A new call to action to make decentralized cooperation fully recognised, efficient and impactful
It is now a few weeks ago that UCLG adopted its new policy paper on development cooperation, at the UCLG World Congress in Daejeon, Korea. The paper came about through a 2-year participatory process, led by the CIB working group leadership and secretariat, with the support of senior expert Sebastien Hamel. Many CIB members contributed to the paper, which will be a core document of UCLG in the field of development cooperation in the years to come. We would like to sincerely thank you for your contributions! Read more on the presentation of the paper in Korea below! (policy paper & its executive summaries are attached in three languages!)
Decentralized cooperation as a means to tackle development challenges and achieve the SDGs
The new paper was presented by councillor Bheke Stofile, president of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and a champion for development cooperation. Mr. Bheke Stofile mentioned the following to members of the UCLG World Council:
"We believe that decentralized cooperation is an important way to achieve the SDGs by the year 2030. This new Policy Paper proposes to be UCLG’s new call to action to make decentralized cooperation fully recognized, efficient, and impactful, responding to the most pressing development concerns faced by local and regional communities. Together, we will continue to be global leaders in development cooperation to help achieve the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda" - Councillor Bheke Stofile
5 key objectives for decentralized cooperation
Concretely, the paper puts forward the following 5 key objectives:
1. Push for more institutional recognition, with real resources, for LRGs to address global challenges.
2. Make decentralized cooperation a fully recognized and resourced development cooperation approach.
3. Make decentralized cooperation more effective, professional, innovative, and sustainable.
4. Further engage decentralized cooperation in the financing sphere.
5. Foster stronger public and political support for decentralized cooperation.
The paper than translates these 5 large objectives into 30 concrete actions, which will be discussed and materialised with UCLG members, national governments and the broader donor community, in 2023 and beyond. This will take place within the framework of an implementation plan, which will be reviewed against its objectives and action areas on an annual basis, to guarantee concrete results.
