Why attend?
Why attend?
What is the Local and Regional World Leaders Conference?
The World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders, organized by United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), is the largest, most influential local and regional world leaders conference and global gathering of mayors, councillors, local governments, and our partners. The Summit will see the celebration of the 5th World Congress of UCLG.
The 2016 edition of this triennial Summit, “Local Voices for a Better World”, will be held on 12-15 October in Bogotá, Colombia, back-to-back with the Habitat III Conference.
Held every three years, the World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders has acquired, during the course of previous editions, a strong and important role within the international community. This high‑calibre event remains referential and one of the most anticipated meetings for local and regional leaders and decision makers.
Who will participate?
The event will bring together over 3,000 representatives of towns, cities, metropolises and regions, civil society, the business world and academia, to meet and interact with their international counterparts on a diverse range of topics.
The Summit is also the occasion where all members of UCLG are able to exercise their rights, influence the global development agenda and guide the UCLG work plan for the next three years.
The plenaries and policy dialogues at the Summit will be based on the cornerstones of the Global Agenda of Local and Regional Governments for the 21st Century. These sessions will see mayors, governors, high-level representatives of national governments, intergovernmental organizations, civil society, academia, development agencies, finance institutions and the private sector come together to discuss the Agenda and present it to the world.
A place for public debates, the Summit will include several types of events, as well as plenaries, policy fora and networking activities open to the over 3,000 locally elected leaders and practitioners in attendance who will debate the most pressing issues in the field of local governance and urban sustainability.
Bogotá and UCLG’s global network will offer a dynamic, innovative and environmentally friendly meeting which will back sustainable transport by using cleaner fuels and low-carbon technologies and the creation of decent employment opportunities through entrepreneurial projects linking small business owners who are committed to the future of the city. Bogotá will also provide spaces for citizens and visitors to enjoy a rehabilitated, transformed, beautiful and globally recognized city.
The 2016 edition: from Bogotá to Quito
The General Assembly is UCLG’s highest decision-making body. A truly unique parliament, it gathers local and regional governments and their associations - of all sizes - who take joint decisions on the future development agenda.
The second session of the Second World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments will also take place in Bogota. The first session will be held in New York from 16-17 May and the third session in Quito, Ecuador, from 17 to 20 October. It is will be essential for local and regional governments to participate in these sessions in order to build the position of local voices towards the new global urban agenda.
The Second World Assembly is the mechanism through which the local and regional government constituency will make its joint inputs to the Habitat III process. The Second World Assembly is an initiative of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments (GTF), facilitated by UCLG. It is the inheritor of the First World Assembly of Cities and Local Authorities, which took place in Istanbul just before Habitat II in 1996.
The Second World Assembly has been officially recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in recognition of the role local authorities and communities play in sustainable urban development and in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.
What are the goals of this Summit?
The 2016 World Summit will produce four major outputs:
The Global Agenda of Local and Regional Governments for the 21st Century: The Global Agenda of Local and Regional Governments for the 21st Century will reflect the vision and legacy of local and regional authorities on the main challenges of the global development agendas (SDGs, Habitat III) and voice priorities that are not currently included in the global negotiations.
The 4th Global Report on Local Democracy and Decentralization (GOLD IV): The Global Agenda will be accompanied by the 4th Global Report on Local Democracy and Decentralization (GOLD IV). This report will provide analysis, examples of local government innovation, and case studies from across the world to support the recommendations of the Global Agenda.
The Bogota Statements:The Bogota Statements, concise and politically-driven, will reflect the major challenges that local and regional governments have identified over the course of the Summit, as well as its major outcomes.
The Key Recommendations of Local and Regional Governments to Habitat III: The Key Recommendations, based on the outcomes of the Second World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments, are the main proposals that the constituency will take from Bogotá to the Habitat III Conference in Quito.
