NEWS

         

METROPOLIS represented the major cities and regions of the world on the World Council and the Executive Board of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) held in Haikou, China, from 23^rd to 26^th of November 2014.

Following the decisions approved by the World Council, the UCLG Secretary General Josep Roig will continue his duties until 2017 and has designed a new plan of action for the next three years. The signing of a strategic partnership with the European Union will strengthen the position of the UCLG as the representative of local authorities. It will also develop, jointly with its sections, the exchange of experiences and decentralised cooperation, especially in the field of training, thanks to the Metropolis International Training Institute (MITI) that will extend its activity with the creation of a sixth regional training centre in New Delhi.
As part of a strategy to strengthen the voice of local authorities in the preparation of the General Assembly of the United Nations on habitat and sustainable urban development, Habitat III 2016, the Secretary-General Alain Le Saux has called the mayors of large cities in this forum to take part in the project “Voice of the Mayors” started by METROPOLIS a few months ago, which compiles unique testimonials of mayors of cities with over one million inhabitants and representatives of metropolitan areas. Twenty mayors have already contributed to the project, honouring us with their testimonials about urban projects which are particularly important to them. All major metropolises are invited to join this ambitious project, and make the voice of cities and regions heard in the international community.

METROPOLIS joins the Task Force initiated by Cités Unies France (CUF) on disaster management and, as such, will participate in the meeting in Geneva in December.
Co-President of Metropolis and Mayor of Canton, Chen Jianhua, along with other representatives of member cities (Barcelona, Île-de-France, Istanbul, Montreal, Chengdu, Mashhad, Tehran, Victoria, Durban and Nouakchott) were also present.

The General Secretary of METROPOLIS, along with the other sections, has committed to participate in a strategic retreat organised by the UCLG in February in Barcelona in order to implement the new action plan of the UCLG and prepare the Urban Agenda of 2016. METROPOLIS and the UCLG community will both sit together at the next Executive Board in July 2015 in Porto Alegre during the COP21 and the UCLG World Council, held in Paris in December 2015.

Haikou, Capital of Hainan Province, with a population of 2.171.100 inhabitants, is one of the most active Chinese members of METROPOLIS. As an economic, cultural, educational and scientific hub, Haikou is also distinguished by its favourable ecological and geological environment, making it a national benchmark for tourism. It is also one of the Chinese centres of emerging industries such as renewable energy and biotechnology. HAIKOU is an active member of METROPOLIS, UCLG and Asian Mayors Forum.