The Executive Bureau in Kazan was organized from 25th until 27th May 2016 gathering important figures from the urban world, 200 representatives present from 90 cities, local and regional authorities from all around the world. The meetings in Kazan were the last time that the UCLG Governing Bodies came together before they meet at the World Summit in Bogota which will take place from 12 to 15 October 2016.
The opening session of the Executive Bureau meeting took place with the participation of representatives from cities in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Ilsur Metshin, Mayor of Kazan, the President of the UCLG Eurasia and Co-President of UCLG, opened the Executive Bureau meetings together with; Rustam Minnikhanov; the President of Tatarstan, Farid Mukhametshin; President of the State Council, Jacqueline Moustache-Belle; the Mayor of Victoria, Seychelles and Co-President of UCLG and Josep Roig UCLG Secretary General.
During the openning speech Ilsur Metshin; the Mayor of Kazan, stressed the importance of continuous dialogue with urban communities stating that “Our main objective is to create a pleasant urban environment, by providing a decent life and working conditions for citizens. It fills me with pride that leaders of cities and regions are increasingly willing to share their experiences and knowledge with other colleagues”, and thanked the first President of UCLG, the former Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, and the current President of UCLG, the Mayor of Istanbul, Kadir Topbaş, for their contributions to the organization.
Kadir Topbaş; the current President of UCLG, the Mayor of Istanbul, joined the meetings on 27 May, celebrated that UCLG gathers in all corners of the world, and thanked the Mayor and his staff as well as the citizens of Kazan for their hospitality.
“As UCLG consolidates its place on the international stage and as our movement becomes stronger, the commitment of local political leaders from across the world will become increasingly important in order to contribute to the well-being of the citizens that we serve.”
The governing bodies will be renewed for a three-year mandate at the 5th UCLG Congress in Bogota: Kazan and Johannesburg are candidates for the UCLG Presidency
Parks Tau, the Mayor of Johannesburg and Co-President of Metropolis, who had already submitted his candidature for the Presidency, shared his interest in helping the organization to take on a leading role in implementing the development agenda and New Urban Agenda with the Executive Bureau.
Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan and Co-President of UCLG, also expressed his commitment to the organization and his intention to submit his candidature for the Presidency. In this respect, he declared that the priority for his mandate would be creating a web portal as a place for exchanging best practices.
The elections will take place at the World Council held on 15 October in Bogota. Candidatures for the UCLG Presidency, Co-Presidency and Treasury can be submitted until the end of June 2016.
The second UCLG Culture Summit in 2017
After the success of the first UCLG Culture Summit in Bilbao in March 2015, and in view of the growing importance of culture within the framework of sustainable cities, the Executive Bureau decided, following the recommendation of the Committee on Statutory Affairs, that Jeju will be the host city for the second UCLG Culture Summit in 2017.
Culture Award
Eduardo Vázquez, Secretary for Culture of Mexico City, announced the winners of the second edition of the “International Award UCLG – MEXICO CITY – Culture 21”. The “City, local or regional government” category were: Timbuktu and Vaudreuil-Dorion and the “İndividual category” were: Jon Hawkes and Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui.
(more information on the Jury’s decision can be found: https://www.uclg.org/en/media/news/communique-winners-international-award-uclg-mexico-city-culture-21-0 )