• Between this meeting and our Executive Bureau in June: Mayor of Soria and Mayor of San José. • Between the Bureau and the High-Level Political Forum in July: Mayor of Konya and Mayor of Kitchener. • Between the Political Forum and Urban 20, in July-August: Mayor of Paris and Mayor of Barcelona. • Between Urban 20 and the UCLG World Congress in October: Mayor of The Hague. The first of the hybrid UCLG World Councils counted on the presence of key partners from UCLG. Pilar Conesa, Curator of the Smart City Expo World Congress, addressed the World Council in the opening session, arguing for the importance of hosting the World Council in the framework of Smart Cities, as the voice of cities needs to be at the centre of discussions around smart cities and territories. The World Council also counted of the presence of important partners such as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, who praised the role of LRGs in combating inequalities and fostering the protection of human rights; commending the joint work with UCLG towards establishing a network of local and regional governments that protect human rights. Assistant Secretary-General for the United Nations Volker Türk, who commended the commitment of our constituency towards the UN Secretary General’s Common Agenda. Navid Hanif, Director of Financing for Sustainable Development Office at UN DESA, provided their support to the advocacy and actions of UCLG. The 2021 World Council has paved the way for our organization’s gatherings in 2022: We have learned to navigate the hybrid dimension, we have renewed our leadership towards, and we are gearing up our collaboration with partners to deliver a Pact for the Future that is aligned with Our Common Agenda. As we head towards our Congress, the World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders in Daejeon, we will be able to deliver an unforgettable experience.
The UCLG Policy Councils galvanizing our political priorities The UCLG Policy Councils gathered virtually twice this year: once at the beginning of 2021, and another in the period leading up to the World Council, building on the momentum gained by the Urban October. The meetings of the UCLG Policy Councils acted not as an opening act for our World Council, but as an essential complement to it, bringing visions from mayors that would galvanize the themes addressed by
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