Background
United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Intermediary Cities Working Group was created in April 2014, in partnership with UNESCO Chair of Intermediary Cities and Global Urbanization. The working group, which was chaired by Chefchaouen Municipality (Morocco) since it was founded, has been re-named as “Intermediary Cities Forum” during the UCLG Congress in Bogota, Colombia on 12-15 October, 2016. UCLG Intermediary Cities Declaration was adopted on the occasion of the UCLG Congress and the HABITAT III Conference that was held back to back with the Congress. Through this Declaration, intermediary cities which gathered under the UCLG umbrella committed to fulfilling their responsibilities for a more sustainable world and made their voices heard by all the stakeholders of the international development agenda.
Why Intermediary Cities Matter
According to the 4th Report of the Global Observatory for Local Democracy and Decentralization (GOLD IV), 30% of the global urban population live in cities, and by 2030, the ratio is expected to reach 50%. Intermediary cities have gradually assumed a stronger position in the global agenda, thanks to their urban development potential and their ideal human scale, and they are recognized as a natural partner in implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The current urbanization trend in the world makes it a necessity for intermediary cities to design their own agendas. In this framework, it was decided that a series of preparatory regional fora will be organized in 2017, before the Intermediary Cities World Forum in 2018.
Intermediary Cities MEWA Regional Forum
UCLG-MEWA will organize the Intermediary Cities Middle East and West Asia (MEWA) Regional Forum in Nevşehir, on 21-22 September, 2017, under the auspices of Nevşehir Municipality. The MEWA Region Intermediary Cities Declaration will also be signed during the Intermediary Cities MEWA Regional Forum, which will guide intermediary cities in the region in designing their own agendas, in line with the global urban agenda.
Detailed information on the agenda and the official invitation letters will be sent to our members in the upcoming period. You may contact us through icities@uclg-mewa.org for further information.
UCLG-MEWA General Secretariat