: "I feel resilience, hope, and opportunity emerging from this event, where the #LRGs can play an even bigger role." Day 3 of the Retreat also hosted the Board of Directors of Metropolis, Asociación Mundial de las Grandes Metrópolis within the UCLG Retreat, reaffirming a clear commitment to aligning the agendas and actions of the World Organization and the Metropolitan Section. The day concluded with the Meeting of the UCLG Presidency, which reviewed the state of the organization and set priorities for 2025. It was also a moment to express gratitude to Antònia Sabartés for her dedication and tireless work in our municipalist movement. Her contributions have been instrumental in strengthening the regional perspective within UCLG and governance. Thank you, Antonia! Your dedication has left a lasting legacy that will continue to inspire future generations.

We are pleased to announce that we have celebrated the signing of the MoU between UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme)'s CRGP and Resilient Cities Network during the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Retreat, happening this week in #Barcelona. This agreement is a roadmap for meaningful collaboration to amplify our joint efforts in urban resilience, ensuring that cities across the globe are better equipped to face future challenges. 👉 Swipe through the carousel to explore the key elements of our partnership. 📚 Want to know more? Read the full news here: https://lnkd.in/duYU2gvR #UrbanResilience #GlobalCollaboration #UNHabitat #RCN

📢 𝐔𝐂𝐂𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐯𝐚 𝐬𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐳𝐚 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞́𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 🤝 La secretaria general de la Unión de Ciudades Capitales Iberoamericanas (UCCI) Almudena Maillo y el presidente de Mercociudades Fernando Gray firmaron un Memorándum de Entendimiento que renueva un marco de colaboración destinado a impulsar el desarrollo de ciudades más innovadoras, inclusivas y sostenibles, mediante el fortalecimiento de la cooperación técnica. ➡️ La firma, que tuvo lugar el marco del Retiro Anual de United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) celebrado en Barcelona, ratifica el compromiso de las ciudades iberoamericanas con el fortalecimiento de la acción local en la escena internacional. ➡️ #UCCI y Mercociudades cuentan con once ciudades con carácter de doble membresía: Asunción, Brasilia, Buenos Aires, Caracas, La Paz, Lima, Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Santiago y Sucre. 📎 https://lnkd.in/dPgezftx 👇🏻🇵🇹🇧🇷👇🏻 📢 𝐔𝐂𝐂𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐚 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧ç𝐚 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭é𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 🤝 A secretária-geral da Unión de Ciudades Capitales Iberoamericanas (UCCI) Almudena Maillo, e o presidente da Mercociudades, Fernando Gray, assinaram um Memorando de Entendimento que renova um marco de colaboração destinado a impulsionar o desenvolvimento de cidades mais inovadoras, inclusivas e sustentáveis, por meio do fortalecimento da cooperação técnica. ➡️ A assinatura, que ocorreu no âmbito do Retiro Anual da United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), realizado em Barcelona, ratifica o compromisso das cidades ibero-americanas com o fortalecimento da ação local no cenário internacional. ➡️ A #UCCI e Mercociudades contam com onze cidades com dupla filiação: Assunção, Brasília, Buenos Aires, Caracas, La Paz, Lima, Montevidéu, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Santiago e Sucre. 📎 https://lnkd.in/dPgezftx Almudena Maillo Luciana Binaghi Getar Francisco Mugaburu Lautaro Lorenzo Fabiana Goyeneche Ayuntamiento de Madrid Governo do Distrito Federal Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires Gobierno Autónomo Municipal de La Paz Municipalidad de Lima Intendencia de Montevideo Prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro Prefeitura de São Paulo Municipalidad de Santiago, Chile Emilia Saiz Pablo Fernández Marmissolle-Daguerre Jose Herrera Ana Ciuti Sandra Díaz Vera Renzo Andres Reggiardo Barreto Carolina Tendler Bernardo Faria

In the face of pushback on climate action, we are strengthening partnerships and doubling down on our efforts to enhance the resilience of cities and communities. R-Cities and the #UrbanResilienceHub of UN-Habitat are joining forces to amplify resilience efforts and ensure cities worldwide are better equipped to tackle future challenges. By sharing knowledge and advocating for global policies and urban resilience commitments together, we will increase capacity for resilience planning, strategy development and implementation. 📸 We signed our commitment in Barcelona, surrounded by the international urban community, at the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) 2025 Global Taskforce Day. Urban Resilience Hub by UN-Habitat's CRGP | UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) | Esteban Leon | Lauren Sorkin | Lina Liakou #ResilientCities #GlobalCollaboration #UNHabitat #RCities

Especially in these politically turbulent international times, it all the more important that we engage in intensive dialogue on another level – the level of cities and regional governments – and continue discussing global challenges together. Here at the Annual Meeting of Local and Regional Governments United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), we are talking, among other things, about how repercussions of current political decisions in the U.S., e.g. how to deal with the cancellation of the world's largest help program, US Aid, how the climate negotiations at COP 30 in November need to be shaped, and much more. The clear political message from cities and local governments here is: We are committed to our shared agenda and will continue to consistently pursue our common climate protection goals.

🎉 Mercociudades renueva acuerdo de cooperación técnica con Unión de Ciudades Capitales Iberoamericanas (UCCI) para fomentar el compromiso entre Gobiernos locales y avanzar en la construcción de ciudades innovadoras, inclusivas y sostenibles 🌐 Firmado ayer durante el Retiro Anual de United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) por la secretaria general de UCCI, Almudena Maillo, y el presidente de nuestra Red, Fernando Gray. Noticia completa: https://lnkd.in/dcbjApJK

Day 2 of #UCLGMeets 2025: Building the Post-2030 Agenda from local to global. Today was an inspiring day at the UCLG 2025 Retreat, where local and global leaders shared progress, challenges and visions to accelerate action in the countdown to achieve the #SDGs, and to lay the foundations for the post-2030 Agenda.  The day was geared to developing a joint agenda: one of local democracy and participation, involving the youth to develop multilateralism. Members of the Global Taskforce came together throughout today to address how to accelerate localization, ensure climate justice and draw, together, the transition to a post-2030 world. The morning drew everyone’s eyes to the last years to achieve the 2030 Agenda, bringing together the visions from mayors and youth leaders from the Youth Climate Action Fund, an initiative that brings together young leaders, serving as as a platform to connect, guide, and identify effective entry points for youth participation in local governance. The spaces that YCAF has created are proving critical to create safe spaces in which communities can fight for their futures. The City of Kitchener, City of Athens, Greece, Alcaldia de Cuenca, and Municipalidad de Tandil - Portal www.21porciento.com.ar, members of the Fund, brought together the inspiring visions of the youth, who commended spaces of dialogue such as the one opened in this Retreat to develop a true intergenerational conversation, understanding the views of the youth as the ones that can drive actions. The day also allowed us to showcase the latest updates of the Interlace programme: a project that links Latin American co-creation initiatives on urban nature and what this means for communities. The Cities Countdown to 2030 took centre stage in the later stages of the day. The Countidwn will gather concrete examples from cities and regions that are already spinning around investments of millions to transform millions of lives. this initiative embodies a strategic effort to ensure that cities worldwide are on track to meet 2030. Members of the Global Taskforce such as Regions4, Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) The session allowed us to present the 9th #GTF Report, which already accumulates +5,000 local cases analysed since 2016. The report builds on our strategic alliances with key actors such as World Health Organization and PSI - Public Services International to scale solutions. 📊 Sébastien Vauzelle of Local2030 Coalition highlighted that the Local2030 Coalition was selected as one of 12 transformative UN initiatives to mobilise funding and empower local governments. A recognition of the power of territorial action! 💪 📌 Key conclusions: 1️⃣ Multi-level (local-global) collaboration is irreplaceable. 2️⃣ We need stronger metrics to measure territorial impact. 3️⃣ Culture and climate must be cross-cutting themes in the new agenda. Let's keep pedalling together towards 2030... and beyond!

Esta semana se celebra en Barcelona la reunión anual de la red global Ciudades y Gobiernos Locales Unidos. Las redes de ciudades mas importantes del mundo hacemos escuchar nuestra voz y planificamos el calendario 2025. Como Secretaría General de la Union de Ciudades y Capitales Iberoamericanas ha sido un placer representar a la región y ver como las ciudades tienen un protagonismo propio, en una sociedad donde ya no se entiende que el progreso global se produzca sin tener en cuenta lo local. @ucci_iberoamerica @madrid United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Unión de Ciudades Capitales Iberoamericanas (UCCI) Luciana Binaghi Getar Francisco Mugaburu

🔴🔵The Annual Meeting of the GTF brought together the networks of our constituency: Unión de Ciudades Capitales Iberoamericanas (UCCI), resilientcities network, ICLEI, Association Internationale des Maires Francophones, Regions4, FMDV - Global Fund For Cities Development C40 Cities, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), GFMD Mayors Mechanism ORU-Fogar United Regions Organization to develop a joint positioning towards the UN Social Summit, the #FfD4, the UNHabitat Assembly, Beijing+30 and other spaces to engage fully with member states and the UN System. Participants highlighted the importance to align policies and face the complex environments challenges, commending the candid approach of the session and committing to enhance the visibility of joint positions and step up the actions of LRGs globally as a response to a weakening multilateral system. The need to restore trust in institutions and the instruments to achieve goals, and the role of LRGs in bringing communities together in a polarised context were highlighted as key added values to strengthen local democracy. ✨Discussions aimed to enhance our collective influence, ensuring #LRGs are recognized as essential actors in shaping global policies and fostering more inclusive multilateral systems. 🔹The European Commission presented the Global Gateway, a collaborative 360º approach consultation platform with local authorities and communities, central the EU's international cooperation strategy. 🗨️Cities Alliance presented the Informality Taskforce, a regular dialogue space for stakeholders that involves mayors in coordinating actions, sharing knowledge, and mobilizing resources through a collaborative approach. 🎯The Local2030 Coalition presented the roadmap of the localization agenda within the United Nations Secretariat, calling on the importance of empowering local actors, and operationalizing the SDGs localization. 🔬UNESCO presented Mondiacult (Barcelona, Sept 2025) highlighting the importance for national governments to promote culture practices, strengthening multilateralism and collective action" 🔸The Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Unión Europea y Cooperación presented the upcoming #FfD4 (Seville, July 2025) highlighting the role of Spain in fostering the localization agenda in multilateral spaces, making sure #LRGs are recognized in international cooperation. 🌎The meeting served as a platform to welcome new works to the constituency: Under2º and Strong Cities Network officially joined the GTF, enhancing perspectives on city diplomacy and peacebuilding while broadening climate action. 🖊️The meeting ended with an Agreement between Resilient Cities Network and the UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) Resilient Hub, and the relaunch of the Call to Local Action for Migrants & Refugees by the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), and a marketplace of initiatives in which members and partners came together! Stay tuned for tomorrow! 🤩