[2018] International Mayors Forum

الأربعاء, 16 May 2018 - 10:00pm to السبت, 19 May 2018 - 6:00am

Description

Cities and urban settlements are at the core of major global frameworks, starting with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in September 2015, where SDG 11 is specifically aiming at making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, followed by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change adopted in December of the same year. Nearly a year later, the New Urban Agenda adopted in Quito placed even more emphasis on the role of cities in achieving the SDGs well beyond SDG 11. As a matter of fact, there is a growing recognition by experts and leaders that more than two thirds of the 169 SDG targets can only be achieved through the substantial involvement of local actors, particularly those in urban areas, hence the need for localizing the SDGs, where local governments and local stakeholders play an essential role in adapting and implementing those SDG targets in cities and human settlements.

A first international mayors’ forum co-organized with the United Nations Office for Regional Development (UNCRD, Nagoya, Japan) was held in Vientiane, Lao PDR in March 2017, where about 70 mayors, leaders and representatives of local governments from around the world presented experiences of their cities and discussed key questions and issues related to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11, focusing on Making Cities and Human Settlements Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable.

Since then, UNOSD has held a few other events on the role of local governments global challenges such as the SDGs during the 2017 Asia Pacific Cities Summit & Mayors Forum, in Daejeon (in South Korea), last September and more recently, on “Implementing SDG 11 and the New Urban Agenda: Key Issues in the Transformation Towards Sustainable and Resilient Societies” at the Ninth Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF9 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which was preceded by a side event organized by DSD UNDESA entitled “The Role of Cities in the 2018 High-Level Political Forum: Transformation Towards Sustainable and Resilient Societies.”

It is with this background and in a spirit of continuity that UNOSD is organizing an International Mayors Forum in Lilongwe, Malawi, on 16-18 May 2018.

Programme

Concept Note

Agenda

Formal Opening

Session 1: Opening of the Forum

Welcome Remarks

Opening Remarks

Day 1 (May 16, 2018)

Session 2: The 2030 Agenda and the SDGs

Presentations:

"Overview of the SDGs and progress in their implementation at global level (HLPF/VNR 2017)" - Dr. Jean D’Aragon (Senior Sustainable Development Expert, UNOSD)
"Women Feeding Cities AND Make cities & human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient & sustainable" - Mr. Fitsum Abraha (Senior Economic Advisor, United Nations Development Programme in Tanzania)
"Global consensus : Cities as critical actors" - Ms. Louise Scholtz (Programme Manager, Urban Futures, Policy and Futures Unit, WWF in South Africa)

Country/city experience:

"Malawi’s experience in implementing the SDGs" - Mr. Walusungu Kayira (Deputy Director, Planning and Policy, Minister of Local Government, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Malawi)
"Implementing the SDGs in Masvingo, Zimbabwe" - Hon. Hubert Fidze (Mayor of Masvingo; Chairman of Local Government Investment Conference (LOGIC) at Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe, Vice President of teh Finance and Audit Committee, Zimbabwe)

Session 3: Implementing the SDGs at national and subnational levels

Presentations:

"Implementing and Monitoring SDGs in Malawi" - Ms. Alka Bhatia (Economics Advisor, United nations Development Programme in Malawi)
"The United Cities and Local Government of Africa (UCLG-Africa) and its African Local Governments Academy (ALGA) Vision and Action for Localizing SDGs" - Prof. Dr. Samson Kassahun (Academic Vice President, Ethiopian Civil Service University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)
"SDG Methodology and Tools - The Learning Agenda" - Dr. Mpilo Ngubane (Director, Municipal Institute of Learning (MILE), Durban)

Country/city experience:

"The Decentralization in Morocco in the light of the new Organic Laws of Regions with a measure of autonomy" - Ms. Touria Azzaoui (Researcher in Sociology, Ministry of Administration Reform and the Public Service, Morocco)
"Implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Guyana’s City and Towns" - Hon. Ms. Waneka Arrindell (Mayor, Municipality of Linden, Guyana)

Session 4: Sustainable urbanization through sustainable planning and management

Presentations:

"Global Trends in Integrated Sustainable Urban Development for the 2030 Agenda" - Ms. Emily Hosek (Associate Sustainable Development Officer, Division for Sustainable Development Goals, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs)
"Achieving urban relevance: enabling the beneficiaries to participate directly in their city’s planning and development" - Javier Vergara Petrescu (Co-founder and Executive Director, Ciudad Emergente)

Country/city experience:

"Public Participation in Urban Planning – Case of Lilongwe, Malawi" - Hon. Desmond W. Bikoko (Mayor, Lilongwe City Council)
"Incheon Metropolitan City Sustainable Development" - Mr. Sang Bum Lee (Director General, Incheon Metropolitan City Government, Republic of Korea)

Day 2 (May 17, 2018)

Session 5: Partnerships, monitoring frameworks and policy coherence

Presentations:

"Promoting collaborative and open government through the whole-ofgovernment and whole-of- society approach for the SDGs implementation" - Mr. Keping Yao (Governance and Public Administration Expert, UNPOG, Division for Public Administration and Development Management, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs)
"Monitoring Data and Accountability - Mozambique" - Mr. Salvo Feliciano Tchamo (Evaluation and Monitoring Officer, Ministry of land, Environment and Rural Development, Mozambique)

Country/city experience:

"Civil Registration System & its Linkage to National ID in Nepal" - Mr. Bhagawan Aryal (Director, Department of Civil Registration, Nepal)
"Trelawny Local Sustainable Development Plan (TLSDP) 2030 & Beyond" - Hon. Collen Gager (Mayor of Falmouth, Chairman of Trelawny Municipal Corporation, Jamaica)

Session 6: Low-carbon cities

Presentations:

"Sustainable Energy in Cities" - Dr. Vincent Kitio (Chief, Urban Energy Unit, Urban Basic Services Branch, UN-Habitat)
"Affordable and clean urban energy Policies – Constraints and Trade-offs" - Ms. Louise Scholtz (Programme Manager of Urban Futures, Policy and Futures Unit, WWF in South Africa)
"Sustainable transport for sustainable cities" - Ms. Birgitte Bryld (Senior Economic Affairs Officer, Division for Sustainable Development Goals, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs)

Country/city experience:

"Initiatives to reduce environmental impact in Port-Louis, Mauritius" - Hon. Daniel Eric Clive Laurent (Lord Mayor of the Municipal City Council of Port Louis, Mauritius)
"Reducing environmental impact in Ecuador's largest coastal resort city" - Hon. Oswaldo Cisneros Soria (Mayor, City of Salinas, Ecuador)

Day 3 (May 18, 2018)

Session 7: Adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services for sustainable cities

Presentations:

"Women Feeding Cities" - Mr. Fitsum Abraha (Senior Economic Advisor, United Nations Development Programme in Tanzania)
"ALGA Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) on Financing Infrastructures in African Cities" - Dr. Mpilo Ngubane (Director, Municipal Institute of Learning (MILE), Durban)

Country/city experience:

"Housing Issues – Experience of Tbilisi, Georgia" - Mr. Tengiz Jokhadze (Head of Department, Tbilisi City Hall Economic Development Office, Tbilisi, Georgia)
"Improvements to Water Supply System of Clarendon" - Hon. Winston L. Maragh (OD, JP, Mayor of May Pen, Chairman of Clarendon Municipal Corporation, Jamaica)

Session 8: Making our cities and communities more resilient

Presentations:

"Addressing urbanization, poverty and vulnerabilities in developing countries" - Dr. Jean D’Aragon (Senior Sustainable Development Expert, UNOSD)
"Urban Livelihoods, Protection of the Environment and adaptation to climate change in African cities" - Dr. Shuaib Lwasa (Associate Professor, Department of Geography Makerere University Kampala, Uganda)
"Addressing Housing and Urban Resilience: The Toolkits" - Mr. John Chome (Head of Habitat Solutions, Lilongwe, Malawi)

Country/city experience:

"Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) as a tool and public policy to localize SDGs: Case of Seoul" - Ms. Jin-kyung Choi (Team Manager, Global Social Economy Forum)
"Promoting resilient cities, reducing urban poverty and impact of climate change in Nepal" - Mr. Kalanidhi Devkota (Executive Secretary, Municipal Association of Nepal)

Session 9: Implementing the 2030 agenda and the SDGs in SIDs and counties/cities under difficult conditions

Presentations:

"Partnerships to accelerate implementation of the SDGs in Small Island Developing States" - Ms. Emily Hosek (Associate Sustainable Development Officer, Division for Sustainable Development Goals, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs)
"Improve Nutrition & Promote Sustainable Agriculture of Ebon Atoll" - Hon. Ione Debrun (Mayor, Ebon Local Government, Ebon Atoll, Marshall Islands)

Country/city experience: