[2018] International Mayors Forum

Miércoles, 16 May 2018 - 10:00pm to Sábado, 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:

Country/city experience:

 

Session 3: Implementing the SDGs at national and subnational levels

Presentations:

Country/city experience:

 

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:

 

Day 2 (May 17, 2018)

Session 5: Partnerships, monitoring frameworks and policy coherence

Presentations:

Country/city experience:

 

Session 6: Low-carbon cities

Presentations:

Country/city experience:

 

Day 3 (May 18, 2018)

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

Presentations:

Country/city experience:

 

Session 8: Making our cities and communities more resilient

Presentations:

Country/city experience:

 

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

Presentations:

Country/city experience:

 

Formal Closing

Moderator: Dr. Jean D’Aragon (Senior Sustainable Development Expert, UNOSD)

Summary

Dr. Henry Chingaipe (Facilitator of the Forum)

Closing Remark

Dr. Jong-Soo Yoon (Head, United Nations of Sustainable Development)

Farewell Remark

Hon. Desmond W. Bikoko (Mayor, Lilongwe City Council, Malawi)

 

Documentation

Information Note

Substantive Report