Opening Ceremony and Introduction Plenary
The opening ceremony was followed by the official celebration of the centenary of the international municipal movement. This was an occasion to pay homage to the pioneers of the movement and the founding presidents of UCLG: Alan Lloyd, former President of IULA; and Mercedes Bresso, former President of the FMCU-UTO; and also Daby Diagne, Former President of UTO and Badredine Senoussi, Former Secretary General of the Union of African Towns. Special homage was also paid to the Co-presidents Muchadeyi Masunda, Mayor of Harare, Zimbabwe; Khalifa Sall; Mayor of Dakar, Senegal; President of UCLG Africa; Wolfgang Schuster, Regional Councillor of Stuttgart, Germany and President of CEMR; Ted Ellis, Mayor of Bluffton and Treasurer of UCLG and the Mayor of Paris and former President of UCLG, Bertrand Delanoë. This tribute recognized the role played by Mayors in promoting peace pointing to the example of the Ivory Coast and the numerous conflicts the country has faced. “Our towns and cities should meet the needs of citizens, and UCLG must set its ambitions on addressing all the questions raised by urban development” added Mr. Delanoë, UCLG Founding President of Honour.
“The new international agenda, which we consider our own, will need to recognize local and regional governments as specific spheres of governance and as essential actors in the development scene.” Kadir Topbaş President of United Cities and Local Governments and Mayor of Istanbul
“The importance of local governments in the Post-2015 agenda. The Rio+20 Declaration is a step forward to obtaining this recognition.” Joan Clos, Executive Director of UN-Habitat
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