For the first time, Russia heads the World Organization United Cities and Local Governments

Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, has been elected President of the United Cities and Local Governments. This decision was made at the UCLG Executive Bureau meeting chaired by the Mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau. More than 400 mayors, vice-mayors of cities and heads of regions from Europe, Asia, South and North America, Africa took part in the UCLG World Council in Barcelona.

The election was held due to the early resignation of Mohamed Boudra, who left the post of Mayor of Al Hoceima (Morocco). According to the UCLG charter, only an acting mayor can head the organization.

“The city is the base of all transformations, and our task is to help municipalities move from challenges to the development of clear solutions, and then to the implementation of sustainable development strategies. The UCLG is an organization not for mayors, but for all residents of cities and their well-being”, - Ilsur Metshin said.

In his speech, he proposed to change the current system of interaction between cities and regions under the UCLG, as well as to provide assistance to small towns that faced financial challenges during the pandemic. Together with UN Habitat, the General Assembly of Partners and the UCLG, Ilsur Metshin proposed to establish the SDG Implementation Champions Award for municipalities. “The recognition of the equality of each region, each city, and each branch of our organization should be implemented, but not only declared at high-level meetings”, - the Mayor of Kazan believes.

For reference, the representative of Russia for the first time heads the World Organization United Cities and Local Governments. Representatives of Eurasia have never chaired the UCLG as well. Traditionally, representatives of the European, Middle Eastern and West Asian branches headed the organization.

For information, the United Cities and Local Governments is a global network of cities, local and regional governments and their associations. The key tasks of the organization are the exchange of best practices in urban economy, addressing environmental and climate issues, increasing the investment potential of UCLG cities, strengthening the role of local authorities in global decision-making, joint creation a better future for residents, broad involvement of citizens in solving local issues and creating real tools to eliminate threats that cities face. Since cities located in different countries and at different stages of development face many common challenges - from the traffic to waste management - their cooperation contributes to improving the quality of management.