I.Metshin: “There is no mayor of the city who could do everything. We must learn from each other”

The platform of the World organization United cities and local governments (UCLG) should be used actively for inter-municipal cooperation. “There is no mayor of the city who, regardless of how much he holds position, could do everything. We must learn from each other”, - Ilsur Metshin, President of UCLG-Eurasia, the mayor of Kazan, said at the plenary session on localizing sustainable development at the VI UCLG World Congress in Durban, South Africa.

The participants exchanged opinions on the localizing sustainable development.

Mayor of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, president of Barcelona Provincial Council Nuria Marin Martinez focused on the achievement of the global sustainable development goals by means of the collaborative effect. In her opinion, cities should cooperate with each other and solve issues at the local level, less involving the national government.

Berry Vrbanovic – mayor of Kitchener (Canada), Treasurer of UCLG, on the opposite, is confident in the effectiveness of the dialogue with the national governance center.

The President of UCLG -Eurasia, mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin supported this opinion. “We pay special attention to the implementation of sustainable development goals, and I agree with Mr. Berry Vrbanovic that this work should unite the government, regional authorities and citizens. We enter into dialogue by means of the press services, the media, meetings with the population. Working with citizens, we focus on dialogue with children and youth. Only children can affect our habits. We, the older generation, regardless of the profession, can hardly get rid of them”, - he noted.

In addition, I.Metshin noted that it is necessary to share experience using the UCLG platform. “We must learn from each other. There is no mayor who, no matter how long he holds position, could do everything. Someone succeeded in improving the transport system, someone-in solving the issues of dilapidated housing, others - in the development of small business. And this platform provides for the exchange valuable and effective practices”, - the speaker assured.

For information, the UCLG-Eurasia is involved in the preparation of a voluntary national report of the sustainable development goals for the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in 2020. The President of UCLG-Eurasia I.Metshin takes part in the Government Commission on the preparation of the report, as well as in the work of related groups.