In the week of the 15th of February, UCLG members, regional sections, working groups and other stakeholders participated in the very dynamic UCLG Retreat 2021. Representatives from all around the world exchanged thoughts and ideas on how our communities are working for people, planet, for government and for the future and how this translates into concrete activities of UCLG in 2021 and beyond. CIB was very present at the retreat, among which through the co-organisation of a couple of sessions, of which you will find quick recaps below.
Break-out session- Rethinking international cooperation by local governments
On Tuesday, February 16, a break-out session organized by CIB shed light on how development cooperation for local governments has evolved over the past century. Central to this session was the preparatory research done by the Institute for Development Studies is currently carrying out, in view of a revised policy statement that UCLG and CIB Working Group are working on this year. The session was aimed at bringing the views of the participants to the table, to help us gather information for the research paper. Relevant themes within the current context were stressed, for example the importance of the topic of resilience and of localising the 2030 agenda. Several participants showed their willingness to contribute to the research and forthcoming policy paper - the CIB secretariat will make sure to follow up on this!
Break-out session: advancing SDG Reporting from the local level towards the HLPF 2021
Following CIB’s previous engagements in the SDG reporting process of UCLG, CIB will be involved more actively in this work in 2021. We have embarked in the next pilot with ‘Voluntary Subnational Reviews’ (VSRs SDG reports by Local Government Associations), together with 8-10 LGAs and the UCLG GOLD team. The session was a first exchange between the participating LGAs. Bjorn Rongevaer (Norwegian KS) and others exchanged on the rationale and importance of this work and the next steps to take to make sure we develop VSRs before the next High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development of the UN. The first upcoming activity is a larger workshop with the LGAs in March 2021. The CIB secretariat will be keeping you posted on developments on this trajectory and possibilities to get involved!
CIB member Ana Maria Vargas (ICLD) participates in UCLG research session
We were delighted to see Ana Maria Vargas (ICLD) as one of the key speakers in the session 'researching with UCLG'. The session was dedicated to participatory approaches to research. Ana Maria highlighted that a couple of years ago, ICLD realised it leaned heavily on academic institutions from the Global North, even though the ICLD programmes were mostly in the Global South. As a result, ICLD organised an international conference with scholars from all around the world in 2019, which created a network for collaboration on an equal basis. Ana Maria also mentioned that in ICLD's ongoing programmes, MoUs have been signed with universities, to be able to partner with them, e.g. through providing internships at ICLD to students.
Learning with UCLG - presenting some of the work of CIB and how we collaborate with UCLG learning team
Last but not least, Jessie Post from the CIB secretariat participated in the session 'Learning with UCLG', on behalf of our practitioner's network, involved in capacity building programmes with and for local governments. The session provided for an opportunity to showcase the work of CIB to a broader network and highlight some of the topics and activities which CIB will focus on in 2021. Jessie particularly mentioned the upcoming collaboration with the UCLG learning team and UCLG GOLD team on SDG modules 3 (SDG reporting) and 4 (SDGs and decentralised cooperation) and how CIB facilitates exchange among LGAs within UCLG.
Learn more about the UCLG retreat here: https://www.uclg.org/en/node/31901