UCLG World Council: Sharing Regional Insights in Global Platform
Parks Tau, President of UCLG, in the opening ceremony of World Forum on Urban Violence and Education for Coexistence and Peace, event back-to-back with the UCLG World Council Meeting, Madrid from 5-8 November 2018. (photo: UCLG)
5 – 8 November 2018, UCLG ASPAC attended the UCLG World Council and the second edition of the World Forum on Urban Violence and Education for Coexistence and Peace, held in Madrid, Spain. The event was a global gathering of local leaders, international organisations, academics, NGOs and civil society networks, who participated in a joint process of debate, reflection and construction of common solutions that foster urban environments capable of eliminating all expressions of violence. It also provided a unique opportunity for UCLG members to share successful efforts in achieving the global agendas and consolidating the message of peace and coexistence at the international level.
The voices of cities from the Asia-Pacific region were conveyed by UCLG ASPAC President Mayor Tri Rismaharini of Surabaya, UCLG ASPAC Secretary General Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi and Mayor Emil Dardak of Trenggalek, representing Local Government Associations (LGAs) from Indonesia. Representing the largest regional section of UCLG World, UCLG ASPAC representatives capitalised on its diverse and rich experiences in dealing with the challenges facing urban development and provided their inputs in various sessions.
The event was kicked off by the meeting of Secretary Generals of all UCLG sections, held on 4 November 2018. UCLG ASPAC took part in the discussion to shape the 2019 organization plan of the UCLG World. UCLG ASPAC President Mayor Tri Rismaharini also participated in the UCLG World Council Meeting sessions, where she highlighted urban resilience as one of the key challenges facing Asia-Pacific as demonstrated in recent natural disasters in the region. During the discussion, UCLG ASPAC also presented its work, also in partnership with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), to strengthen the capacity of local governments in the area of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).
UCLG ASPAC Secretary General Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi further contributed to the discussion on urban resilience in a debate session hosted by the “Policy Council on Safer, Resilient, and Sustainable Cities, Capable of Facing Crises taking theme Local Governments Leading the Ecological Transition”. On this occasion, SG Bernadia extended her appreciation to the City of Geneva for the generous support to UCLG ASPAC-led efforts to mobilize assistance for the victims of Palu natural disaster. SG Bernadia also took the opportunity to express her hope that the support would continue beyond the humanitarian scope. Following the institutional session, UCLG ASPAC President Mayor Tri Rismaharini of Surabaya joined other city leaders in a policy debate during the Local Democracy and Decentralisation session. The debate aimed to support the development of the priorities of the World Organization towards the 2019 World Congress and to showcase the challenge of local governments to meet the demands of the communities. In relation to local economic development, Mayor Emil Dardak of Trenggalek shared best practice of Trenggalek regency in the discussion of Committee on Local Social Economic Development. The best practice presented, including on the roles of local citizens in Trenggalek, was highly appreciated by the representatives of global cities who attended the meeting. Mayor Emil Dardak’s presentation was regarded as inspiring and helped shaping the workplan of this Committee, to be further disseminated in the upcoming UCLG Congress 2019 in Durban. Mayor Emil Dardak also shared the result of this meeting to other participants of the UCLG World Council during Business Session. UCLG ASPAC congratulates UCLG for the success of the 2018 Council Meeting that brought together over 400 local government officials from more than 35 different countries. UCLG ASPAC is looking forward to further sharing the Asia-Pacific perspectives and insights in the upcoming Executive Bureau (April 6, 2019) in Montevideo, Culture Summit (April 4-5, 2019) in Buenos Aires, and the 6th UCLG World Congress (18-22 November 2019) in Durban.