Recruitment of administrative staff of UCLG Africa Regional Office for North Africa
As part of the forthcoming opening of its North Africa Regional Office in Cairo (Egypt), United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) is hiring several profiles for different positions:
- Director, Northern Africa Regional Office (NARO).
- Programme Officer, Northern Africa Regional Office (NARO).
- Assistant, Northern Africa Regional Office (NARO).
Candidates who are interested in applying for one of the positions listed above should send their applications before 18 July 2019 at 16:30 (GMT).
At the Africities 8 Summit held in Marrakech in November 2018, the Moroccan city was designated as the first African Capital of Culture.
Located 250km from Cairo, the capital of Egypt, the city Damietta was visited by the UCLG Africa delegation from March 6 – 9, 2019. Damietta is one of the smallest provinces of Egypt that has a strategic port and canal that links it to the Nile. The Egyptian authorities chose this destination for a field trip because the city is known for having no unemployed youth.
The development of the Damietta Furniture City was a response to boost the competitive advantage of the city in furniture making. The project has 50 halls, each measuring 2500 square meters (25 workshops) and was conceived as a one-stop shop cluster with 1125 workshops, 5 service centers, an exhibition hall, a shopping center, a hotel with 250 rooms and a conference center. The developer of the Damietta Furniture City is a consortium of investment banks that work with the Egyptian Army as the main contractor. The marketing of the project targets both Egyptian and non-Egyptian investors. It has a dedicated website as well as other promotion and marketing tools.
Phase 1 and phase 2 of the project will soon be finished, if one considers that the development is 90 per cent complete. Sales are also underway: 10 per cent of land plots have been sold, as well as 30 per cent of workshops. The target is to complete the sales over the next three years. Workshops cost 300 dollars per square meter. A down payment of 10 per cent is required at 5 per cent interest with the remainder paid through a loan given by the consortium of bankers. The cost of the project is estimated to be 2 billion Egyptian Pounds, equivalent to 10 million USD. The return on investment is expected within 5 years.
Damietta is one of the best locations in the world for furniture. At present the wood, which is the main raw material in the industry, comes mainly from Russia and partly from Europe. Given the huge endowment of Equatorial Africa in forestry, it was suggested that Damietta diversify the origin of its raw material by developing closer business and decentralized cooperation partnerships with the business community and local governments of countries such as Cameroon, Congo, DRC, Gabon or Equatorial Guinea, to cite but a few.
The celebration of the International Day of Monuments and Sites for World Cultural Heritage will take place on April 18, 2019. United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa), through its African Local Government Academy (ALGA), the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and the City of Rabat, in partnership and with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Communication, the Ministry of National Spatial Planning, Town Planning, Housing and Urban Policy, ICOMOS-Morocco, UNESCO and the Italian Foundation Romualdo Del Bianco, will organize the 2nd International Conference under the theme: “The Role and Responsibility of Local and Subnational Governments in the Preservation and Valorization of Cultural Heritage.”
UCLG Africa, through its African Local Governments Academy (ALGA) and its partners: The Regional Council of Fès-Meknès and Al Akhawayn University of Ifrane, will organize the 3rd edition of the forum of Territorial Managers and Training Institutes targeting the local level in Africa. The forum will be held from June 10 – 14 at the Al Akhawayn University of Ifrane (Morocco) under the theme: “ Financing Learning, Training and Capacity Building for Local Elected Officials and Territorial Managers in Africa: for Innovative and Sustainable Mechanisms.“
At the invitation of the Minister for Local Development in Egypt, His Excellency Mr. Mahmoud Chaaraoui, a UCLG Africa delegation, led by the Secretary General, Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, participated in a mission to Cairo, Egypt from March 6-9, 2019. The delegation included Mr. Lahcen Amrouch, Vice President, Association of Local Governments of Morocco (AMPCC); Mrs. Souad Zaidi, Deputy Mayor, City of Rabat, Morocco; Mr. Youssef Tanarhte, Director, Finance and Administration Department of UCLG Africa and Mr. Mohamed Cherkaoui, Head of Protocol and Relations with the Administrations, UCLG Africa. 
The delegation held two important meetings on March 7, 2019. The first meeting was held with the Ministry of Local Development, attended by His Excellency and the minister, who presides over the governors of Cairo, Damietta and Kaliubia, as well as senior officials in the Ministry and corresponding governorates. On the afternoon of March 7, 2019, the delegation met with His Excellency Abubakar Hafni, Secretary for African Affairs and his staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
The establishment of the UCLG Africa North Africa Regional Office (NARO) in Cairo was met with reassurances from the Egyptian authorities. The Minister of Local Development of Egypt, His Excellency Mahmoud Chaaraoui, confirmed that Egypt had offered to host the UCLG Africa North Africa Regional Office and that the delegation could visit the assigned premises for the office. Located in the Heliopolis airport area, the office will accommodate a meeting room and 4 offices and will be furnished, equipped, delivered and ready for operation by the end of May 2019. The headquarters agreement has been submitted to the Egyptian Government for approval and is currently being examined by the Legal Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirming that things are going in the right direction for the upcoming opening of the NARO office. 
The European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) are one of the most emblematic cultural actions of the European Union with a huge potential for cultural internationalisation and exchange – also reflected in the EU Strategy for International Cultural Relations. On the African continent, investments in culture are dynamic including a wide range of cultural and creative initiatives in cities providing interesting frameworks for enlarged international cooperation.
ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability and United Cities and Local Governments UCLG on behalf of all the organizations gathered in the Global Taskforce, would like to express our sorrow and sincere condolences to the families of all the victims of the crash of the flight ET 302. Our hearts are heavy with the loss of our dear colleagues of the United Nations, delegations, and all members of the international community who were on the way to Nairobi.
This year’s UN theme for International Women’s Day is: “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for change.” Every year, the celebration of March 08 is an important milestone for the Local Elected Women’s Network of Africa (REFELA), UCLG Africa’s Standing Committee on gender equality, to highlight the actions and progress taken by these actors in local governance.
The campaign, “African Cities without Street Children,” is an initiative driven by REFELA, supported by the Kingdom of Morocco’s National Observatory for the Rights of Children (ONDE) and UNICEF. The campaign aims to provide solutions for a shared African problem; that which is the vulnerability, accepted insecurity and invisibility of street children. It also aims to mobilize government officials and elected African territorial officials in the protection of children within a decentralized territorial approach.
This year’s UN theme for International Women’s Day is: “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for change.” Every year, the celebration of March 08 is an important milestone for the Local Elected Women’s Network of Africa (REFELA), UCLG Africa’s Standing Committee on gender equality, to highlight the actions and progress taken by these actors in local governance.
The call for expressions of interest, launched on January 31, 2019, targeting territorial communities wishing to voluntarily take part in the, “Campaign of African Cities’ Zero Tolerance to Violence Against Women and Girls”, welcomed its first members. The cities and national associations of the following 9 countries have already made commitments: Rabat (Morocco), Saint-Louis (Senegal), Banjul (Gambia), Maradi (Niger), Paynesville (Liberia), Tunis (Tunisia), Bangui (Central African Republic), the National Association of Local Governments of Zambia, and the National Association of Local Authorities in Namibia. The local authorities for these communities expressed their determination to play their part in eradicating this scourge, which is increasingly plaguing the African continent.
In Niger, the Maradi region hosts the highest number of poor people (73.4%) and is also one of the regions with the highest rate of violence against women. “Of the surveyed Nigerian population as a whole, 53% report having experienced at least one act of violence in their lifetime. This proportion is 44% for men and 60% for women. The regions of Zinder and Maradi are the areas with the highest percentage of victims (93% and 83% respectively), (Extent and determinants of GBV in Niger – 2015),” says Ms. Habiba Saadou, the 3rd Vice-President of the Special Delegation from the Maradi region. This situation has motivated local governments to support the REFELA campaign. “Violence, in our area of responsibility, cannot leave anyone indifferent. This violence is so widespread and has such serious consequences that our municipality is committed to reducing it, or, if possible, to putting an end to it,” said Ms. Saadou. As part of this process, she has formulated two key expectations of the Campaign of African Cities’ Zero Tolerance Against Violence Against Women and Girls:
Ms. Penda Diouf, the municipal councilor representing the city of Saint-Louis, highlighted the emergence of a new type of violence via mobile phones. Saint-Louis has begun to initiate actions to deal with this violence. “Following action-oriented research on gender-sensitive budgeting of the municipality of Saint-Louis, it has been shown that the problems of gender-based violence are not supported by the budgets of programs and municipal plans,” indicated Ms. Diouf. At present, the Gender and Development Observatory of Saint-Louis (OGDS) is making a plea for the municipal budget to take charge of, “issues of violence in budgets, programs and plans, within the area of the municipality: schools, public places, households and workplaces, etc., through training, information, awareness, and support. Actions will be agreed with elected officials, civil society and technicians.”
In Liberia, the mayor of Paynssville, Pam Belcher-Taylor, has made the fight to end violence against women and girls her main issue. Indeed, in a recent case, she was reminded of the tragic fate suffered by women who experience violence, in the case of a young lady from her own city. “A little over two months ago I received a phone call on my way to work. The caller on the other end informed me of a corpse near my residence. I changed course and drove to the scene. Upon my arrival the stench of death permeated the air,” she recalled with horror. “With anticipation I walked towards an abandoned building where I saw from a distance, a figure lying on the ground partially clothed. I focused on the body trying to pretend that the odor was not nauseating and realized it was a woman, probably in her mid-forties, with furrowed lines on her face, eyes closed and facing the heavens. A week later, the investigation to identify this ‘lonely lady’ discovered she had been raped by five people. Since then, I have promised to fight relentlessly, to have ZERO Rape, ZERO Murder, ZERO Violence against WOMEN and GIRLS in PAYNESVILLE!!!!! (Sic).”
The city of Bangui, (Central African Republic), headed by Mayor Emile-Gros-Raymond Nakombo, is also engaged in the fight to end violence against women and girls. This phenomenon has been accentuated during the multiple crises that the country has experienced. “Most women, who are victims of violence in Central Africa, are those who are economically dependent on their husbands and those who are abandoned by their husbands who are unable to provide for themselves. 79% of the cases of violence against women are due to marital breakdown,” said the Bangui Listening Center which, in January 2012, welcomed 96 women who were victims of violence, 79% of whom left home, 10.4% who experienced physical violence (marital abuse, assault and battery, deprivation of material and financial resources), 4% who experienced ‘moral violence’ in the form of insults and social discrimination, and 3% who experienced sexual violence (including rape of minors, sexual slavery and forced marriages).”