Commemoration of the World Day of African and Afro-descendant Culture (JMCA 2023) as part of the Rabat, African Capital of Culture Program (FINAL PRESS RELEASE)

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The La Tour Hassan Hotel in Rabat was the venue for the official commemoration of the World Day of African and Afro-descendant Culture (JMCA) on January 24, 2023. This commemoration is part of the activities and events organized within the framework of the “Rabat, African Capital of Culture” program initiated by UCLG Africa and implemented under the aegis of a steering committee chaired by the Wali of Rabat and with participation of the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication; the Ministry of the Interior ; the Wilaya of Rabat-Salé-Kenitra; the City of Rabat; and United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa).

The official opening ceremony of this JMCA edition was marked by the speeches of:
– Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, whose speech was read on her behalf by the UNESCO representative in Morocco;
– H.E. Robert Dussey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Togo, lead country of the JMCA at UNESCO, represented by the Ambassador of Togo in Morocco, H.E Amakoé Klutse;
– H.E. Mr. Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid, Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication of Morocco, represented by Mr. Mohamed Ben Yacoub, Director of Arts and Commissioner of the celebration of Rabat African Capital of Culture;
– Mrs. Asmaa Rhlalou, Mayor of Rabat,
– Mr. Abdelkrim Bennani, President of the Ribat Al Fath Association,
– Mr. Ayité Dossavi, President of the African Network of Cultural Promoters and Entrepreneurs, and initiator of the JMCA;
– Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General of UCLG Africa.

“On this World Day, it is not a single culture, but cultures, rich in their diversity, which we celebrate. We are also honoring artists from all countries and all disciplines, in fields as numerous as cinema, music, dance, fashion and design – which are all creative industries that represent a livelihood for artists, in order to work for the African cultural renaissance. UNESCO, particularly within the framework of its global priority for Africa, is committed to supporting this tremendous creative potential”, said the representative of Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO.

“Africans are the only people in the world to be present in the five continents, despite the distance from Mother Earth, they have never moved away from their culture, which is that of togetherness, social cohesion, solidarity, benevolence, and humanity, characteristics which are more important for Africans than the competition of all against all, which has unfortunately become the homogenized cultural order of the world”, declared Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, adding that through the JMCA, “Africa wants to affirm that it represents the benevolence of the world and that it has the duty to be so, because it will represent half of humanity in 2100. From 2030 onwards, one in two young people aged 18 and under will be in Africa. It is therefore Africa’s responsibility to reconcile the world. The JMCA must be the vector of this reconciliation, and UNESCO its bearer. »

The official opening ceremony was followed by an inaugural conference on the theme “History of Africa, History of Mankind”, delivered by Mr. Célestin Monga, Professor of Economics at Harvard University in Boston, USA, followed by three discussion panels moderated by Ms. Farida Moha, Journalist, around the following themes:

1- Promoting African and Afro-descendant culture in the context of the globalized economy;
2- Reconciling African youth and their culture: the possibilities offered by digital technologies;
3- The contribution of the Diaspora and Afro-Descendants to the international influence of African culture.

These moderated panels brought together distinguished speakers from Africa and its Diaspora including personalities from the literary and artistic world, the academic world, the political world, as well as actors from NGOs and associations, including youth associations, journalists and media professionals, in the presence of many guests including several ambassadors and representatives of the diplomatic corps based in Morocco.

The first Panel brought together Mr. Eugene Ebodé, writer and Administrator of the Chair of African Literature and Arts at the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco; Dr. Julius W. Garvey, son of Marcus Garvey, the founder of Pan-Africanism, representing the Diaspora of the United States of America; and Mrs. Meryem Sebti, Publishing Director of Diptyk, a contemporary African art magazine.
The speakers of the second Panel were Mr. Philomé Robert, originally from Haiti, journalist at the France 24 television channel; Mr. Harold Love, Member of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee; Mr. Hicham Lahlou, international designer and founder of the Africa Design Award Days project; and Mr. Will Mbiakop, Executive President of the African Institute of Sport and Creation (ASCI).
The third Panel brought together Mrs. Carolina Maíra Morais, Historian (Brazil); Mr. Gordon Williams, Grammy Award Winner (USA), and Mrs. Rachida Kaaout, High Commissioner for African Diasporas in France.

Summarizing the work of the official commemoration of the World Day of African and Afro-descendant Culture, Mr. Monceyf Fadili, essayist, former representative of UN-Habitat in Morocco, underlined the high quality of the exchanges of views and ideas that took place, and the diversity of perspectives to be considered to shed light on the trajectories to be taken in order to give back to African and African-descendant culture the place it deserves within universal culture. Everyone agreed that when a human being does not have a bond to his or her culture, they are like a traveler in unknown territory without a compass, hence the imperative of transmitting African culture and values to new generations so that African cultural identity is never lost.

The proceedings of the Day ended with the presentation and discussion of the draft Manifesto for the Renewal of African and Afro-descendant Culture, advocated for by the Kingdom of Morocco and UCLG Africa and supported by the partners adhering to the project.

Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi presented the Draft Manifesto which was then the subject of comments and orientations by Mr. Alphadi, Founding President of FIMA, Nigerian designer and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Innovation and African Creation; Mrs. Amouyeme Ollame Parfaite, Gabonese writer, and Mr. Sansy Kaba Diakité, organizer of the 72 Hours Book Fair in Conakry, Guinea.

“Africa is also its Diaspora”, recalled the Secretary General of UCLG Africa, stressing the need to change the narrative on Africa, its history, and its culture, in order to recount Africa to the children of the Diaspora as it really is, as well as the need to give hope and new prospects to African youth.

For his part, Alphadi stressed the importance for Africa to reclaim its culture, its brands, and its works through intellectual protection, the recovery of value chains such as those of textiles so that, for example, the traditional clothes worn by Africans are produced in their continent within an industry that creates jobs and drives development in their countries.

For her part, Amouyeme Ollame Parfaite affirmed that Africa should not write its history as a tragedy, but on the contrary value the contribution of Africa in the history of Mankind in order to cultivate self-esteem in the African child from the young age. This enhancement can then be translated into a better affirmation and defense of African identity and culture.

And for the children of Africa to be able to take over, books are essential, according to Sansy Kaba Diakité, who recalled that the World Book and Copyright Day on April 23 each year is very little celebrated in Africa and that it is necessary to take initiatives without being discouraged even in African countries where there is little or no distribution and promotion of books. It is this concern for transmission through the book that led him to create a publishing house and to organize an annual event called the “72 hours of the book of Conakry”. Mr. Diakité pleaded for Conakry to be declared the African Capital of Books and Publishing and is counting on UCLG Africa to make this possible.

The Manifesto for African and Afro-descendant Culture will be presented and discussed at the meeting of African Ministers of Culture scheduled in Rabat at the end of the celebration of Rabat African Capital of Culture. In the meantime, a working group should be set up to collect all the suggestions and recommendations and draw up the draft Manifesto to be submitted for the approval of the African Ministers of Culture.

Winners of the JMCA-KEKELI Prize

The official commemoration of the World Day for African and Afro-descendant Culture ended with the Gala dinner organized at the Marriott Hotel in Rabat, which was marked by the presentation of the JMCA-KEKELI Prizes for Merit and Honor, awarded by the RAPEC NGO and the Mobilization Committee of the JMCA.

This prize, inspired by the word “Kékéli ” which means “Light”, honors personalities who work for the promotion of African culture, social cohesion, unity and peace between peoples.

The JMCA-KEKELI Award of Merit was awarded to His Majesty AKATSI II DJIDJILÉVO, Secretary General of ORRA (Organization of Kings and Queens of Africa) and Dr. Martine NGO NYEMB-WISMAN, founder of the NGO Femmes Interface Nord -South.

The JMCA-KEKELI Honor Prize was awarded to Mr. André AZOULAY, Moroccan journalist, economist and politician and to Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General of UCLG Africa.

On this occasion, Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi expressed his deep conviction that “we must do everything so that the indignity and shame that our ancestors experienced, that we have experienced and which are still experienced in Africa, ceases.”

The Gala dinner ended on a high note with performances by the Burkinabe singer, Princess Stella Aicha Sagnon, who is the spokesperson for the “Messagers des messages”, a pan-African cultural and artistic movement for educational entertainment, as well as the singer Emelance Emy who came from Burundi to make the guests dance to the rhythms of African music.

As a reminder, it was at the instigation of the African Network of Cultural Promoters and Entrepreneurs (RAPEC), and with the support of the Republic of Togo and of the African Group, that UNESCO proclaimed, on the occasion of the 40th session of its General Conference in 2019, January 24 as World Day for African and Afro-descendant Culture (JMCA). This date coincides with the adoption of the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance, adopted by the Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) at their conference held in Khartoum, Sudan, in 1966.

For more information, please contact:
Gaelle Yomi: Tel: + 212 610 56 71 45
E-mail : gyomi@uclga.org

Main Recommendations of the 6th Edition of the African Forum of Territorial Managers and Training Institutes targeting Local Governments (FAMI6_2022) (PRESS RELEASE)

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On December 3rd, 2022 in Agadir, the 6th edition of the African Forum of Territorial Managers and Training Institutes targeting Local Governments (FAMI6_2022) came to an end.

The Forum was held over 6 days, from November 28th to December 03rd, 2022 at the Training Center of the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Ibn Zohr University in the city of Agadir, Morocco.

The theme chosen for this edition was: “The challenge of training and capacity building of Local Elected Officials and Local Government Staff in Africa in Climate Action”.

This important annual meeting of Territorial Managers, held just one week after COP27, was organized by United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) through its African Local Government Academy (ALGA), in partnership and with the support of the European Commission, the Directorate General of Local Authorities of the Ministry of the Interior of Morocco, the Region of Souss-Massa, the Prefectural Council of Agadir Ida- Outanane, the Provincial Council of Tiznit, the Provincial Council of Taroudant, the Ibn Zohr University and the Training Center of the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Agadir, the National Agency for the Development of Oasis and Argan Zones (ANDZOA), the National Associations of Local and Regional Governments of Morocco (namely ARM, AMPCPP and AMPCC), the Ecological Transition Agency ADEME of France, the 4C-Maroc Center, the Office of the United Nations Project on Governance, Directorate of Public Institutions and Digital Governance (DIPGD) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNPOG/ DPIDG/ UN DESA), as well as the Ministry of Energy Transition, and Sustainable Development, and the Municipal Council of Agadir.

During the six days of proceedings, more than 300 participants attended the Forum from 40 countries, including 33 African countries. These delegations took part in and contributed to the work of:

– An official opening ceremony, under the chairmanship of the Honorable Mr. Karim ACHENGLI, President of the Souss-Massa Region Council and the Honorable Mrs. Jeannette NYIRAMASENGESHO, President of the Rwandan Association of Local Authorities (RALGA) of Rwanda , President of the Ngororero District Council of the Western Province, President of the Association of Local Governments of East Africa, having represented the Honorable Mrs. Fatimetou ABDEL MALICK, President of UCLG Africa, President of the Permanent Gender Committee of UCLG, President of the Region of Nouakchott, Mauritania;

– Four (4) Plenary Sessions on issues related to Climate Action;
– Eight (8) parallel workshops on climate challenges and capacity building challenges;
– Three (3) Master classes having focused on the concepts and approaches of Climate Action, Decentralized Cooperation and e-Learning;
– One (1) Training of Trainers Seminar on Climate Action for the benefit of 26 beneficiaries from different African countries, within the framework of the Partnership Agreement with ADEME;
– Three (3) field visits.
– South-South partnership and Decentralized Cooperation agreements, discussed and signed;
– A closing, recognition, and certification ceremony;
– A tree planting by the African Delegations.

The discussions held during the proceedings focused on the challenges related to climate change for local governments, in particular:

– How can we create an enabling environment for the Localization and Territorialization of Climate Action?
– What has COP27 generated for Local Governments?
– How to enable Local Governments to benefit from Climate Finance?
– What are the challenges in terms of education, training, and capacity building?
– How to promote decentralized multi-actor cooperation that can be at the service of climate action?…

The takeaway from these debates is that we find ourselves in a turbulent context as well as a deep world division generating crises; that only 10% of climate finance benefits to the local and territorial levels; that the challenges in terms of training and capacity building are enormous and that it is time to act to enable Local Elected Officials and their civil servants s to take ownership of Climate Action, and integrate it into their Governance and planning.

The proceedings and contributions led to the following 20 main recommendations:

1) Need to increase public funding in terms of volume and as a share of adaptation and resilience funding (Need to mobilize the 140 to 300 billion US dollars needed annually by 2030).

2) Need to strengthen and make more coherent the architecture of concessional climate finance, which includes the Green Climate Fund, the Global Environment Facility, the Climate Investment Funds, the Adaptation Fund as well as the concessional windows of the multilateral development banks, as well as the Global Infrastructure Fund.

3) Need to become aware of and know how to take advantage of the many opportunities for financing climate action.

4) Need to increase local climate finance for localized climate action, to better understand the role of the local and territorial dimension of climate action in Africa, if we are to thrive as a community of nations, with local governments as a driver of sustainable development.

5) Need to localize and territorialize NDCs, because everything is done in cities; concrete actions must be taken at this level.

6) Need to raise awareness and territorialize political actions related to climate change and involve women and young people in Climate Action.

7) Need to give more space and importance to cities in the context of the localization of the Climate Agenda and put in place mechanisms to facilitate access to international climate finance, because only 10 % of climate finance is found locally.

8) The diversification of energy sources (highlighted by COP27, starting from the importance of the mix of clean energies).

9) Need to take Africa to the next level and provide incentives that leverage innovations already underway in the region that will have greater impact (e.g. acting for the informal sector and encouraging youth participation).

10) Need to prioritize financial innovation (80% of climate finance in Africa comes from public resources) and therefore there is an urgent need to increase private sector finance in climate action.

11) A paradigm shift is needed in Africa’s climate narrative; the continent’s current narrative must shift from projecting responsibility and risk to projecting investment and opportunity.

12) Need to transform Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Commitments into clear investment plans with a clear return on investment in the different areas prioritized in the NDCs.

13) The urgency of harnessing empirical evidence on key gaps and opportunities to be filled to scale up these successes and create targeted incentives that will need to be applied to enable them to progress.

14) Need to increase support for holistic capacity development assessments at the national, subnational, and local levels.

15) Need to apply a multi-stakeholder approach by involving a wide range of actors and stakeholders, at all levels of governance (national, subnational, and local).

16) Develop long-term capacity building interventions.

17) Need to strengthen international, regional and national knowledge networks, platforms, communities of practice as well as peer-to-peer learning and support.

18) Developed countries should ensure that more climate finance is available for stand-alone capacity building programs at the national, subnational, and local levels and to increase coordination among entity capacity building service providers of developed and developing countries.

19) Need to invest in conflict prevention through a supportive and facilitating environment.

20) Capacity building for the promotion of the Culture of Peace and the art of negotiation.

“We attach importance within UCLG Africa to the efforts of our Academy: ALGA. We will try to follow up on the implementation of all the recommendations that will come out of this important meeting”, declared, through a video intervention, the President of UCLG Africa, the Honorable Mrs. Fatimetou Abdel Malick.

The Forum also served as a framework for the holding of the meetings of three Professional Networks of UCLG Africa, namely:

– The meeting of the Network of Human Resources Directors (Africa Local RHNet);
– The African Network Meeting Permanent Secretaries/Executive Directors of National and Regional Associations of Local Governments;
– The meeting of the African Network of Territorial Directors in charge of Decentralized Cooperation and International Action of Territorial Governments (RAMCD).

Field visits were made to 3 cities in the Souss-Massa Region to inquire about transformational projects and cultural heritage as a vector of peace and development. The Delegations were divided into three groups:

– Group 1 visited the Province of Taroudant and was received by the Honorable President of the Provincial Council of Taroudant. The participants had the opportunity to discover the ancestral Walls of the City of Taroudant, as well as Cooperatives which promote and market local products, such as Argan Oil, Saffron, Honey, Olive Oil, etc.

– Group 2 visited the Province of Tiznit where the Delegations were welcomed by the Governor of the Province and the Honorable the President of the Provincial Council of Tiznit. Participants discovered part of the city’s cultural heritage, transformational projects linked to climate action, cooperatives promoting and marketing local products, as well as shops that market silver jewelry in addition to other reputable products from that Province;

– Group 3 visited the City of Agadir where the delegations were received by the Honorable Vice-President of the Municipal Council. They had the opportunity to visit two transformational projects in connection with Climate Action, namely the Chtouka -Aït Baha water desalination station intended for the drinking water supply of the Greater Agadir area, as well as the wastewater treatment plant.

To materialize their ecological commitment, the African Delegations present at FAMI6_2022 planted thirty (30) Argan trees, provided and offered by the National Agency for the Development of Oasis Zones and the Argan Tree (ANDZOA) in the premises of the Ali Ben Chekroun High School and College in Agadir. The delegations also discovered the creative genius of the students of these two institutions, as well as their mastery of Moroccan, patriotic, and modern music and songs.

The closing ceremony was moderated by Dr. Najat ZARROUK , Director of Development and of the African Local Government Academy (ALGA) of UCLG Africa, member of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration of the United Nations, and President of the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA), representing Mr. Jean Pierre ELONG MBASSI, Secretary General of UCLG Africa who was during the same week attending another mission in Brazil to promote relations between Africa and this Latin American country.
This ceremony was marked by the presence of:

– The Honorable Madam Jeannette NYIRAMASENGESHO, President of the Rwandese Local Government Association (RALGA), President of the Ngororero District Council of the Western Province, President of the Association of Local Governments of East Africa, who said in her speech: “I would like to thank the Kingdom of Morocco for hosting us throughout this week. The theme of this Forum reflected the firm commitment of Local Authorities to the implementation of the Climate Agenda, but above all our commitment to support the roadmap for COP 28 scheduled to take place in Dubai in 2023”;
– Mr. Morris MBOLELA, Deputy Secretary General of UCLG Africa;

The Vice-President of the Council of the Region of Souss-Massa, representing the Honorable Mr. Karim ACHENGLI , President of the Council of the Region of Souss-Massa,
The Honorable Mr. Lahcen AMROUCH, President of the Communal Council of Argana, Vice-President of the Provincial Council of Taroudant, and Vice-Treasurer of the Moroccan Association of Presidents of Communal Councils (AMPCC),
The Vice-President representing the Honorable President of the Prefectural Council of Agadir Ida-Outanane.

The participants in FAMI 6_2022, finally sent a Message of Gratitude and Thanks to the High Attention of His Majesty King MOHAMMED VI of the Kingdom of Morocco -May God Assist him- .

PJ: Photos of days :
1 : https://www.flickr.com/photos/196672214@N05/sets/72177720304050556/
2 : https://www.flickr.com/photos/196672214@N05/sets/72177720304095249/
3 : https://www.flickr.com/photos/196672214@N05/sets/72177720304161662/
4 : https://www.flickr.com/photos/196672214@N05/sets/72177720304251154/
5 : https://www.flickr.com/photos/196672214@N05/sets/72177720304258583/

Video of the Best of days:
1 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwM1xm2fuHs
2 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFicOVMrglA
3 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i21ctlwOhR8
4 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFX0Hzwnaxs
5 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnmlMw-HQ_Y

Report of the Forum:

For more information, please contact:
Gaelle Yomi: Phone: + 212 610 56 71 45
e-mail: gyomi@uclga.org

UCLG Africa website: www.uclga.org
ALGA website of UCLG Africa : www.uclgafrica-alga.org

Opening in Agadir of the African Forum of Territorial Managers and Training Institutes targeting Local Governments (FAMI_6)

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6th edition of the African Forum of Territorial Managers and Training Institutes targeting Local Governments (FAMI 6 2022) in Agadir

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The City of Tangiers Hosts the Statutory Meetings of United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) and the General Assembly of the Network of Young Local Elected Officials of Africa (YELO)

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7th UCLG World Summit: Africa was present in Daejeon to adopt the Pact for the Future of Humanity

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The Summit was attended by a strong African delegation coming from 30 countries of the continent

DAEJEON, Republic of Korea, October 17, 2022

The 7th World Summit of Leaders and Officials of Cities and Regional governments organized by the United Cities and Local Governments in Daejeon, South Korea, on October 10th to 14th 2022, gathered over 3,000 cities and regional governments and their partners to discuss and adopt the UCLG Pact for the Future of Humanity focusing on the future of People, the future of Planet and the future of Government.
The Summit was attended by a strong African delegation coming from 30 countries of the continent. The African delegates participated in several activities of the various tracks of the Summit and organized many sessions, among which a peer learning session on “Promoting the principles of effective governance in Africa”, held by UCLG Africa-ALGA (African Local Government Academy); a session on the celebration of the 10 years of existence of REFELA (Network of Local Elected Women of Africa); and a series of sessions on the climate agenda, particularly concerning the participation of cities and regional governments in the upcoming COP27 on November 6th to 18th in Charm-El-Sheikh, Egypt.

During the Summit UCLG Africa signed 3 MoU with: 1. Mercociudades, the association of cities and local governments of the Mercosur regional regrouping in Latin America; 2. UCLG ASPAC regional section; 3. The Hague Local Government Academy.

Also during the Congress, a partnership agreement was signed between the city of Xi’an in China and the city of Rabat in Morocco. An agreement was also signed between the city of Chefchaouen in Morocco and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) to finance the renovation of public lighting.

The Congress was also the place to renew the office bearers of the organization. In that regard, the UCLG World Assembly ratified the election of the members of the World Council, the World Executive Bureau and the Vice Presidents-elect following the electoral process conducted by each UCLG section.

With regards to the leadership of UCLG to be elected by the UCLG World Council, including the President, co-Presidents, Treasurer, and President of the Standing Committee on Gender Equality, the African delegation invited the different UCLG sections to adopt a consensus approach to appoint the office bearers on the aforementioned positions. This approach embraces the values of shared responsibilities, collegiality and a shared common purpose for the strengthening of the world municipal movement.

The African delegation reminded the spirit that defined and shaped the approach on how to handle the 2021 leadership transition occasioned by the loss of mandate of the previous president of UCLG (Honorary President Mohamed Boudra), wherein the tradition of promoting collegiality and sharing of responsibility received consensus. This meant that the members of the presidency shared the leadership role of president for the remainder of the term.

Consistent with the success and proven benefits of that model in the strengthening and the consolidation of unity in this fairly new organisation, after lengthy consideration of the risks and advantages of the consensus approach by the delegates of the different UCLG sections , following the good offices of the African delegation, the designation of the UCLG leadership by consensus was finally adopted, and this leadership was elected as follows:

President. UCLG

Collegial Presidency ticket by rotation Carolina Cosse, Mayor of Montevideo, Uruguay, Latin America – LATAM (year 1); Ibrahim Altay, Mayor of Konya, Turkey, Middle East and West Asia – MEWA (President year 2); Yan Van Zanen, Mayor of The Hague, The Netherlands, EUROPE (President year 3);

Lee Jang-Woo, Mayor Daejeon, South Korea, Asia Pacific – ASPAC (President year 4)

Co-Presidents, UCLG

Li Mongyuan, Mayor Xi’an, China, ASPAC

Stofile Bekhe, President SALGA, South Africa, AFRICA

The Congress was also the place to renew the office bearers of the organization
Kulginov Altay, Mayor of Astana, Kazakhstan, EURASIA

Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor of Kitchener, Canada, NORAM

Johnny Araya, Mayor of San Jose, Costa Rica, LATAM

Treasurer, UCLG

Rhalalou Asmaa, Mayor of Rabat, Morocco, AFRICA

President, UCLG Gender Equality Standing Committee

Fatimetou Abdel Malick, President Nouakchott Region, Mauritania, AFRICA

Special appointments for UCLG Representation

Pact for the Future Ambassadors

• Ambassador for the Future of People (Ada Colau, Mayor Barcelone, EUROPE)

• Ambassador for the Future of the Planet (Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, EUROPE)

• Ambassador for the Future of Government (Yucel Yilmaz, Mayor of Baukesir, MEWA)

Special Envoys

Special Envoy for the New Urban Agenda

Carlos Martinez, Mayor of Soria, EUROPA

Special Envoy for Food Systems (Mohamed Sefiani, Mayor of Chefchaouen, AFRICA)

Special Envoy for Freedom, Solidarity, and fighting violence against local political leaders (Ms Carola Gunnarsson, Mayor of Sala, EUROPA)

Finally the General Assembly received the offer to host the 2026 UCLG World Congress from the following candidates: City of Cairo, Egypt; City of Tangiers, Morocco; and Cyprus. The UCLG World Secretariat was requested to continue the negotiations with the different candidates to come up with a consolidated candidatures file to be submitted to the next UCLG World Council in Konya, Turkey in 2023.

Training on Access to Capital Markets for African Cities and Subnational Government

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The training session offered the opportunity to renew the governance bodies of the Network of Directors and Heads of Financial Services of African local authorities (Africa FINET). 

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa)  in collaboration with GiZ and the Sahel and West Africa Club of the OECD organized from September 19 to 24, 2022 a training session on: Access to capital markets for African Cities and Subnational governments. The training was attended by the Chief Finance Officers of some forty African cities and subnational governments coming from 26 countries: Senegal, Liberia, Gabon, Congo, Cameroon, Malawi, Kenya, Mauritius, Zambia, Mozambique, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Central African Republic, Madagascar, Rwanda, Nigeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Tunisia, Nigeria, Ivory Coast.

The opening ceremony was punctuated by several speeches made by: Mr. Stefan Atchia, Manager of the Urban Division of the African Development Bank; Mr. Ripert Boussoukpé, Secretary General of the Regional Council of Public Savings and Financial Markets (CREPMF); Ms. Harlette Badou N’GUESSAN KOUAMÉ, Mayor of Arrah and Secretary General of the Union of Cities and Communes of Côte d’Ivoire (UVICOCI). The opening speech was delivered by His Excellency Mr. Eugène Aka Aouélé, President of the Economic, Social, Environmental and Cultural Council of Côte d’Ivoire, President of the Assembly of Regions and Districts of Côte d’Ivoire and President of the South-Comoé region.

What is the Capital Market? What are the institutions of the capital market ecosystem?

What are the key concepts of financial analysis of Cities and Subnational Governments? What are the financial balances and ratios to watch? How do you develop credible financial forecasts? What criteria are considered by rating agencies? How does a stock exchange and a municipal bond issue work? What is the content of the support provided by intermediation and management companies? What is securitization and how can it be used? How to access “green finance”? These are some of the questions discussed during the group work and case studies, which enabled participants to gain a more detailed understanding of the capital markets ecosystem and to appropriate a wide range of tools to access it. Participants also had the opportunity to learn about African Development Bank Group’s Financing Instruments and African Development Bank Group’s Guidelines for Subnational Lending. The training program, which started in Abidjan, will continue in Johannesburg.

The training was attended by the Chief Finance Officers of some forty African cities and subnational governments coming from 26 countries

 

Visits were also organized to the Regional Council for Public Savings and Financial Markets (CREPMF) where participants were welcomed by the President, Mr. Badanam Patoki, and the Secretary General, Mr. Ripert Boussoukpé; and to the Abidjan Regional Securities Exchange (BRVM) where the Director General, Mr. Kossi Amenouvé, welcomed participants. These visits allowed participants to touch the reality of the functioning of institutions that operate on capital markets.

The training session offered the opportunity to renew the governance bodies of the Network of Directors and Heads of Financial Services of African local authorities (Africa FINET). Thus, the following were elected

– President of the Network: Mr. Jeremiah Sibande, from Lilongwe (Malawi).
– First Vice President: Mr. Jean-Bosco Massoma Ekwalla from Douala (Cameroon)
– Second Vice President: Mrs. Sylvie Some Ouoba from Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)
– Third Vice President: Mr. Kamal Jelouane from Agadir (Morocco)
– Fourth Vice President: Mr. Jean Rubangutsangabo from Kigali (Rwanda).

In addition, two honorary members were appointed: Mr. Reshma Bukhory Bahadoor from Flacq (Mauritius) and Mrs. Olarike Olayinka from Ekiti State (Nigeria)

The training session was closed on Saturday, September 24 at 11:00 am by Mr. Yapi Fidel, Director General of Decentralization and Local Development (DGDDL) at the Ministry of Interior and Security.

The second training session on access to capital markets for Cities and subnational Governments in Africa is scheduled to take place in Johannesburg (South Africa) in January 2023.

European Commission joins forces with local and regional government associations to boost sustainable development

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The European Commission has signed framework partnership agreements with five global associations of local authorities: the Association Internationale des Maires Francophones (AIMF), the Commonwealth Local Governments Forum (CLGF), Platforma/Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), and the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa). Supported by €50 million from the NDICI-Global Europe instrument, the agreements support the role of local authorities and their associations in formulating policies to promote local, regional, and global level sustainable development.

Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen said: “Local and regional governments and their associations are key partners for the EU in its external action because of their role in driving sustainable and inclusive development in a way that creates more opportunity for all and leaves no one behind. It is our collective responsibility to put back on track the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. By 2027, the EU will support local authorities’ work in pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals and addressing inequalities with at least €500 million, in addition to the €50 million that support their associations under these five agreements.”

Local authorities for Sustainable Development Goals

Jan van Zanen, Innocent uwimana , Anne Hidalgo, Jutta Urpilainen, Fatimatou Abdel Malick, Stefano Bonaccini

The five renewed partnership agreements, that will be in force until 31 April 2026, recognise the contribution of local and regional governments to the design and implementation of policies that are required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular for making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The agreements formalise a set of common interests and objectives, and provide an opportunity to:

  • Strengthen the voice of EU local and regional governments and their associations in EU development policy and global agendas;
  • Enhance the engagement of EU local and regional governments and their associations in decentralised cooperation, focusing on EU priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals, in partnership with peers in partner countries;
  • Improve current practices in decentralised cooperation, through efficiency and innovation;
  • Raise awareness and build the capacities of local and regional governments and their associations as governance and development policy actors;
  • Strengthen the capacity of associations of local authorities to coordinate the voices of all partners, create synergies, and add value as a network, ensuring good governance and sustainable partnerships.

The five local government Presidents participating were: 

  • Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris (France), President of the International Association of French-Speaking Mayors (AIMF) 
  • Stefano Bonaccini, President of the Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy) and of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) & PLATFORMA 
  • Innocent uwimana, President of the Rwanda Association of Local Government Authorities Authorities, Chairperson of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) 
  •  Jan van Zanen, Mayor of The Hague (Netherlands), Co-President of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) 
  •  Fatimetou Abdel Malick, President of the Regional Council of Nouakchott (Mauritania), President of United Cities and Local Governments – Africa (UCLG Africa).

UCLG Africa president was accompanied by his secretary general Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi.

Wacth the full signature ceremony

Fatimatou Abdel Malick

Fatimatou Abdel Malick

Innocent uwimana, Jan van Zanen, Anne Hidalgo, Jutta Urpilainen, Stefano Bonaccini, Fatimatou Abdel Malick

Check all pictures of the event here.

Video & Photo Copyright : European Union, 2022