Local and Regional leaders agree on a Manifesto for the City of 2030
After three days of intense debates and exchanges during the World Summit of Local and Regional leaders that was held in Mexico from 17th to the 20th November 2010, the members of United Cities and Local Governments and their partners have sent a strong signal to the international community by signing a Manifesto for the City of 2030 that shapes the City that mayors want for tomorrow.
This World Summit for Local and Regional Leaders also saw the renewal of the Presidential team and of the governing bodies of United Cities and Local Governments. Founded in 2004, UCLG enters in a new period, with the election of Kadir Topbas, Mayor of Istanbul, as the new President of the World Organisation. Accompanying the Mayor of Istanbul, as Co-Presidents were elected Antonio Costa of Lisbon, Portugal; Johnny Araya of San Jose de Costa Rica; Wan Qingliang of Guangzhou, China; Muchadeyi Masunda of Harare, Zimbabwe: and Ilsur Metsin of Kazan, Russian Federation. Tel Ellis, Mayor of Bluffton, Indiana, USA, was ratified as Treasurer.
Mayor Topbas expressed the great honour that becoming the UCLG President represented for him and stressed the collegial character of the Presidency team as well as his commitment to work towards the enlargement of UCLG.
At a time where our world becomes more and more urban and where intermediate and small cities will grow tremendously in the next years, the local and regional leaders have recalled that cities, whatever their size is, are all facing similar challenges. In their Manifesto for the City 2030, they established their vision for the urban future, insisting on the necessity to build an « inclusive City », together with its population, whatever their origins, their ages and gender. A City that integrates at all levels of governance to be at the closest of the needs of the citizens, a city that fully cooperates with its regional and rural metropolitan environment. A city that is mobile, respecting the environment and endowed with an efficient public service and using renewable energies as well as non-polluting technologies.
Adding to the Manifesto for the City of 2010, the mayors and representatives of the regions and local governments´ association have agreed on a Final Declaration that sums up 25 recommendations. These include that any reduction in local finances should take account of demographic and other cost pressures, and should be phased to enable proper planning to protect front-line services. Local representatives have also called all governments to complete, strengthen and maintain effective laws and policies for democratic decentralization and local self-government.
As regards climate change, mayors and local representatives have affirmed their support to to the Mexico Pact and called national governments and the international community to work closely with them and to take bolder binding steps to prevent severely damaging climate change.
Finally, the City of Rabat, capital city of Morocco, was selected to host the next World Congress of UCLG in 2013.
The City of 2030- Our Manifesto
Recommendations of the World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders
Mayors of the world call to fund high-tech cities in 2030
In the framework of the Third Congress of Cities and Local Governments participants noted the need to speed-up the global fight against human inequality and the effects of climate change.
Mayors and delegates from 90 nations demanded in Mexico City a global finance to ensure that all countries build 2030, new cities with "sustainable that count on with adequate technologies for boosting the development and reducing the emission of greenhouse gasses."
During the second day of the third Congress of Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), participants noted the need to accelerate a global fight against human inequality and the effects of climate change on cities.
The co-chairman of UCLG, the mayor of Quito, Augusto Barrera, stated, that support and global cooperation in the future will face the challenges of climate change, financial crises and improve coexistence among different peoples and cultures.
"We have to figure out how to run our cities better," said Barrera during the plenary session, which ran under the theme "City of 2030."
Barrera explained that it requires "the use of technology as a key element for the development of cities and to reduce social inequality gaps, and technological development to solve problems such as transport, water supply, environmental change.
The mayor of Mexico City and host of this forum, Marcelo Ebrard, said that the current way in which financial resources are managed at international level "hardly contribute to this paradigm of urban development."
The capital´s governor proposed a special tax which forces countries to contribute resources to compensate for the damage they cause, adding that at least they should "assume the implications of the decisions and things they do."
On the other hand, the mayor of Istanbul, Turkey, Kadir Topbas, agreed that the challenges faced by cities "are becoming larger."
He said one way to tackle the challenges is to "do more participatory citizenship and to invite the regional governments to be more inclusive." Because "if we do not know where we go, we will get nowhere in 2030," he added.
The councilman of Culture of Barcelona, Carles Martí, said that it is in the cities, "where the major problems of today occur" and therefore proposed to create a stronger community based on the promotion of culture as a pillar of development.
In the framework of the Third World Congress of Cities and Local Governments, held from 18 to 20 November will be held in this same city the World Mayors Climate Summit (CCLIMA), it is expected to sign a Climate Covenant Global Cities in which more than 1,000 municipal governments voluntarily commit to reduce emissions to the atmosphere.
At the end of both meetings it will be presented a final document with proposals and commitments to be delivered to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, to be held from November 29 to December 10 in Cancun.
Source: EFE
Mayors bet on technological innovation for boosting the labor market
During the workshop "Working in the City" developed in the framework of the third congress of UCLG, local authorities from different regions of the world, agreed that boosting innovation is a key element to foster the creation of more and better jobs in communities around the world.
In the Interactive Museum of Economics, the mayors discussed the challenges that cities face in the lack of employment opportunities and concluded that it is necessary to produce a change in current paradigm of labor markets to ensure better living conditions.
The workshop "Working in the City" was part of the discussion series "City of 2030" so that the speakers discussed what conditions will have face workers in cities in 20 years, what kind of jobs could be offered and within what economies.
They noted that in this respect we must be "futuristic", because technological innovation is advancing at a rapid pace, "20 years ago never imagined the impact of Internet or multimedia telephones, we must train these areas," they remarked.
Michel Destot, Mayor of the French city of Grenoble, said that currently 50 percent of the world´s population live in cities and trends indicate that by 2050 will increase to 70 percent, this happens, because people migrate to cities looking for health, training and work.
However, he said, providing these opportunities is becoming increasingly difficult; a proof of this is the increase of informal employment that occurs in large cities. In this sense, William Cobbett, director of the Cities Alliance Global partnership, said that the solution to the informal labor market is not in its eradication, but on analyzing "how we can bring the power of the informal to the formal economy."
For its part, Ibone Bengoetxea, Deputy Mayor of Bilbao, said that the basis for achieving the development of cities in the field of employment is to bet on creativity and knowledge management and become a "smart city", this, added means, taking advantage of the diverse talents of its people, "not only give opportunity to people with higher education, but also to promote skills development. We must try to capture all these talents, keep them in groups or companies that help us be the cities we want to be, "he said.
Cassam Uteem, former President of Mauritius, coincided with the position of creating inclusive public policies because, he added, recent studies suggest that countries that include people in the dynamics of their economies achieve greater development than those that does not include them, " the future of our cities and our people will depend on how we treat the weakest sectors of the community, "he said.
Finally, Claudio Arriagada, Mayor of La Granja, Chile, emphasized that the market does not solve everything since national states are the ones that have public policies on employment and labor codes work to protect employees and public policies that allow the generation of public-private investments to protect the wealth of each city.
The speakers concluded that even when the characteristics of each city vary widely, it is a common obligation to design consistent policies that allow conditions in which everyone has an opportunity for improvement, "there are no magic solutions, but we have to analyze what works and what does not in each of our cities and areas, this let us turn our differences in learning, "he concluded.
Source: Comunicación Social D.F.
Starts in Mexico City the III UCLG World Congress
The World Local and Regional Leaders gathered today for the opening of the third World Congress of UCLG in Mexico, from the 17th to the 20th November 2010, at the invitation of the Mayor of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon.
The Mayor of Mexico said he was honored to welcome this World Summit and « that it was inside cities that the fight against climate change and pollution and for clean sources of energy would be won. »
The President of United Cities and Local Governments and Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, stressed the need for « the spirit of Mexico to inspire the three days of Congress, a spirit made of modernity, boldness, social justice and dignity in society and in the city. »
Patricia Espinoza Cantellano, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, insisted on the determination of participants to reach a succesful outcome at the climate negotiations to be held in Cancun 29 november-10 december 2010.
Key international personalities expressed their full support of the world´s cities and local governments during the opening ceremony. Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Peace Nobel Price 2007 and President of the Intergovernmental Panel on the Evolution of Climate Change declared that « change would have to be led by cities » and asked for international funds to be established for these cities on the issue of climate change, and Joan Clos, Executive-Director of UN-Habitat, pointed out two major challenges for the future of cities : « the security and stability of local finances, and the need to conceive urban planification in a different manner. »
Committee meeting in Mexico
From the 17th to the 20th November will be held in Mexico City, the III World Congress of UCLG.
From the Presidency of the Committee, we believe that this event represents a good opportunity for the members to meet and discuss about the future of the Committee, taking into consideration the future renewal of the Committee for the period 2011-2013. The meeting will be held on the 17th November at 12:30. The meeting point will be the Hall of Hilton Reforma Hotel. On behalf of the City of Bilbao, the Presidency of the Committee will be represented by Ms. Ibone Bengoetxea, Deputy Mayor of the City of Bilbao.
The meeting is open to all the participants, however we would appreciate if you could please confirm your participation by sending an email to the Secretariat of the Committee: bilbaonext.promocion@ayto.bilbao.net
The Global City Report places Bilbao as the third most innovative city after London and Chicago
Bilbao has just received another international recognition for its ability to "develop and attract talent." The Global City Report 2010 -a ranking made by a major Italian business group- ranks the city of Bilbao as the third most innovative in the world, behind London and Chicago. The classification is based on the analysis of four areas: technology, environmental care, cultural attractions and architecture. The last two are the strengths of Bilbao, in the opinion of the authors of the study, Bilbao has managed to transform itself at a good rhythm without sacrificing its tradition.
In the year of the Shanghai World Expo and the ´Nobel´ Prize for cities, awarded by the Singapore authorities, the name of Bilbao has also been heard in Milan, where last Tuesday were presented the findings of the report. The Global City Report is signed by two prestigious organizations in Italy: Generali SGR real estate division, a leading banking and insurance company in the country, and the independent research institute Scenari Immobiliari.
A "smart" change
This time the research was focused on innovation, but not exclusively linked to technological advances. If so Bilbao would not have been highlighted, since in this paragraph it is ranked in the last place of a select club of twenty cities. What it is valued is "the rapid and consistent evolution´ of populations, their efforts to build economic and social fabric to attract "new residents, new businesses and, above all, creative talent". The diagnosis has been addressed in a global scope and with very specific indicators that goes from the introduction of the Internet to transport networks and concert agenda.
Bilbao has shown its dynamism in this long-distance race. The merits attributed to it are the same that have made it win other awards. In the cultural field it won the third place, only behind Paris and Berlin, thanks to the brilliance of titanium. "It managed to transform its urban and industrial city image and reborn around the Guggenheim Museum, which has become a symbol of the city and the contemporary architecture," the report reads. It is even more enthusiastic the reference to urban development, although in this section it ranks seventh. "Bilbao is considered in Europe as a model of intelligent conversion," they say. "In less than twenty years it has come from being an industrial port city to a human scale city, with large green areas." In the field of sustainability, it lies in the middle of the table. In this regard, as in urban, Toronto is the winner.
Although Bilbao does not impose in all the categories, Bilbao obtains good grades in the general classification, perhaps because it "has managed to integrate perfectly innovation and tradition." The bronze medal is a good showcase, as this report is used as a working paper by large companies and investors. The study was conducted by two renowned professionals, sociologist Saskia Sassen, Columbia University, author of seminal works on globalization, and Paola Gianasso, Research Institute Scenari Immobiliari.
Source: El Correo Digital
Connecting classes, hospitals virtually
In a bid to improve the connectivity between areas and increase development, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority(MMRDA) commissioner, Ratnakar Gaikwad, has decided to introduce the concept of ´smart cities´ for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). If this plan takes off, soon
there will be virtual classrooms across schools in the MMR, where students will learn from a single teacher sitting at a central point. Primary health care workers, sitting in village hospitals across the MMR, will be able to get real-time instructions from doctors sitting in a central hospital.
For this, the MMRDA will tie-up with the international Information Technology major, Cisco.
Gaikwad, who recently visited Shanghai for an Infrastructure expo, where he learnt about the company said, "The company has created a smart city connected through the Internet two hours away from Seoul in South Korea. Even Trichur, in Karnataka, has a similar project. The MMR has many villages that fall under the tribal area and are often cut-off from the rest of the developed region. Cisco will be primarily offering their services for the development of such villages".
To begin with, a pilot project will be implemented in areas where schools do not have teachers and people have to travel far to get basic healthcare. The initiative, Gaikwad said will be part of CISCO´s corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the expenses for setting up the system will be borne by Pune-based Science and Technology Park.
Source: hindustantimes
Regional Action Plan for Information Society
With the participation of 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean attached to the Regional Action Plan for the Information Society, was held in Montevideo, Uruguay, the Preparatory Meeting for the Third Ministerial Conference, which analyzed the long-term strategy of the region, known as eLAC, which states that the information technology and communications (ICT) are tools for economic development and social inclusion.
The meeting, which took place on 23 and 24 September, was inaugurated by the Secretary of the Presidency of the Republic of Uruguay, Alberto Breccia, and the director of the Division of Productive and Business Development of the Cepal, Mario Cimoli.
During the meeting it was presented the current regional plan on the Information Society (eLAC2010) and it was discussed a new proposal for the following years (eLAC2015). It is expected the decisions taken at this meeting to be approved at the Ministerial Conference to be held in Lima in November.
Mario Cimoli expressed the strong commitment of Cepal to the ECLAC process. "ICT is a catalyst for growth with equality, and promote regional integration," he said.
Cimoli reaffirmed that gender equality and equity in the region are two strong values of the regional commission of the United Nations, along with the improvement of the integration through dialogue and co-government.
He remarked that meetings like this are very helpful for the dialogue between countries and for building consensus that encourage the deepening of understanding and need for policies to promote the information society at regional level.
Alberto Breccia highlighted the value of the meeting and the need to empower Digital Agendas and ICT as tools for development, in order to make progress on social justice.
Source: Periódico La Reública, Uruguay
The Committee will renew its term of office in the World Congress in México
According to the terms of reference for the Functioning of UCGL´s Committees and Working Groups, the Committees must renew their term of office every 3 years. Once this time has passed, since the renewal of our Committee approved during the II World Congress of UCLG held in 2007 in Jeju, South Korea, it is time to renew again the term of office of the Committee for the next period 2011-2013.
From the Presidency of the committee we believe that the balance of the work developed until today has been positive, and that the objective and work of the Committee has still not been concluded. For this reason, we have sent all the documentation required by UCLG´s World Secretariat to present our interest in the renewal. This documentation will be evaluated and analyzed by a Advice Committee designated by UCLG, previous to the celebration of UCLG´s III World Congress to be held from the 11th to the 16th November in Mexico City.
We thank all the members that have sent their support to this renewal.
Convertirán a Río de Janeiro en ciudad digital inteligente
Un proyecto anunciado por las autoridades de Río de Janeiro se propone convertir a esta ciudad de Brasil en la primera urbe "digital inteligente" del país antes de que el municipio sirva como sede del Mundial de fútbol de 2014 y como el palco de los Juegos Olímpicos de 2016.
El proyecto será financiado con el Fondo Municipal de Amparo a las Investigaciones, cuya creación fue anunciada este martes por el secretario municipal de Ciencia y Tecnología, Franklin Dias Coelho.
El funcionario dijo a la prensa que el fondo será administrado por una fundación municipal y servirá para financiar el desarrollo de innovaciones tecnológicas que garanticen la inclusión digital y la calidad de vida de la población.
"El objetivo es estimular líneas de investigación que integren transformaciones urbanísticas de la ciudad con la innovación de proyectos de ciencia y tecnología", dijo el secretario de Ciencia y Tecnología en declaraciones citadas hoy por la estatal Agencia Brasil.
El funcionario aseguró que la meta es seguir los ejemplos de ciudades inteligentes de Europa, que ya trabajan con "sensores que pueden controlar multitudes y desplazamientos a partir de teléfonos celulares y de softwares por satélite".
"Esa tecnología permite controlar el desplazamiento, por ejemplo, de grandes grupos de hinchas de fútbol", refirió.
Dias Coelho también citó ciudades inteligentes que cuentan con sensores que vigilan la contaminación ambiental y la operación de áreas como el saneamiento básico.
Además de convertir a Río de Janeiro en una ciudad inteligente, el proyecto también pretende garantizar la inclusión digital de toda la población de la segunda mayor ciudad de Brasil.
El funcionario reconoció que, pese a los esfuerzos de la gobernación regional para ofrecer acceso gratuito a internet en banda ancha en diferentes barrios pobres y en locales públicos como las playas, la exclusión digital aún afecta al 90 por ciento de la población del estado de Río de Janeiro.
Según el secretario, ese déficit comenzará a ser reducido en unos tres meses, cuando comenzara a ser instalada una red en banda ancha que atenderá a toda la región metropolitana de Río de Janeiro.
"El proyecto Rio Digital es la posibilidad de construcción de una estructura de banda ancha de transmisión de voz, datos e imagen con estándar de calidad europea y a más de 2 megabytes de velocidad", dijo.
El funcionario de la municipalidad de Rio de Janeiro aseguró que el proyecto no sólo atenderá las áreas más desarrolladas de la ciudad sino también las más carentes de infraestructura y servicios públicos.
