WUF12: UCLG Africa signed an MoU with the Africa Urban Lab
On 6 November 2024, alongside of the Twelfth Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF12), convened by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), in Cairo, Egypt, the Pan African organization United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) and the Africa Urban Lab (AUL) signed an MoU.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was respectively signed by Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General of UCLG Africa and Mr. Kurtis Lockhart, Founder and Director of the Africa Urban Lab.
The MoU aims to provide a framework to identify potential areas of cooperation and collaboration between the Parties, on a non-exclusive basis, in areas of common interest.
The Africa Urban Lab (AUL) is a research center at the Africa School of Economics Zanzibar. The center is focused on the research of rapid urbanization across Africa.
UCLG Africa is an umbrella organization representing 51 national associations of local governments from all regions of Africa, as well as 2000 cities, with a mission to support local authorities as a distinct sphere of government working in support of national and other spheres of government in Africa, and to build capacity through research, training and partnerships.
Both Parties share common goals of elevating the role of local governments to ensure democracy, equality and respect for human rights at the local level, and to promote human and intellectual capital among local authorities in Africa.
UCLG Africa & AUL are interested in pursuing sustainable development in partnerships with institutions that share the same mission to enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of their respective efforts, and commit to cooperate as follows:
- Enhance access to capacity-building, education, and internship/capstone opportunities for African professionals and municipal officials to support their technical development.
- Collaborate on joint research projects, academic programs (including potential student exchanges in each institutions respective degree programs), and initiatives aimed at fostering leadership development.
- Establish a “community of practice” to encourage knowledge sharing, best practices, and networking opportunities for students, graduates, and other urban professionals.
- The Parties will also look to cooperate and collaborate with their respective regional offices, including UCLG Africa’s Regional Offices.
For further information and inquiries, please contact : gyomi@uclga.org
About:
UCLG Africa : United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) is the umbrella organization of local and regional governments in Africa was founded in 2005 in the town of Tshwane, South Africa, following the unification of three continental groups local governments, namely the African Union of Local Authorities (AULA); the Union of African Cities (AVU); and the Africa chapter of the União das Cidades e Capitais Lusófonas (UCCLA). UCLG Africa brings together 51 national associations of local and regional governments from all regions of Africa, as well as 2,000 cities and territories of more than 100,000 inhabitants. UCLG Africa represents more than 350 million African citizens. A founding member of the world organization UCLG, it is the regional chapter for Africa. UCLG Africa’s headquarters are based in Rabat, capital of the Kingdom of Morocco, where it enjoys diplomatic status as a Pan-African International Organization. UCLG Africa also has five regional offices across the continent: in Cairo, Egypt, for North Africa; in Accra, Ghana, for Central Africa; in Libreville, Gabon, for Central Africa; in Nairobi, Kenya, for East Africa; and in Pretoria, South Africa, for Southern Africa. For the investment in the Human Capital of Local and Regional Governments, UCLG Africa created an African Local Government Academy (ALGA) which is deploying a diverse methodology: Peer Learning, Training, Capacity Building and Development, Training of Trainers, e-Learning, study tours, field visits, Training granted with higher education diploma, annual Forum (FAMI).
Africa Urban Lab (AUL): The African School of Economics (ASE) and the Charter Cities Institute (CCI) are partnering to establish the Africa Urban Lab (AUL), dedicated to addressing the challenges of rapid urbanization across Africa. AUL will operate as a research center under ASE-Zanzibar. The vision of AUL is to train the African city builders, planners, and urban leaders of tomorrow to harness rapid urbanization for human prosperity.