Habitat III

Which good examples exist on the cooperation with national government on preparing input for international agendas? This month we showcase the example from the Netherlands.

Habitat III: inclusion of local governments in national taskforce

On February 9 and 10, Local Government Association members of the Global Taskforce met in Barcelona to discuss and establish their joint action on the way to the Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador.

The World Urban Campaign, of which UCLG is a lead partner, has put out a call for urban solutions as a part of their preparations for Habitat III, which takes place in Quito, Ecuador from 17-20 October. Urban solutions are initiatives, practices and policies that constitute effective responses

The World Urban Campaign describes its aim for cities to be safe, healthy, socially inclusive, well planned, walkable and transit friendly, economically flourishing, and with a single identity.

At the beginning of November three-day meeting of 14 representatives of local government networks of the Global Taskforce (GTF) and its partners took place in Barcelona. The meeting was organized in the framework of the newly adopted 2030 agenda and of the run-up to the Habitat III conference to be held in October 2016.

Implementing and localizing the SDGs

In the run-up to the conference in Quito a series of preparatory thematic meetings has been planned throughout 2015 and 2016. Between the 20^th of October and the 6^th of November in Cuenca (Ecuador) a thematic meeting takes place on the challenges and opportunities of “secondary” or intermediate cities. It focuses on their position in the rapidly urbanising world, and how their struggles differ from those of metropolitan cities.

The Habitat III agenda is very important for mayors and public managers. However, the language of Habitat III can be rather technical. To make sure that these groups better understand the importance of the process, the Brazilian National Front of Mayors (Frente Nacional de Prefeitos – FNP) and the Applied Economic Research Institute (Instituto de Pesquisa Economica Aplicada – IPEA) produced a video animation on Habitat III without technical language.

It can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFcywasNX1k

The Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments of UCLG and the German Association of Cities have recently been appointed co-leads of 2 of the 10 Policy Units set up  by the United Nations in preparation for the Habitat III conference in October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador. The Global Taskforce will co-lead Policy Unit 4 which focuses on “Urban Governance, Capacity and Institutional Development”.