The upcoming summit for the AU-EU relations, which takes place every 3 years and will be hosted next by the EU, will be the culminating moment where African and European Heads of State and Government meet to take stock of the progress being made, determine new joint priorities for their common future and provide political guidance for further work. Ahead of the Summit, a series of discussions, side events and forums will take place to allow for different stakeholders, from both continents, to exchange and prepare the key messages to share at the Summit towards African and European Heads of States.

In 2015, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) – PLATFORMA and the African section of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG Africa), together with the International Association of French-Speaking Mayors (AIMF); the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) as well as the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), signed a Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) with the European Commission. In this framework, they have been mandated by the European Commission to organize the EUAU Forum for local and regional governments (LRG Forum) in the framework of the EU-AU Summit.

For the first time, the LRG Forum is an officeial side-event taking place ahead of the Summit and which will allow for local and regional governments, and their representative associations, to agree upon common messages and share their recommendations with Heads of States from both continents. Subnational and local governments need to be empowered to ensure sustainable and cohesive development at local and regional levels, be involved in policy design at all levels and be in the driving seat of policy implementation.

The 5 FPAs involved have hold preparatory meetings and a first programme will be shared around: – A first angle could include economic development and COVID-19 recovery,

Established by UNESCO in 2019 and held every year on 24 January, the World Day for African and Afrodescendant Culture aims to celebrate the many vibrant cultures of the African continent and African Diasporas around the world, and promotes them as an effective lever for sustainable development, dialogue and peace. As a rich source of the world’s shared heritage, promoting African and Afrodescendant culture is crucial for the development of the continent, and for humanity as a whole.  More information here.

Paris, New York, Beijing, Mumbai, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Mexico, Lagos… all Megacities – urban centers which accommodate more than 10 million inhabitants – are facing “mega”-challenges related to providing water services for their inhabitants, while managing their environment. More information here.

Within the framework of the Partnership between UCLG-Africa and Metropolis, a series of seminars is being prepared on Metropolitan Governance in Africa from October 2021 to January 2022.

More information here.

Join us at the 5th Edition of the African Forum of Territorial Managers and Training Institutes Targeting Local Authorities FAMI 5 under the theme “the Digital and Smart Transformation of Local Africa: The Time to Act is Now!!!” From 6 to 11 December 2021 in the Marrakech-Safi Region
registration link here

APS-HRMNet, UN-DESA, UCLG Africa

The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October – 12 November 2021.
More information here

“➡️ The 3rd edition of the Climate Chance Summit Africa will be held from 15 to 17 September 2021 in virtual format. 3 days of sessions on many key themes and sectors of climate action including access to climate finance, sustainable mobility, adaptation and water, the role of women in climate action, the Great Green Wall, and more!
Register today by clicking here and join the largest community of non-state actors engaged in climate action in Africa.🌍”

The UCLG Culture Summit is the main meeting point at global level of cities, local governments and other stakeholders that are committed to the effective implementation of policies and programmes on culture and sustainability.

Since 2015, UCLG has convened three editions of the UCLG Culture Summit, which were respectively hosted by the City of Bilbao (Basque Country, Spain, March 2015), the Jeju Self-Governing Special Province (Jeju-do, Republic of Korea, May 2017), and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (Argentina, April 2019). Following the success of the three first Culture Summit of UCLG, and considering the growing importance of culture in the framework of sustainable cities, the Executive Bureau of UCLG has decided to convene a 4th UCLG Culture Summit in 2021.

The 4th Culture Summit will be held in Izmir on next 9-11 September 2021, under the title “Culture: Shaping the Future”.

The detailed programme is available here and you are invited to register here.

Website of the Summit: www.uclg-culturesummit2021.org/en/Home/Index

The African Union (AU) has announced the theme for the 2021 edition of the  African Decentralization and Local Development Day (ADD), celebrated on 10 August of each year.

It is entitled: “The contribution of arts, culture and heritage in the sustainable development of African cities and territories”.

The African Charter of Values and Principles of Decentralization, Local Governance and Local Development, adopted in June 2014 by the Heads of State and Government meeting at their Summit in Malabo, in its Article 20 paragraph 4, institutes the commemoration of the African Decentralization and Local Development Day (ADD) on 10 August each year. The celebration of the ADD by all AU Member States is organized under the authority of the Sub-Committee on Decentralization and Local Development of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee No. 8 (AU-STC Nb 8) including the African ministers of public service, urban development and local governments and decentralization.

The theme chosen for the celebration of the ADD is based on the theme of the year defined by the Heads of State and Government of the African Union. The Heads of State and Government of the African Union have defined 2021 as the Year of arts, culture and heritage in Africa. It is in line with this choice that the theme for the celebration of the African Day of Decentralization and Local Development 2021 has been chosen, specified the concept note produced by the AU.

Three sub-themes have been defined, inviting African cities and territories to reflect on them:

Subtheme 1: Using art and culture as levers for social inclusion and for the promotion of the sense of belonging and oneness in African cities and territories

Subtheme 2: Mobilizing the energy of youth to boost the contribution of cultural and creative industries in job creation and sustainable development of African cities and territories

Subtheme 3: Developing activities around cultural heritage as a way to build city identity and to promote city branding and territorial marketing

The celebration aims to:

– sensitize and inform the general public;