Ilsur Metshin,
mayor of Kazan, was elected as Chairperson of the United Nations Advisory
Committee of Local Authorities (UNACLA). This decision was made at the VI UCLG
World Congress, which was held on November 11-15 in Durban, South Africa.
For the first time such a high position is held by a
representative of the Russian Federation. Among the candidates were the mayor of
Lisbon Fernando Medina, mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau and Mohamed Boudra, Chairman
of the Moroccan Association of Presidents of Municipal Councils.
“In a global
world, cities face similar challenges, no matter where they are located. We
need to improve cooperation between municipalities, increase their role in
solving global challenges, share best practices in order to make life more
comfortable for our citizens,” Ilsur Metshin said.
A Chairperson of the UN Advisory Committee of local
authorities is elected for 3 years. The Committee consists of 20
representatives of the UN-Habitat (the UN Human Settlements Programme) and UCLG.
The UN Advisory Committee of local authorities
represents the interests of 323 thousand municipalities, metropolises and
regions around the world.