I. Metshin: “The Eurasian Branch occupied a worthy place in the UCLG World Organization”

(KZN.RU, October 5, Alena Miroshnichenko). The Eurasian branch of the United Cities and Local Government is reaching a new level. For the first time, representatives of the World Health Organization participated in its congress. The Congress of Local Authorities of Eurasia “Towards the realization of sustainable development goals” with the participation of representatives of 103 cities was held in Cheboksary by Ilsur Metshin, the President of the Eurasian Branch and the Mayor of Kazan. They discussed in what areas the two world structures can cooperate, and how city leaders can influence the international agenda.

Prior to the meeting, the guests visited the exhibition “Cities of Eurasia on the way to the goals of sustainable development”, where projects in the field of education, gender equality, openness, and security are presented. The exhibition also presents the stands of the cities of Tatarstan: Kazan and Bugulma.

Opening the Congress, I. Metshin greeted its participants and emphasized the special role of the venue of the event. In 2004, the capital of Chuvashia was one of the first to support the idea of creating the UCLG.

In recent years, the heads of Russian cities have spoken at global summits along with heads of state and ministers of national governments. Therefore, I. Metshin urged colleagues to use all opportunities to influence world processes for the benefit of cities and their inhabitants. “I want to draw your attention to the fact that the reports and projects presented at our Congress will form the basis of the UCLG report at the UN Political Forum on Sustainable Development. It will be held next year in New York. All this undoubtedly confirms the international recognition of the main role of local authorities in solving the problems of humanity”, he said.

In his welcoming speech, the President of the Eurasian regional department of the UCLG spoke about the merits of a number of cities, including Astana, Novosibirsk, Krasnodar, Perm, Krasnoyarsk, and the host cities of the World Cup that was held this year, including Kazan.

“Over the past few months, Kazan was awarded a special nomination by the International Prize Lee Kuan Yew, won the competition for the right to host the World Conference of the League of Historic Cities in 2020. Recently, it became known that Kazan was among the finalists of the Guangzhou International Prize for Urban Innovation, established jointly by the UCLG, the World Association of Major Capitals (Metropolis), and the city of Guangzhou”, the Mayor of the capital of Tatarstan shared the successes of the city.

The Mayor of Kazan noted that the Association of Cities of the Volga Region, which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary, also contributes to the realization of the UCLG goals.

The main work took place in the framework of the plenary session, where the participants discussed in detail the implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). They are designed to ensure a balanced economic, environmental, and social development in the world. In a global sense, they are aimed at improving the well-being and protection of our entire planet, said I. Metshin, who acted as moderator of the meeting.

Sustainable development in the understanding of the UN is the development of a society that allows meeting the needs of the current generation without prejudice to future generations. In September 2015, at the UN Summit in New York, 193 UN member states formally adopted a new sustainable development program called “Transforming our world: The Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 of the year”. The document contains 17 global goals and 169 relevant objectives. According to experts, two-thirds of the 169 targets will not be achieved by 2030 without the active involvement of local and regional governments. For this, active participation at the local, municipal level is needed to localize the SDGs.

Therefore, the exchange of experience between the participating cities of the organization is especially important. Thus, Evgeny Kadyshev, the head of Cheboksary, spoke about various projects aimed at developing a culture in its various versions. For example, “Children's educational tourism”, in which the “live lessons” are introduced in Cheboksary and children visit various operating enterprises and institutions.

Ekaterina Perfilieva, the chief editor of the Open School of Sustainable Development, spoke about the project “Znai Svoi Tseli” and how to ensure the involvement of the population in the localization of the SDGs. “An extremely important project is an open school of sustainable development openshkola.org. It is a platform for promoting sustainable development through the provision of information to the Russian-speaking population through online education”, commented I. Metshin.

Aik Nikoghosyan, the senior advisor to the European Network of the World Health Organization “Healthy Cities”, also spoke at the plenary meeting. He thanked Ilsur Metshin for the invitation and noted that this is the first WHO participation on this site.

A. Nikogosyan marked that both world movements have common goals. For example, WHO proposes to collaborate on projects to achieve such goals as eliminating hunger, achieving the well-being and health of the population, providing quality education, clean water, reducing inequality, and others.

At the end of the plenary session, Ilsur Metshin noted that WHO's participation and the visit of Mfo Parks Tau, the President of the World Organization “United Cities and Local Governments”, indicate the growth of the organization. “This is an honor for us and also a recognition that we have occupied a worthy place in the UCLG World Organization”, said the Mayor of Kazan.

Ilsur Metshin shared his vision of the value of the organization for its participants. “In such a turbulent world of politics, it is a very good platform for the exchange of practices today. Municipalities, regardless of where they are located, in America, India, China or Russia, are engaged in the same problems: garbage collection, public transport, healthcare, the health of the population. This is what worries all mayors, all heads of municipalities. And the fact that we have the opportunity to gather outside of politics and conduct a dialogue, as we are doing and exchange the best practices is very important for us. Of course, we will work, learn the best and implement it in the name of our residents, for the benefit of the municipalities that we represent today”, he said.

After a short break, the plenary session was continued by the General Assembly of the Eurasian section of the UCLG, where the Mayor of Kazan also took part.

For reference

The World Organization “United Cities and Local governments” is a voluntary international association of unions and individual municipalities, created in 2004 to effectively implement the rights of citizens to local self-government. The UCLG is the most powerful and influential structure in the field of strengthening the interaction of local governments, their representation at the international level and the implementation of democratic principles. Today the UCLG unites more than 10000 cities and associations of the world and represents more than half of the world's population. The UCLG consists of 7 regional offices.