United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) hosted, in Marrakech, the Annual Meeting of the Working Group on Capacity and Institution Building (CIB) of the World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG)

From May 15th to 18th 2023 at the Cité de l’Innovation of Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech, was held the Annual Meeting of the Working Group on Capacity and Institution Building (CIB) of the World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). For the first time since the creation of the CIB, this Annual Meeting was held in Africa.

The theme chosen for this year was “Creating an enabling environment for decentralized cooperation worldwide”.

The meeting was organized by the UCLG-CIB Working Group in collaboration with UCLG Africa through its African Local Government Academy (ALGA), DeLoG, the Communal Council of Marrakech, the Cadi Ayyad University of Marrakech and the Cité de l’Innovation of Marrakech, with the support of the Ministry of National Territory Planning, Land Planning, Housing and City Policy of Morocco, the Commune of Benguerir, Generalitat de Catalunya, the Province of Barcelona, VNG International and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM).

During this Annual Meeting of the CIB Working Group, the diverse participants working in the field of capacity building and in the area of development cooperation came together to exchange information and knowledge on the latest trends in the sector, with a particular focus on the Global South perspective, in addition to group discussions and interactive “world cafés”, which fostered Peer Learning and Knowledge Sharing.

The Opening Ceremony of this Annual Meeting gathered the following personalities the Honorable Mr Mohamed IDRISSI, First Deputy Mayor of the Communal Council of Marrakech representing Her Excellency Ms. Fatima Ezzahra EL MANSOURI, Minister of National Territory Planning, Land Planning, Housing and City Policy and President of the Communal Council of Marrakech, Morocco, Dr Neila AKRIMI Chair of the CIB and Mr Pascal LAVOIE, Co-Chair, Dr Najat ZARROUK, Director of Development, Knowledge Management and ALGA of UCLG Africa, Ms. Firdaous OUSSIDHOUM, Special Advisor to the Secretary General of UCLG, representing Ms. Emilia SÁIZ, Secretary General of UCLG, and the Honorable Mr Moulay Lhassan HBID, President of the Cadi Ayyad University of Marrakech, Morocco.

The Annual Meeting was marked by many highlights:

  • An Introductory Plenary Conference organized by UCLG Africa and its ALGA Academy on “Implementing and Localizing the Sustainable Development Goal 17: An African Perspective”. This segment gave the floor to several international and national speakers to share their experiences, present case studies and best practices. The Conference provided an opportunity to exchange and provide an African perspective on the implementation and localization of the SDG 17, focusing on the state and progress of implementation, the challenges and obstacles to its implementation, as well as existing innovations and good practices. Its objectives were to answer a series of queries on :
  • The stakes of localization of SDG 17 in Africa, by highlighting the experiences and challenges encountered by Local and Regional Governments;
  • The conditions and modalities for the establishment of an enabling and facilitating environment for the implementation of SDG 17 at sub-national level in Africa;
  • The partnership strategies to strengthen local capacities and institutions for the implementation of SDG 17;
  • The innovative partnership models that can be developed to support cities and local and regional governments in Africa in the implementation of SDG 17;
  • The best practices, tools and financing mechanisms to support the implementation of SDG 17 at the local level in Africa
  • Four (04) Thematic Workshops and Discussion panels all linked to the priorities and activities of the CIB Working Group and its members, as well as to the priorities of UCLG Africa, focusing in particular on: Gender Equality and Inclusive Governance, Localization of the SDGs, Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Building, International Orientation of Cities, Decentralization and Local Governance from the point of view of donors, challenges on the ground.

These thematic workshops enabled peer-to-peer exchange and learning, as well as joint actions and commitments.

  • Two (02) Field Visits to International Decentralized Cooperation projects, North-South and South-South, organized by:
  • The Communal Council of the City of Marrakech to present their decentralized cooperation strategy, and,
  • The Province of Barcelona with the Moroccan Institute for Local Development (IMADEL) to present the EqualMED project.
  • An Excursion to the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) of Benguerir for the African Delegations, during which they were welcomed by the Honorable Governor of the Province of Rhamna and had the opportunity to visit the University’s prestigious campus, presented as a concrete example of inclusive territorial development.

More than 120 professionals and practitioners of Local Governance, Partnership and Decentralized Cooperation from 44 countries took part in a four (04) day program rich in exchanges and innovations, with a special focus on the Global South perspective.

Dr Najat ZARROUK, Dr Neila AKRIMI, Mr Pascal LAVOIE, Mr Christian LUY, Coordinator of the DeLoG Secretariat, Ms. Firdaous OUSSIDHOUM and Mr Driss BELKHAYAT, Director of the Cité de l’Innovation of Marrakech, took the opportunity to express their deep gratitude and confidence to all the partners who supported this event, as well as to all the participants present during the Closing Ceremony, before announcing that the next edition of the CIB Annual Meeting 2024 will be held in Barcelona.

Link of the Video : Closing Ceremony

Albums : Day 1 ,   Day 2 ,  Day 3 , Day 3 bis , Day 4, Day 4 bis