Mayor of Kyzyl Dina Oyun took part in the World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders in Bogota

The World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders culminated on Saturday 15th of October in Bogota with the announcement of the new Presidency of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and the adoption of the "Bogotá Commitment and Action Agenda” as the main political output of the Congress. During four days, more than 4000 participants from more than 100 countries gathered under the theme "Local Voices for a Better World”. 

At the Opening of The World Council Kadir Topbasexpressed his gratitude to Enrique Peñalosa, Mayor of Bogota, Colombian authorities for their hospitality and the Latin American Section of UCLG. He also stressed the diversity of exchanges that took place during these four days that reinforces the richness and diversity of the great network of UCLG.

The candidates to the Presidency were Ilsur Metshin, Mayor of Kazan (Russian Federation) and Mpho Parks Tau, President of the South African Association of Local Governments and Councilor of Johannesburg (South Africa).

 Mpho Parks Tau, President of the South African Association of Local Governments and Councilor of Johannesburg (South Africa) was elected President of the Organisation.

My main priority in my role as President of UCLG will be to foster new partnerships that will provide new solutions to local communities from across the world and implement the sustainable development goals. This new Agenda is a new agenda for all regions of the world that will contribute to its development and learning. The diversity of the new Presidency will ensure it.

Mpho Parks Tau

Tahir Akyürek,  Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality of Konya (Turkey), Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona (Spain), Wen Guohui, Mayor of Guangzhou (China), Roland Ries, Mayor of Strasbourg, (France) President of Cités Unies France,  Mauricio Rodas,  Mayor of Quito (Ecuador) and Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, elected President of the Standing Committee of Gender Equality, were elected Co-Presidents of UCLG. 

Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor of Kitchener (Canada), President Emeritus of Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), was elected Treasurer of UCLG and Mohamed Sadiki, Mayor of Rabat (Morocco), was appointed Deputy Treasurer.

UCLG enters a period that should reap the benefits of the work developed during the past years in international policy making processes. We will move from negotiations of the agenda to its implementation and monitoring. We are convinced that a new leadership from all parts of the world will guide the organization in this purpose. The Bogota Congress has been a testimony of our diversity, reach and potential. It has also demonstrated a vibrant and alive network whose members care about and are deeply committed to. The election of the new Presidency has been an exciting exercise of democracy that will only make us stronger.

Josep Roig, Secretary General of UCLG

Bogotá Commitment and Action Agenda

The World Council, UCLG’s principle policy-making body, approved the "Bogotá Commitment and Action Agenda” as the main political output of the Congress.
 
The Bogotá Commitment and Action Agenda is the result of an extensive in-depth consultation process with UCLG’s members across the world, including elected leaders and local government professionals representing metropolitan governments, peripheral and intermediary cities, small towns and regional administrations. These consultations included the debates held as part  of global processes such as the 2030 Agenda and Habitat III, as well as those carried out by UCLG as part of the research for the fourth report of UCLG’s Global Observatory on Local Democracy and Decentralization (GOLD IV), "Co-creating the Urban Future”. 

The Bogotá Commitment argues that current global challenges represent an unprecedented opportunity to drive sustainable development, and that "local and regional governments will need to be at the centre of the public policy process, translating normative ideals into concrete policies and practical investments that will remake human settlements as the primary driver of a new, sustainable era.” It also posits that "the answers generated within urban settlements and territories will pave the way for global solutions”.
 
The Bogotá Commitment is followed by the Bogotá Action Agenda, a series of local, national and global actions that will be necessary in order to achieve the major global sustainable development agendas, including the 2030 Agenda, The Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the New Urban Agenda adopted at Habitat III.

The Bogotá Commitment and Action Agenda is UCLG’s contribution to the global debate on sustainable development, and complements the statement of the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments to Habitat III, adopted on 14 October, also in the framework of the UCLG Congress.