Circular
40/2023
Barcelona, 13 November 2023
To the members of the World Council
To the Secretaries General
To the Vice-Presidents of United Cities and Local Governments
To the Chairs of UCLG Committees, Working Groups, Communities of Practice and Fora
For information: To the Presidency
Key decisions of the 2023 World Council
Dear members,
Under the theme “Envisioning the Future”, the World Council met in Konya on 26-28 October in a hybrid format.
The meetings of the World Council gathered around 400 participants, among whose more than 300 attended in person. The gatherings saw the celebration of five policy debates, aligned with the proposal for the renewed Policy Councils, as well as four statutory meetings, one meeting convened by the UCLG Working Group on Territorial Prevention and Management of Crises, and two Caucuses convened by UCLG Sections.
We are pleased to share with you the general report of the World Council, which includes the following items:
- Item 1: Overview of policy debates
- Item 2: Key decisions report of the meetings of the UCLG 2023 World Council
- Item 3: Composition of UCLG Policy Councils, approved by the World Council
- Item 4: Composition of UCLG Standing Committee on Gender Equality, approved by the World Council
- Item 5: Membership requests, approved by the Executive Bureau
- Item 6: Calendar of key events
The full minutes of the statutory meetings will be shared before the next meetings of the corresponding bodies.
Highlights of the week
Held in a complex international context, which was addressed during the discussions of the statutory bodies, the World Council concluded with the official handover of the Presidency from the Mayor of Montevideo, President throughout 2023, to the Mayor of Konya, now President of the Organization throughout 2024.
The World Council meetings also saw the adoption of the work plan and budget for 2024, and the approval of the renewed Policy Councils and Standing Committee on Gender Equality.
The World Council saw the celebration of five policy debates, under the mantle of the renewed Policy Councils. The debates took stock of the work developed by the previous Policy Councils, presenting the legacy and linking the renewed work proposed with the Pact for the Future – Daejeon Political Declaration. The debates also included spaces for dialogue, building on the Future Envisioning Exercises, in order to lay out the renewed priorities.
You can read the coverage of the World Council meetings on the UCLG Website, have a look at the photo albums of the three days of meetings and check the UCLGMeets platform again to read interesting content.
We thank all members and partners for their active participation and insightful contributions. We hope you share with us the positive perception of the outcomes of the meetings.
As always, the World Secretariat team remains at your disposal for any further information you might need. Please do not hesitate to contact us at: UCLGExBu@uclg.org.
Sincerely,
The UCLG World Secretariat