02. Global Taskforce
On the second day of the Retreat, the networks of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments came together to discuss priorities for 2017 and the future of the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments post-Habitat III. The meeting also saw strong representation from UN partners and international organizations, a sign of the strong convening capacity of the Global Taskforce vis-à-vis the international community and the far-reaching partnerships established during its four years of existence. In 2017, the Global Taskforce’s focus has turned to localizing the SDGs, pursuing the Local Government Climate Roadmap, and following up on the New Urban Agenda through the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments, which was recognized in the outcome text of the Quito Declaration. Parks Tau, newly elected President of UCLG and President of the South African Local Governments Association, opened the meeting by recalling the successful
9 UCLG RETREAT AND CAMPUS 2017
work carried out by the Global Taskforce in the different international agendas. He particularly emphasized the recognition of the role that local governments need to play in the achievement of the SDGs and the importance of SDG 11. He recalled the success of the World Assembly in Quito for the adoption of the New Urban Agenda - an unprecedented event that gathered hundreds of elected and local representatives, all the networks of the Global Taskforce, its partners and the highest representatives of the UN, for what has been described as the most emblematic moment of the Habitat III Conference. President Tau underlined the need to start a new work phase, towards implementation, following the adoption of the climate, sustainable development and New Urban Agendas, as well as the financing for development agreements, saying that “the Global Taskforce will have a crucial role to play in the implementation phase, accompanying local and regional governments around the world and mobilizing the World Assembly as its political arm”.