[2023] 2023 International Mayors Forum

星期二, 25 April 2023 - 9:00am to 星期五, 28 April 2023 - 6:00pm

*PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NEW DATES OF THE FORUM IS 25- 28 APRIL, 2023

Documents

CONCEPT NOTE & AGENDA (updated as of 26 February 2023)

NOTE CONCEPTUELLE & AGENDA (mis à jour le 21 Avril 2023)

AGENDA (updated as of 27 April 2023)

FORUM KEY TAKEAWAYS (updated as of 29 April 2023)

PARTICIPANT LIST (updated as of 9 May 2023)

Background

Established in 2011, the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD) is part of the Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). UNOSD contributes to building, exchanging, and facilitating the use of knowledge in support of sustainable development.

Over the recent years, UNOSD has organized various capacity building activities and events in support of the implementation and monitoring of the SDGs, including preparatory meetings for international conferences and events such as the United Nations high-level political forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) as well as trainings, expert group meetings and fora where national policymakers could learn from and interact with each other, practitioners, experts, scholars, civil society, the private sector and representatives from regional and international organisations, including the United Nations.

More recently, UNOSD has undertaken a series of activities targeting subnational authorities, including mayors and senior city management officials and supporting the implementation of the SDGs at local level. These include the first International Mayors’ Forum co-organized by UNOSD and the United Nations Office for Regional Development (UNCRD, Nagoya, Japan) that was held in Vientiane, Lao PDR in March 2017, where close to 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 Sustainable Development Goal 11 focusing on Making Cities and Human Settlements Inclusive, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable.

In May 2018, a second Mayor International Forum took place in Lilongwe, Malawi, where the central role of cities in making societies sustainable and resilient and of local governments in implementing the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs was reiterated. Beyond discussing the challenges, the Forum also showcased successful experiences of SDG implementation at local level, such as Incheon City, South Korea, a country that has transitioned from recipient to donor of official development assistance (ODA) and from being predominantly rural to highly urbanized (above 90 per cent urbanised today) over a very short period. The Forum also discussed the importance of sustaining and reinforcing efforts to develop mayors and city leaders’ skills, knowledge and capacity to deliver on Goal 11 in making their cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable as well as on the other SDGs at local level.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, subsequent editions of the International Mayors’ Forum were organized virtually in 2020 and in January 2022. The International Mayors’ Forum to be held in Dakar, Senegal is therefore an opportunity for UNOSD to have in person interactions with its traditional international stakeholders while also being accessible to the wider audience through real-time web audio and video conferencing throughout the Forum.

Forum Objectives and Contents

The main objective of the International Mayors’ Forum in Dakar is to provide a platform for policy dialogue and knowledge sharing through presentations and discussions on key aspects related to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and other international frameworks and agreement such as the Paris Agreement at local level.

In line with the 2023 high-level political forum, the International Mayors’ Forum will strive to support local and regional governments and communities to share experiences, lessons learned and good practices, particularly with regard to the implementation of SDGs 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17 and trigger the in-depth transformation needed to accelerate the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the local and regional levels.

Methodology

The Forum, taking place in an hybrid (in-person and virtual) format, will consist of several interrelated modules, each covering concepts and issues of Agenda 2030 and the SDGs, particularly SDGs 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17 at local level, and its interlinkages with other related SDGs and other internationally agreed agendas such as the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework and the New Urban Agenda.

It will consist of formal presentations by international experts, scholars, mayors, and practitioners followed by Q&A and discussions. A half-day field trip to visit projects that reflect the Senegalese experience in implementing the 2030Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs is foreseen.

Target Audience

The Forum will bring together an international audience composed of mayors and other leaders of local governments from developing and developed countries, representatives of regional and international organizations, including the United Nations, international experts and other stakeholders who will discuss successes and challenges, policy options, programmes, practices, initiatives as well as actions undertaken at local level helping in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals with a focus on SDGs 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17, the interlinkages between them and with other SDGs, and their interlinkages and complementarities with other adopted international agreements.

The Forum will particularly promote and encourage participation of representatives from countries in special situation, particularly African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing States and countries in conflict and post-conflict situations, most of which also being part of UNOSD’s priorities.

Dates and Venue

The Forum will take place in Dakar, Senegal from 25 to 28 April 2023.The venue will be announced as soon as it is confirmed.

Language

The Forum will be conducted in English and French. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in these two languages.

Programme and Agenda

Day 1 (25 April 2023)

Opening of the Forum

Welcome Remarks:

Mr. Amson Sibanda, Chief, National Strategies and Capacity Building Branch, DSDG, UN DESA
Mr. Chun Kyoo Park, Head of Office, United Nations Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD)
Mr. Kazushige Endo, Director, United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD)
Ms. Aminata Maiga, UN Resident Coordinator, Senegal - delivered by Mr. Demba Done, UNAIDS Representative
Mr. Mamadou Talla, Minister of Territorial Communities, Planning and Territorial Development, Senegal - delivered by Ms. Fatou Bintou Camara, Director of Local Government

Outline of Mayors' Forum:

Ms. Yujeong Kim, Senior Sustainable Development Officer, UNOSD

Session 2: Implementing the SDGs at the subnational levels

Moderator: Mr. Amson Sibanda, Chief, National Strategies and Capacity Building Branch, Division for Sustainable Development Goals, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)

Speakers:

Local and Regional Implementation of SDGs: An introduction to VLRs
- Mr. Amson Sibanda, Chief, National Strategies and Capacity Building Branch, Division for Sustainable Development Goals, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)
Country/city experience
SDG Monitoring and Evaluation tools to accelerate actions at local level
- Ms. Nana Urakami, Researcher, UNCRD
Local experience of implementing the SDGs: Toyota City
- Mr. Toshihiko Ota, Mayor of Toyota City (online) - video message
- Ms. Masako Izukawa, Researcher, UNCRD (online)
Voluntary Metropolitan Review
- Mr. Raymond Saner, Professor Titular, Organisation and International Management, Basle University

Discussion and Short Summary

Session 3: Goal 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation

Moderator: Ms. Yujeong Kim, Senior Sustainable Development Officer, UNOSD

Speakers:

Mr. Raymond Saner, Professor Titular, Organisation and International Management, Basle University
- Water as a Public Good
Ms. Asa Jonsson, Head of Global Water Operators' Partnership Alliance (GWOPA) Secretariat, UN-Habitat (online)
- Peer Support Partnerships between Water and Sanitation Utilities
Mr. Kalanidhi Devkota, Executive Secretary of the Municipal Association of Nepal (MUAN)
- Implementing Goal 6 in Cities
Country/city experience
- Ms. Kapandula Annie Kalamatila, Executive Mayor of Lufwanyama District, Ministry of Local Government of Zambia
- Mr. Anwar Abu-Zarifa, Mayor of Abasan Al-Kabira, Palestine

Discussion and short summary

Session 4: Goal 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy

Moderator: Mr. Samson Kassahun Belachew, Professor of Urban Planning and the Development at the Ethiopian Civil Service University

Speakers:

Mr. Martin Niemetz, Sustainable Development Expert on Energy, DSDG, UNDESA
- The role of cities in advancing global efforts on SDG7
Ms. Hend Yaqoob, Knowledge and Data Specialist, REN21 - (online)
- Cities Renewable Energy in the Demand Sectors (buildings, industry, transport and agriculture)
Mr. Yong-Chil Seo, Professor, Department of Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University, Republic of Korea – (tbc)
- Experience of waste-to-energy partnering with local communities in South Korea
Country/city experience
- Mr. Samson Kassahun Belachew, Professor of Urban Planning and the Development at the Ethiopian Civil Service University
- Mr. Solomon Gubo, Deputy Governor, Country Government of Marsabit, Kenya

Discussion and short summary

Day 2 (26 April 2023)

Session 5: Goal 9 - Resilient Infrastructure, Inclusive and Sustainable Industrialization, and Innovation

Moderator: Ms. Lichia Saner-Yiu, Professor, Organisation Development & Institutional Learning, President of the Centre for Socio-Eco-Nomic Development – CSEND)

Speakers:

Ms. Lichia Saner-Yiu, Professor, Organisation Development & Institutional Learning, President of the Centre for Socio-Eco-Nomic Development – CSEND)
- Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR): Pathway to Achieve Inclusive and Sustained industrialization in cities of LDCs
Mr. Stelios Grafakos, Principal Economist, Climate Action and Inclusive Development Unit, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)
- Countries/Regions/Cities Experience: Urban Climate Policies and Practices in Europe, Latin America and Korea
Country/city experience
- Ms. Elia Razafindrabe, Mayor of Antananarivo, Madagascar
- Ms. Miliswa Gugulabo Mamba, Mayor of Ezulwini, Eswatini