THE UCLG PRESIDIUM PAYS SPECIAL ATTENTION TO INEQUALITY IN THE RECOVERY PROCESS
The first meeting of the UCLG Presidium in 2021 was held as part of the Annual Retreat: "A Global Community that cares". At the meeting, reports of political discussions were heard and priorities for future work were confirmed.
UCLG President Mohammed Budra opened the meeting by honoring the memory of former UCLG President (2010-2016), Mayor of Istanbul Kadir Topbash, and noted his dedication to the organization and work to strengthen global positions
During the discussion, the participants discussed the possibility of adopting new social contracts, and also noticed the huge impact of the pandemic on various spheres of society, such as public health, an increase in the rate of poverty, problems with the supply of food products. The participants noted the need for partnership and involvement of the governments in the process of restoring society from the consequences of the pandemic. Attention was also paid to the growing inequality, in particular, with regard to vaccination of the most vulnerable groups of the population.
Participants noted the progress made in strengthening partnerships with all stakeholders, and especially with the United Nations, represented by Maimuna Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat. She, in turn, believes that
"national recovery depends on how much cities and communities will be able to rise again after the consequences of the pandemic. To do this, it is necessary to create multi-level coordination mechanisms and incentive packages".
Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona and UCLG Ambassador to the UN, noted:
"The pandemic has shown us that our destinies are interconnected, that we cannot overcome these huge problems individually, that we will be able to overcome the pandemic only when the vaccination process begins".
UCLG Secretary General Emilia Saiz stressed the importance of the interaction that was achieved during the Retreat. She also thanked the Secretaries-General of the regional offices for organizing sessions on regional priorities and noted the importance of cohesion for strengthening the organization.
The meeting ended with a reminder of the importance of the topic of gender equality: The Commission on the Status of Women will be held in March, and the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development will be held in July, with the participation of local and regional authorities. The Cultural Summit and the UN summits this year also occupy an important place in the discussion.
The discussion was also attended by the co-Presidents of the UCLG, namely, Mayor of Konya Ugur Ibrahim Altay, Mayor of San Jose Johnny Araya Monge, Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of South Africa, Mayor Polokwane Tembisile Nkadimeng, as well as the UCLG Ambassador for the New Urban Development Program, Mayor of Soria Carlos Martinez, Treasurer of the UCLG, Mayor of Kitchener Berry Vrbanovic, Vice-Presidents of the UCLG, etc.
12.03.2021
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