United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) to host, in Marrakech, the Yearly Meeting of the Capacity and Institution Building (CIB) Working Group of UCLG World

From 15 to 18 May 2023, the Annual Meeting of the Capacity and Institution Building (CIB) Working Group of the World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) will be held at Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech (Kingdom of Morocco). For the first time since the creation of the CIB, this annual meeting will be held in Africa and North Africa. The theme chosen for this year is: “Creating an enabling environment for decentralized cooperation worldwide”.

The meeting is organized by the UCLG-CIB Working Group in collaboration with UCLG Africa through its African Local Governments Academy (ALGA), Delog, the Municipality of Marrakech, Cadi Ayyad University of Marrakech and the City of Innovation, with the support of the Ministry of National Land Management, Urban Planning, Housing and City Policy of Morocco, the Municipality of Benguerir, Generalitat de Catalunya, BCN, VNG International and the Canadian Federation of Municipalities (FCM).

During these four days, a hundred professionals and practitioners of Local Governance, Partnership and Decentralized Cooperation will benefit from a program rich in exchanges and innovation, with a special focus on the Global South perspective.

The Yearly meeting will be marked by a number of important moments:

• An introductory plenary conference organized by UCLG Africa and its ALGA Academy will focus on “The implementation and localization of Sustainable Development Goal 17: An African Perspective”. This segment will be an opportunity to answer and exchange on a number of questions related to this topic, including: why partnerships and decentralized cooperation are useful for the implementation of this SDG, what are the most effective approaches to mobilize resources to support Sustainable Development? How can we effectively build innovative approaches to training and capacity building related to this topic?

• 4 Thematic Workshops and Panel Discussions on: Gender Equality and Inclusive Governance, Localization of the SDGs, Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Building, International Orientation of Cities, Decentralization and Local Governance from a donor perspective, challenges on the ground.

 

• Field visits on international decentralized cooperation projects, North-South and South-South, organized by the Municipal Council of the City of Marrakech, the Province of Barcelona and the Moroccan Institute of Local Development (IMADEL);

• An excursion to the City of Benguerir for the African Delegations where they will have the opportunity to see concrete examples of inclusive territorial development.

The official opening ceremony will record the speeches of :

• Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, Minister of National Territory Planning, Urbanism, Housing and City Policy and President of the Marrakech City Council, Morocco, represented by the Honorable Mr. Mohamed Idrissi, First Deputy Mayor of the Marrakech City Council;
• Neila Akrimi and Mr. Pascal Lavoie, respectively President and Co-President of CIB;
• Jean-Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General of UCLG Africa;
• Firdaous Oussidhoum, Special Advisor to the Secretary General of UCLG, representing Mrs. Emilia Sáiz, Secretary General of UCLG;
• Mr. Moulay Lhassan Lhbid, President of Cadi Ayyad University of Marrakech, Morocco.

The media are invited to cover the opening ceremony scheduled for Monday, May 15, 2023 at 9:30 a.m. at the Auditorium of the Innovation City of Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Boulevard Abdelkrim Khattabi.

Press contact : Gaëlle Yomi : + 212 610 56 71 45/ gyomi@uclga.org

About CIB: The Capacity and Institution Building (CIB) Working Group of the world organization of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) is a technical platform for professionals from Local Government Associations (LGAs) and individual local governments active in the field of capacity development and local government development cooperation. The Working Group is a community of enablers and practitioners. All members are engaged in international activities, and most are involved in international capacity building programs. CIB aims to advance the effectiveness and quality of international policies and programmes of local and regional governments and their associations.

About UCLG Africa: United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) is the umbrella organization of local governments in Africa whose founding congress took place in 2005 in the city of Tshwane, South Africa, after the unification of three continental groupings: the African Union of Local Authorities (AULA), the Union of African Cities (UVA), and the African section of the União das Cidades e Capitais Lusófonas (UCCLA). UCLG Africa currently brings together the 51 national associations of local governments operating in Africa as well as 2,000 cities and territories with more than 100,000 inhabitants. Through its members, UCLG Africa represents more than 350 million African citizens. A founding member of the world organization United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), UCLG Africa is its regional section for Africa. The headquarters of the organization is established in Rabat, capital of the Kingdom of Morocco, where UCLG Africa enjoys diplomatic status as a Pan-African international organization. UCLG Africa is also represented in the five regions of Africa through regional offices established: in Cairo, Egypt, for the North African Region; in Accra, Ghana, for the West African Region; in Libreville, Gabon, for the Central African Region; in Nairobi, Kenya, for the East African Region; and in Pretoria, South Africa, for the Southern African Region.