Tag Archive for: Africities

Read the resolutions of the UCLG Africa Statutory meetings of November 2018

/in , , , , , /by

The resolutions of the UCLG Africa Statutory meetings held in November 2018 as a prelude to the 8th Africities summit (20-24 November 2019, Marrakesh) are available and can be download below:

– Minutes of the General Assembly of UCLG Africa;

–Minutes of the 19th session of the Executive Committee of UCLG Africa;

–Minutes of the Meeting of the Panafrican Council of UCLG Africa .

The next UCLG Africa Statutory meetings will be held from 17 to 21 June 2019 in Cairo, Egypt.

Intensification of Cultural Exchange between African Cities and European Capitals of Culture -Call for Participation

/in , , , , , /by

Panel Discussion and Workshop of the EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Rijeka (Croatia), 31 May 2019

The European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) are one of the most emblematic cultural actions of the European Union with a huge potential for cultural internationalisation and exchange – also reflected in the EU Strategy for International Cultural Relations. On the African continent, investments in culture are dynamic including a wide range of cultural and creative initiatives in cities providing interesting frameworks for enlarged international cooperation.

The panel discussion and workshop organised by the European Commission in the framework of an international conference in Rijeka – European Capital of Culture 2020 – allows for in depth exchange on cooperation ideas and building up sustainable networks between the two continents.

Cultural policy makers from both continents as well as the European Commission will discuss about framework conditions for enhanced cultural cooperation between the two continents. Speakers from future European Capitals of Culture and from African creative cities will provide insight in good practice approaches for city development with culture. Representatives from African cities or cultural operators with a clear urban focus as well as past, present, future and candidate ECOCs are invited to participate!

For more information and programme details please contact Sylvia Amann, Member of the European
Capital of Culture Expert Panel (responsible for the design of the encounter) as soon as possible as only
a restricted number of participants can be accepted to join the workshop. Email: office@inforelais.org 

UCLG Africa Retreat 2019: Revitalization of the African Municipal Movement

/in , , , , , /by

UCLG Africa held its third institutional retreat during February 18-21, 2019, at the Al Akhawayn University Conference Center in Ifrane, Morocco. The 4 days retreat was attended by sixty participants including: staff from the UCLGA headquarters, three regional offices (West Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa), and partner organizations: UCLG, Metropolis, Cities Alliance, UNECA, World Resources Institute (WRI), CAFRAD; and UCLG Africa Special Advisers:  Mr. Daby Ndiaye, Mr. Gustave Massiah, Mr. Alioune Badiane and Mrs. Claire Mandouze.

“The goal of this retreat is to take stock of the situation. For an organization, it is very important that we take a new impetus. The retreat is held to rebuild a momentum. The organization is the political part of the equation, the members, the Executive Committee, the Pan-African Council, the UCLG Africa presidency, the staff, and the citizens. We expect from this retreat more synergy, a remobilization of our members and our staff and new goals, so that we meet our members’ expectations,” said Secretary General of UCLG Africa, Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, who recalled the components of UCLG Africa that stood at the heart of the retreat.

Day 1   : Who are we   ?

The first day was marked by the opening speech of the Secretary General who recalled the history of the organization and the creation of the municipal movement in Africa.

“Today, UCLG Africa consists of 47 national associations of local government. We are a unitary organization, not a confederation. We went through years of division whose unity (sic) was consolidated in 2012, in Dakar, during the 6th Africities Summit.’

He also discussed the fragility of this unity, which only subsisted through the commitment of its members and that of the staff of UCLG Africa.

“Our unity is always fragile and it is your duty to fight and keep the unity             of this organization. We need to make members understand that the love of the continent is what will save them and save their children’s future. There is a different level of decentralization on the continent, which implies that specific approaches are needed. The role of regional offices is crucial at this level. The goal is to improve the service rendered to the populations by the implementation of decentralization. Multilateralism is losing ground. There is an inward-oriented identity movement that is extremely damaging for Africa. Tribalism is gaining ground and this is an additional difficulty for the continent. We must make room for youth in the political space and local level is the level of where this is possible. The hope for the continent rests on your shoulders,” he told the young participants at the meeting.

A “fishbowl” which is a round table with 2 or 3 main speakers. When other participants whant to ask questions or made a contribution they rejoin the box where  are the speakers, but they are not allow to stay, only the main speakers are allow to stay in the bowl. This “fishbowl” was a platform of exchange of ideas on how to work in synergy with partner organizations for the implementation of the Global Agendas and of African Union’s Agenda 2063. The moderator was Mr. Sithole Mbanga. Afterfollowed by the construction of a “time line” of the organization, from 2005 to 2019, by UCLG Africa staff.

Exchanges took place in a relaxed atmosphere and staff engaged in a range of group activities, including‘Rock-around-the-Clock,’ which required them to partner with new colleagues to allow them to interact.

Synergy with UCLG and Metropolis

The Deputy Secretary General of UCLG Africa Mr. Sitholé Mbanga moderated a debate with keynote speakers, Mrs. Firdaous Oussidhoum, Special Adviser to the Secretary General of UCLG and Mr. Octavi De La Varga, Secretary General of Metropolis.

Speakers addressed how best to localize the Global Agendas, Agenda 2030 (SDG), the New Urban Agenda, the Paris Climate Agreement, The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Contributions called for synergy in order to localize these agendas on the continent through a territorial approach, a gender-based approach, an appreciation of human capital, a reinvention of local democracy and a revision of statistical systems in Africa.

The construction of the “UCLG Africa (2005- 2019) timeline” highlighted how far the organization had come since 2015, and the implementation of GADDEPA (Program of Governance, Advocacy and Decentralized Development for Africa), as part of UCLG Africa’s strategic vision until 2021.

 

Day 2   : Rebuilding together

Tuesday, February 19, was marked by the Market Place. An exercise where UCLG Africa present his service offerings. Representatives from the different departments and regional offices including members, programs, REFELA, ALGA, the Climate Task Force, Communications, WARO Regional Office, SARO Regional Office and EARO Regional Office, were invited to present their best service offerings and the two main difficulties encountered in the exercising of these functions. The purpose of the activity was to share the role and functions of the different departments and to do this is in a fun way. Participants agreed that this initiative allowed them to have a greater understanding of each other’s work, ‘fine-tune their pitch’, and get to know each other better.

A “fishbowl” debate and exchange of ideas also took place with the partners, Cities Alliance, UNECA and WRI, on the various ways they could collaborate better with UCLG Africa.

 

Ms. Abera Edlam Yemeru, Chief of the Urbanization Section of UNECA commented that, “There is a need to connect the Urban Agenda to other sectors and to build African cities around the importance of planning. Agenda 2063 is an opportunity for collaboration. We operate at the national level and with UCLG Africa we can reach the local level.“

Mr. Leo Horn Phathanothai, Director of International Cooperation at WRI, declared himself open to materializing a partnership in the research sector, particularly through the African Local Government Academy (ALGA).

“We need to ensure that local governments are credible career spaces. The current system of urbanization policies is not adequate in Africa. Youth unemployment is a major challenge for local governments in Africa. UCLG Africa should formalize the partnerships over a period of at least 5 years, said Julian Baskin, Cities Alliance Senior Urban Specialist.

The day ended with a group task on the construction of a new narrative for UCLG Africa and defining the objectives, strengths and weaknesses of the organization. The participants expressed their entire creativity to realise model building (Photos).

Day 3   : Rethinking our actions for the people

Wednesday, February 20, saw participants discuss strategies to determine how best way UCLG Africa could intervene at the global, continental, national, and regional levels and work with the associations of local governments, localities and citizens.

The main messages were:

  • UCLG Africa’s core interest are Africa’s citizens
  • The role of the organization is to help build local governments
  • UCLG Africa’s Agenda should be updated in accordance with GADDEPA
  • Priorities for the organization include empowering young people and regional offices, repositioning the organization and promoting a gender-based approach
  • UCLG Africa must write its own history and proceed to Communication 2.0.

 

  • Participants voted for 7 priorities on which the organization should be rebuilt.
    • Human Resources Management, Training and Development
    • Financial Viability and Sustainability
    • Good Governance
    • Vision and Strategic Orientation
    • Clear Communication Strategy Plan
    • Learning and Knowledge Sharing Organization
    • Africities

 

Day 4   : New Roadmap

The retreat closed with the design of a new roadmap for 2019 based on the various proposals presented over the 4 days and covering the following key stages:

  • Activity Matrix
  • Political Executive Committee Meeting in April 2019
  • Meetings with Regions and Partners (May-July)
  • Meeting with the financial partners (June or September)
  • Mobilization meeting of national associations on the sidelines of the UCLG World congress, planned to take place in Durban, South Africa in November 2019
  • UCLG World Congress
  • Annual UCLG Africa Retreat (February 2020).

The Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Sithole Mbanga, expressed his commitment to closely monitor its implementation.

In his closing message, the Secretary General of UCLG Africa, Mr. Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, thanked the President of the Al Akhawayn University of Ifrane, for hosting the retreat.

“It is important to love what you do. I would like to thank our facilitators and the entire UCLG Africa team. We are part of a fantastic journey and we must be militants. The only fight that must be waged is that of the dignity of this continent. Dignity begins with knowing one’s strengths. Only Africans will develop Africa. It is time to rediscover the culture and history of our continent. Be proud of your continent, dear young people, you have the capacity to do it. Let’s be humble, we are a political organization. A 5-kilometer journey begins with a step in the right direction… During this retreat, we took the first step in the right direction (sic).”

 

Watch the videos of the retreat here.

Watch the interviews of the retreat here .

Retirement photo album.

 

 

 

 

Marrakech Declaration of the Authorities of Local and Subnational Governments of Africa Concerning the Urgency of a Territorial Climate Action

/in /by

We local and regional elected representatives of Africa, gathered this Thursday, November 22, 2018 in Marrakech, Kingdom of Morocco, within the framework of the First edition of the Climate Day during the Eighth edition of the Africities Summit organized in preparation for the United Nations Climate Conference COP24 to be held from December 03 to December 14, 2018 in Katowice, Republic of Poland,

Aware of the alert renewed by the international scientific community and concerned by the urgency highlighted again in the IPCC report of October 08, 2018 concerning the effects of global warming of 1.5 degrees compared to the pre-industrial era,

Noting that this IPCC report has emphasized the need for an extremely fast and ambitious transitions, especially in the areas of energy, transport, construction and agriculture to avoid exceeding 1.5 degrees of anthropogenic global warming, and that in order to achieve this goal the world must achieve carbon neutrality by 2050,

Noting that the reality of the current commitments made by the States Parties to the UNFCCC in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) does not make it possible to fit within a trajectory that is compatible with an increase in temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius or 2 degrees Celsius by 2100, which are the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate, but that, on the contrary, current trajectories direct us towards a warming around 3 degrees, with catastrophic consequences for Humanity, with a particularly devastating and even existential impact for African societies,

Recalling the need to learn from the limitations of the Kyoto Protocol and in particular the fact that local and subnational communities and governments were not included as participatory stakeholders, which significantly delayed the global establishment of a virtuous moment in terms of local mobilization, which is nonetheless necessary and efficient,

Emphasizing the fact that the bulk of the global climate policy decisions are made and applied at the territorial level, making local authorities and actors the driving force in the overall transformation towards a green economy, sustainable development and a climate-resilient and environment-friendly human civilization;

Recalling the recent commitments and declarations of local and regional elected representatives in favor of the Climate, including, among others   : the Declaration of the Summit of Cities and Regions of Africa in Yamoussoukro , Côte d’Ivoire (June 2015)   ; the Declaration of the World Climate Summit and Territories in Lyon, France (July 2015)   ;  the Declaration of Local and Regional Elected Officials for Climate’s Summit in Paris, France (December 2015)   ; the Declaration of local and Regional Elected Officials of Africa adopted during the Preparatory Forum for COP 22 held in Cotonou, Benin ( September 2016)   ; the Road Map for the Action of the Cities and Regions of the World for Climate adopted at COP 22 in Marrakech , Morocco (November 2016)   ;  the Declaration of Elected Officials  of Local and Regional Africa adopted at the Summit Climate Chance held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (June 2018)   ; and the Declaration of Action World Summit on Climate adopted in San Francisco, USA (July 2018)   ;

 

Declare the following:

Africities 8 – The Highlights

/in , /by

An unprecedented participation of 8300 participants represented more than 77 countries, including 53 African countries and nearly 3,000 local elected representatives, mayors and other leaders of local and subnational governments. The Africities Summit 2018 in Marrakech has proven itself to be the most important democratic gathering in Africa.

“ The Africities Summit gave a voice to local authorities. Thanks to that recognition, the idea that local Africa will change Africa is making headway’, said Jean-Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General of United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa).

20 years of the Africities Summit was celebrated and highlighted with the presentation of the UCLG Africa anthem, composed by David André, Mayor of the City of Victoria, Seychelles, and Vice President of UCLG Africa.

An opening ceremony marked by the inaugural conference of Professor Felwine Sarr, from the Gaston Berger University in Saint Louis (Senegal) whose subject, “African Cities: signs, lineaments, configuration of possibilities” invites people to consider cities as places for the production of meanings which inform us about our social, political and imaginary reality.

 

The closing ceremony of the Africities 8 Summit was marked by the reading of the Royal Message by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem, who, on this occasion, officially launched the pan-African campaign, “ African cities without street children.”

The initiative from the Network of Locally Elected Women in Africa, (REFELA), UCLG Africa’s Gender Equality Commission, is supported by the National Observatory for the Rights of Children (ONDE) of Morocco. 20 cities in Africa have already subscribed to this campaign, including the city of Rabat, which will serve as the pilot city for the campaign in Morocco. For the implementation of this campaign, three memoranda of understanding have been signed between ONDE and UNICEF in support of this international campaign between ONDE and UCLG Africa. The campaign will be implemented across the continent by UCLG Africa; and between ONDE, the City of Rabat and four ministerial departments of the government for the national campaign in Morocco.

(Attached – ONDE press release, photos and footage available with the MAP press agency – contact: 0021 2661114798)

The political segment of the Summit started on November 23 with a round table on city diplomacy introduced by Denis Coderre, former Mayor of Montreal, Canada, with the participation of panelists including, Her Excellency Catherine Samba-Pandza, former Head of State of the Central African Republic and former Mayor of the city of Bangui.

Several recommendations and proposals emerged from the 160 sessions held across the 5 days under the general theme   “The transition to sustainable cities and territories: the role of local and sub-national governments of Africa”.  All of the recommendations and proposals were submitted to ministers, mayors and leaders of local governments and development partners for consideration and adoption at the meeting of ministers, the general meeting of UCLG Africa, and the meeting of development partners, which were organized in parallel during the afternoon of November 23. The political segment ended on the morning of November 24, with a tripartite dialogue meeting between ministers, mayors and development partners.

 

UCLG Africa’s Executive Committee held its elections at which The City of Libreville, represented by its Mayor, Mrs. Rose Christiane Ossouka-Raponda was elected as the new President of UCLG Africa for a term of 3 years, which will end at the next general assembly scheduled for 2021. In addition, the city of Bagangte, Cameroon, represented by its Mayor, Celestine Ketcha-Courtès, was re-elected as President of REFELA.

 

Amongst the special events of the Summit, it is worth mentioning the meetings held between the mayors and locally elected officials of Africa and their counterparts in Asia-Pacific, mainly from China and Japan; and the meeting between the mayors and leaders of local and regional governments in Africa and their African American counterparts.  The African American network of mayors announced that, “400 years after crossing the Door of No Return, where the first boat left the shores of Africa bound for the Americas carrying children of Africa, it is now time to consider starting the opposite wave, by opening, at the initiative of the mayors and leaders of the local and regional governments of Africa, the “Door of Return” to the African Americans of the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America and declaring that Africities is the right place to launch this mobilization for the Road of Return.

 

The summary of the sessions and recommendations of the Africities 2018 Summit can be seen on the Summit website: www.africities.org or you can download it  here .

Three special days were organized during the Summit: Migration Day on November 21; Climate Day on November 22 and Urban Planning Day on November 23.

 The Migration Day recalled the crucial role of local and subnational governments in managing migration; and the urgent need to make them stakeholders in the negotiation of the Global Compact on Migration, which must be concluded at the United Nations Conference on Migration, due to take place between December 8-11, in Marrakesh.

Climate Day emphasized the urgency of involving local and subnational governments in the implementation of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and even considering Locally Determined Contributions (LDC’s) if, as is desirable, local and subnational governments plan to participate in the Paris Agreement ambitions to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees by the end of the century with respect to the pre-industrial period. In this context, the localization of NDCs is essential and UCLG Africa is asked to develop and implement a capacity-building program for its members, so that they have a climate plan and are able to prepare applications that are eligible for the Green Climate Fund (GCF). UCLG Africa is also asked to broaden the scope of its Climate Task Force to spearhead the climate action of African local governments. A Declaration was adopted at the end of the proceedings of the Climate Day.

The Urban Planning Day focused on urban planning as a basic tool for transitioning to sustainable cities and territories. It reiterated the importance of setting up urban agencies to monitor the dynamics of urbanization and to put in place a framework for dialogue between all actors to define the allocation and policies around the use of urban space in respect of ecological constraints. The day resulted in the signing of eight partnership agreements between 14 African cities in Morocco and their sisters in Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Senegal, Uganda, Tunisia and Cameroon, with the technical support of the Association of Urban Agencies of Morocco, the Moroccan “Al Omrane” Holding, the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa), and the United Nations Program for Human Settlements (UN-Habitat).

Partnership agreements for urban planning and the establishment of urban agencies have been entered into between: the cities of Dakar  (Senegal) and Rabat (Morocco); Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) and Casablanca (Morocco); Yaoundé (Cameroon) and Marrakech; Jinja (Uganda) and Essaouira (Morocco); Sousse  (Tunisia) and El Jadida; Rufisque  (Senegal) and Dakhla; and Abomey (Benin) and Al Hoceima.

Another remarkable fact is the launch of the celebration of the African Capitals of Culture, aiming at giving  back to the continent’s cultural and artistic expressions the place and the role they deserve in the building,  integration and unity of Africa. The City of Marrakech has been unanimously designated to be the African Capital of Culture in 2020.

The Summit highlighted two key players, without whom the transition to sustainable cities and territories cannot be envisioned in Africa:  they are women and youth. 25 percent of Summit sessions were dedicated to gender issues, including the fight against violence against women; and the economic empowerment of women.

The Youth Forum  – Twenty young people aged 16 to 35 were selected on the basis of a call for ideas to participate in a Creative Lab on the theme, “Imagine your city and imagine Africa in 2030 and 2063“. These young people were invited to submit their projects to the delegates of the Summit, using the Africities new innovative voting platform, of which three projects would be awarded. The following three projects were the successful recipients of the Creative Lab awards:

First prize: Yvette Ishinwe, from Rwanda, for her project on the use of new technologies for optimal use of drinking water at standpipes (Iriba tap and drink innovation);

Second Prize: Zaheer Allam, from Mauritius, for her smart urban regeneration project;

Third Prize: Oulimata Sourang, from Senegal, for her E-Learning Assistant project.

 

Climate Initiatives Trophies  – A further competition was organized and also decided by the voting of delegates at the Summit: the Climate Initiatives Trophies celebrating cities and territories that have implemented the most remarkable actions in the fight against climate change. These were awarded to three categories of cities and territories.

For the small towns category  (less than 20,000 inhabitants), the winner was the Municipality of Ndiob (Senegal) for the implementation of its “green and resilient commune” project;

For the category of cities and territories of intermediate size (between 20,000 and 200,000 inhabitants), the laureate is the City of Chefchaouen in Morocco, for the realization of its “Energy Info Center”.

For the category of cities and large territories, the laureate is the Tivaouane Departmental Council (Senegal) for the implementation of its project “Preserving a sustainable agricultural environment”.

The Africities Exhibition, which was organized simultaneously, saw the participation of 84 exhibitors, coming from Morocco (39 exhibitors), other regions of Africa (29 exhibitors from 11 countries), Europe (14 exhibitors from 6 countries), from Asia (1 exhibitor from South Korea), and from America (1 exhibitor from Canada).

The Projects and Partnership Exchange Forum  – The Africities Exhibition gave the opportunity to effectively organize 150 B2B appointments out of the 512 requested by the delegates, who came from 44 countries. These B2B appointments led to 129 requests for partnerships, 40 proposed solutions to problems that delegates deemed urgent, and 39 projects identified as needing immediate implementation.

Best Exhibition Stand – As part of the Exhibition, a competition was also organized concerning the best booth. The results of this competition were:

Stands presenting the most innovative offer:

– Ragni SAS – Street lighting (France)

– Anemoi Magnova – Fans for large public spaces (Spain)

Stands with the best design:

– City of Marrakech (Morocco)

– United Cities and Local Governments (Barcelona)

Liveliest Stands:

– National Initiative for Human Development, INDH (Morocco)

– Special Fund for Intermunicipal Intervention and Equipment, FEICOM (Cameroon)

These awards were announced at the awards ceremony during the closing Gala Dinner held on November 24, 2018 at 20:00 in the Menara Gardens in Marrakech.

Delegates paid tribute to King Mohammed VI of Morocco for agreeing to grant his High Patronage to the eighth edition of the Africities Summit and thanked the Government of Morocco, the Moroccan Association of Presidents of Communal Councils, and the City and administrative authorities of Marrakech who made every effort to ensure that the Africities Summit took place in excellent conditions.

The call was made for the ninth edition of the Africities Summit, scheduled for 2021, to be hosted by Kisumu, Kenya.

See you in Kisumu Kenya for Africities 9 in 2021!

Media Communication – UCLG Africa 
Gaëlle Yomi:       + 212 610 56 71 45:                 gyomi@uclga.org
Claude Lisbonis: + 33 6 20 67 18 66 / WhatsApp:    clc@claudelisbonis.com

 

 

 

Africities 2018: Find out the climate day program !

/in , , , , /by

Cities and territories members of UCLG Africa committed to the fight againstt Climate Change

Cities and territories of Africa represent a significant share of the continent’s GHG emissions (about 70 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa) and they host millions of people in areas that are sometimes very vulnerable to the effects of climate change. They also concentrate the bulk of economic activity in Africa and the bulk of investment (infrastructure, business buildings, equipment, etc.). These realities reinforce the importance of the cities and territories of Africa in the implementation of the policies of fight against climate change.

UCLG Africa intends to make of the 8th edition of the Africities Summit a strong political moment in the service of the achievement of a common goal of the cities and local governments in response to the major challenges of climate change and of the transition towards sustainable development.

This general objectives aims specifically to strengthen the actions of the cities and territories in support of states for the implementation of their Nationally Determined Planned Contributions (NDPCs) or their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

This moment should lead to the adoption of a joint Declaration on the commitment to a broader partnership between national governments and local and regional governments in Africa for the implementation of the NDCs.

Goals and objectives of the Africities Climate Day

The Africities Climate Day is held five years earlier to the deadline of 2023 for elevating the ambitions of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). This Climate Day Aims to bring together all the stakeholders mobilized for the fighr against global warming and the effects of Climate change. For its first edition, the Africities Climate Day will focus its reflections on the creation of the NDCs of the African countries concerning the seven key components of the Paris Agreement, namely :

  1. Adaptation ;
  2. Mitigation ;
  3. South-South cooperation ;
  4. Territorialization of the NDCs ;
  5. Financing ;
  6. Capacity building ;
  7. The transparency framework

The Africities “Climate Day” sets five strategic & operational goals :

  1. Identifying best practices ;
  2. Setting the priorities and goals to be achieved by 2023, starting date of the binding period of the Paris Agreement ;
  3. Developing the 2030 Agenda of the cities and territories of Africa for Climate ;
  4. Evaluating the Declaration the Africities “Climate Day” to be presented at COP 24 in Poland in December.

This Desclaration aims to have UNFC recognize the centrality of cities and territories of African in the resilience to Climate Change and the need for these cities and territories, to receive more attention and involvement in implementation of the NDCs, on the one hand, and to be represented in the international climate proceedings, on the other hand.

The program is available here 

Discover the 9 nominated for the 2018 Climate Initiative Awards at Africities Summit

/in /by

On Friday, 2 November 2018, the members of the jury of the Climate Initiatives Awards held a meeting at UCLG Africa headquarters in Rabat. The 2018 edition is organized by UCLG Africa and the Climate Initiatives association in the framework of the Africities 8 summit, scheduled for 20-24 November 2018 in Marrakech, on the theme: “The transition to sustainable cities and territories: The role of Local and Sub- national governments of Africa.”.

The jury designed 9 nominees in the 3 categories of African Local and Sub- national governments in competition : Small cities : less than 20,000 inhabitants, Intermediary Cities From 20,000 to 100,000 inhabitants and Big Cities : More than 100,000 inhabitants.

31 initiatives were received from 16 countries, the jury select the 9 most innovative initiatives in climate change adaptation and mitigation. There are:

-Category 1 (Small Cities, less than 20,000 inhabitants):

* Commune Rurale Ambohimanambola (Madagascar): Development of a waste processing station

* Commune of Ndiob (Senegal): A green and resilient commune

–Category 2 (Intermediary Cities, from 20,000 to 100,000 inhabitants)

* Commune of Yoko (Cameroon): Integral protection of a communal forest

* Chefchaouen (Morocco): Energy Info Center

* Goz Beida (Chad): Reconstitution of plant cover and fight against soil erosion

– Category 3 (Large communities, more than 100,000 inhabitants)

* Quelimane (Mozambique):   Quelimane Mangrove Restoration

* EThekwini Municipality (South Africa): Buffelsdraai Reforestation Project

* Departmental Council of Tivaouane (Senegal): Preservation of a sustainable agricultural environment

* Yaoundé City Council (Cameroon): Yaoundé Sanitation Project

These nine initiatives will be put to the vote of the 5000 delegates expected at Africities 2018 Summit, to nominate the winner of each category. The votes will be made via the application of Africities Summit.

The nine nominees are fully supported by UCLG Africa (one person per municipality) to attend the Africities Summit from 20 to 24 November 2018. A trophy will be awarded to all winners at the Africities summit gala dinner on 24 November 2018.

 

Africities Summit 2018: 20 years of Pan-Africanism of Cities and Regions Celebrated in Morocco

/in , , , , , , /by

“For an  Africa of all Transitions, for Cities and Regions as Drivers of Changes  Strategies”

Press Release 

Rabat, on 24 October 2018,

The flagship pan-African event of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA Africa) will celebrate its 20th anniversary. It will bring together the 5,000 expected participants for creating a shared vision of the «Africa We Want».

By hosting the Summit for the second time in 10 years, the Kingdom of Morocco and all the Moroccan stakeholders, mobilized under the aegis of the Moroccan Association of Presidents of Communal Councils (AMPCC), support this event which amplifies «the Voice of Territorial Africa».

Press Notice 

Under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Morocco hosts the Africities Summit for the second time, addressing the theme: «The Transition to Sustainable Cities and Territories: the Role of Territorial Communities of Africa.»

Indeed, it is a decisive role, as more than 60% of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations fall within the competence of territorial communities, as recognized by decentralization laws. The actual achievement of these objectives depends thus on the strong involvement of elected representatives, local public administrations, and territorial actors (communities, businesses, artists, women, young people, banking institutions, etc.).

The future of Africa and its evolution are increasingly played out at the level of the Continent’s cities and territories. Globalization and rapid urbanization are the two powerful trends that mark this evolution. These two trends have a significant impact on the development of African societies. They raise questions about the effectiveness of the current growth and development models pursued in the African context, and even prompt one to consider a paradigm shift in the way people think about the Continent’s sustainable development.

In choosing the theme of «the Transition to Sustainable Cities and Territories» for the Africities 2018 Summit, the territorial authorities of  Africa have opted for a break proposal that justifies the urgency for a farreaching change in the growth and development patterns, and a paradigm shift in the Continent’s development in order to achieve the structural transformation sought by the African Union Agenda 2063. The Summit will discuss the various dimensions of transition, without disregarding the interactions they maintain among themselves: demographic, ecological, democratic and political, economic and social, geopolitical, as well as culture and communication.

It is further recognized that it is rather in cities and territories that the fight against climate change and poverty would be won or lost. This is why cities and territories of Africa are now key actors in the process of implementing the international agendas adopted by the United Nations in 2015 and 2016, and more particularly the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG), the Paris Agreement that builds on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for the implementation of the said Agreement, and the New Urban Agenda adopted in Quito, Ecuador. It is for the sake of raising awareness of the new responsibilities incumbent upon them and exploring the ways and means for fully assuming these responsibilities that the leaders of territorial communities of Africa invite all relevant stakeholders to explore with them at the Africities Summit, to be held from 20 to 24 November 2018 in Marrakech, the strategies to be defined and the paths to move along in order to start now the transition towards sustainable cities and territories in Africa.

This eighth edition is therefore a not-to-be-missed event for the territorial communities of Africa, and a significant anniversary date, as it marks the 20 years of existence and organization of the Africities Summits !

Read more… 

Re-defining AU-EU Partnership Perspectives of CSOs, Private Sector and Local Authorities

/in , , , , , /by
  1. Preamble

From the 8th to 10th of October 2018, Gaborone, Botswana played host to the Africa Regional Meeting of the Policy Forum on Development (PFD). The Policy Forum on Development (PFD) is a multi-stakeholder platform that brings together Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Organized Private Sector and Local Authorities (LA) from around Africa to dialogue on critical development issues. The PFD recognises the European Commission’s 2012 communication on the “The roots of democracy and sustainable development” which clarifies the definition of CSOs in all their diversity and specificities. The PFD is supported by the European Commission and provides a platform where identified stakeholders’ together with EU Members States meet to debate on development matters. The regional PFD is organized on a rotational basis in addition to an annual global meeting.

The 2018 edition of the Africa PFD focused on the recommendations which emanated from the November 2017 African Union (AU) – European Union (EU) Summit of Heads of States and Governments; the vision for the proposed post-Cotonou framework, and further examined the AU theme of the year on Combatting Corruption.

  1. Observations

The Africa PFD witnessed extensive deliberations across critical development and governance issues. Subsequently, at the end of the three days, the PFD observed the following:

  1. A mutual and balanced relationship between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) is essential for both to play a leading role in world governance, now and the future. However, this relationship ought to be to be further cultivated and effectively harnessed for mutual benefit and to foster meaningful outcomes.
  2. The PFD as a multi-stakeholder platform should be a model that seeks to contribute to facilitating dialogue across crosscutting development issues and sustain critical platforms that promote knowledge and information sharing between the two continents.
  • Climate change is a real challenge to both continents and is already disrupting livelihoods.
  1. Rising inequalities on both continents is an issue of political and social concern for sustainable peace and development.
  2. Africa has a youthful population that can be a demographic dividend or a bulge. This youthful population is often lacking requisite skills and competences to express their ingenuity and play their rightful role in the overall development of their societies and continent at large.
  3. Existence and implementation of institutional frameworks and mechanisms that support effective governance systems are either lacking and/or not fully enforced in many countries. These countries also demonstrate very little corresponding political will to introduce and implement such systems.
  • Development at the national level has not been inclusive and has not reached the farthest behind in the spirit of the leave no one behind principle.
  • Leadership has a fundamental role in determining the development trajectory of States. The challenges in quality leadership can be directly attributed to slow development.
  1. Corruption and illicit financial flows hurt everyone as necessary resources that are meant for the general good of huge populations are diverted for personal gain. The overall attainment of both the Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) face existential and attainment threats due to pervasive corruption.
  2. The evolving global context of migration greatly impacts on socio-cultural dynamics. The EU Neighbourhood Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) and the upcoming UN Global Compact on Migration presents a great opportunity to reengage on these issues.
  3. The proposed European Investment Plan has the potential to contribute to Africa’s development. However, the involvement of the local private sector is so far limited.
  • The 20-year Cotonou Partnership Agreement comes to end in February 2020. The upcoming Post-Cotonou agreement negotiations provides a unique opportunity to re-define the AU-EU partnership.
  1. Recommendations

In the spirit of dialogue and partnership of the PFD, the following recommendations were thus put forward:

  1. Future AU-EU partnerships, including the bi-annual Summits of Head of States and Governments should embrace a multi-stakeholder approach that ensures the voice, contributions and priorities of all stakeholders are incorporated in all mechanisms. AU and EU should take steps to ensure that they are aligned in their future visions regarding the direction of the partnership, and the impact they will make.
  2. The AU and EU should deliberately initiate and sustain mutually beneficial development models which will directly translate into clear improvements in the political and socio-economic wellbeing of the respective populations. These models should include development frameworks that adhere to the SMART principle that demonstrate clear-cut linkages between the initiatives and their impact.
  • Multi-stakeholder and multi-level engagement that seek to promote wider ownership and deepen local stakeholder reach across all spheres of society should be initiated. Therefore, a PFD approach should also be implemented at the national level to ensure important voices and concerns that represent the critical mass of societies are adequately captured and taken on board.
  1. Given the persistent challenges of climate change, the partnership must adopt a sustainable approach to strengthen adaptation and mitigation interventions at all levels. The partnership should also support the implementation of the nationally determined contributions as prescribed by and agreed under the Paris Agreement.
  2. The AU-EU partnership should strive to deliberately target inclusion and justice at all levels as a priority agenda.
  3. The AU-EU partnership should give higher attention to making adequate investments in the continent’s youthful population, training them in requisite skills and competencies, providing opportunities and the enabling space which is essential to transform the continent to a digital age and a knowledge economy.
  • The AU-EU partnership should promote enabling environments that foster the contribution of all stakeholders to build effective institutional frameworks that are required for effective governance and development across the continent.
  • Strengthening local structures and fostering inclusive development initiatives should be at the heart of national efforts at implementing both the Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  1. The AU-EU partnership should promote the building of resilient institutions and capable leadership that is able to deliver on development outcomes.
  2. Anti-corruption efforts must go beyond lip-service. The AU-EU partnership should advance efforts to use existing mechanisms to curb corruption and illicit financial flows, and where necessary, push for the creation of new mechanisms.
  3. The AU-EU partnership should push towards a deeper understanding of migration issues and advance a common descriptive narrative that abolishes the innate contestation between the opposing views of migration being exclusively a security issue or it being a multi-dimensional human rights issue.
  • The implementation of the EIP should enhance an enabling business environment following a structured dialogue between all parties involved, including local private sector to ensure mutual benefits as well as inclusive economic development.
  • Negotiations for the Post-Cotonou Agreement should be undertaken in a timely manner and should take into adequate cognisance lessons learned from implementing the initial 20year Agreement, as well as changing dynamics and realities of the signing parties. African countries must anchor their negotiations within their commonly adopted visions and goals, especially Agenda 2063, Agenda 2030 and the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and marshal the best strategy to realise these.
  1. Conclusion

The Africa PFD was a rallying point for advancing the development and governance dialogue amongst critical stakeholders. The Forum, like other previous editions saw the active participation of Regional Institutions, Trade Unions, Foundations, Diaspora, Civil Society Organizations, Organized Private Sector amongst other actors.

The Forum afforded the relevant partners a platform to reinforce commitments that promote mutually agreeable and beneficial African Union (AU) – Europe Union (EU) relations. In this regard, the Forum noted that identified gaps that exist within the current working frameworks as constituted, remain subject to further engagement with the relevant stakeholders as the debate remains an ongoing one for enhancing future relations and promoting safer, just and equitable societies for all.

PDF 

Practical information for your participation at the Africities 8 Summit (20-24 November 2018, Marrakech)

/in , , , , /by

In order to optimize the participation and the process of payment of registration fees for the Africities 8 Summit (20-24 November 2018, Marrakech), please note below the practical information for your participation or the participation of your delegation , we strongly recommend you to:

  1. Pre-register each member of your delegation by filling in the required fields on:https://www.africities.org/registration/ . Please copy the link to your browser and proceed to register the members of your delegation one by one. An automatic pre-registration message will be sent to you.
  2. Send to UCLG Africa (africities@uclga.org) the list of all delegation to calculate and edit a corresponding invoice that will be sent to you;
  3. Make the payment by bank transfer to the UCLG Africa account according to the details of the bank account attached and send us the payment document (transfer order / Debit Notice);
  4. Complete the registration confirmation process upon receipt of a second message to get the Bar-Code giving each participant access to the Africities Summit8
  • As far as hotels in Marrakech are concerned, we strongly recommend that you send your requests for hotel reservations in Marrakech to the Shems Travel Agency Booking Center, Mrs Salwa ENNAJRAOUI: s.ennajraoui@shemstravel.com

Please find below the first list of 4 * and 5 * hotels with negotiated rates pending a complementary list with all other categories to be communicated later on :

Hôtel Catégorie Prix Single en BB Prix Double en BB
Mogador Menara 5* 85 110
Essaadi HOTEL 5* 125 140
RIAD ENNAKHIL 5* 760 100
Atlas Asni 4* 95 120
Hôtel Labranda 4* 95 120
Meriem 4* 51 64
NASSIM 4* 56 70
Mogador Guéliz 4* 50 65
WAZO 4* 62 73
ZALAGH 4* 72 89
RAWABI 4* 67 75
PALMERAIE GOLF PALACE 5* 132 150

 

We strongly advise you to regularly check in the website: www.africities.org  for potential and frequent updates.

For any further information please contact : africities@uclga.org