World summit of local and regional leaders: 4th UCLG congress - Imagine society, build democracy
As the United Nations and the international community prepare to take stock of the Millennium Development Goals and to define a new development programme for the next twenty to thirty years, it is also time for local and regional authorities to come together to set forth the Cities and Regions’ Agenda for the 21st Century. The 4th Congress will be a key stage of our reflections on this agenda, structured around the theme of 'Imagine Society, Build Democracy'.
'Imagine Society, Build Democracy', the guiding principle of the congress, involves broad-based and permanent dialogue between local and regional authorities, with the involvement of all partners - international organizations, development agencies, experts and practitioners - as well as civil society organizations, to analyze and assess which development goals have been accomplished and to set new priorities together.
The Summit will be a time of sharing and positive exchange to highlight the innovative policies and programmes that local and regional governments implement on a daily basis to tackle the major challenges they face. As such, the plenary sessions and workshops will be auspicious times for reflection but also for presenting solutions.
The 2013 World Summit will be structured around two main concepts:
- The contribution of local and regional authorities to the wellbeing of communities and their role in the Post 2015 development agenda
- The identification of the new challenges and ways of confronting the demands of an increasingly urban population as we work towards Habitat III Conference in 2016
Other debates:
- Fostering wellbeing, with Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of UNISDR, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
- Strengthening solidarity among territories
- Supporting new local governance and dynamics of change
- Promoting diversity