Rabat 2013: The First World Summit Of Local And Regional Leaders To Be Held In Africa
The 4th World Congress of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) will take place in Rabat, Morocco, from 1st to 4th of October 2013 under the theme: "Imagine Society, Build Democracy".
Delegations from over 100 countries around the world are expected at the Summit, which will bring together leaders of local and regional governments, international organizations, public and private sectors, financial institutions and civil society.
This event coincides with the one hundredth anniversary of the international municipal movement. It will be a unique opportunity for sharing and exchange between Africa and the rest of the world.
The World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders will be a special event: the first UCLG Summit to be held in Africa, with Rabat as the host city. It will be an opportunity to highlight the potential of this continent, to learn first-hand of the major democratic and local governance reforms that have been carried out in Morocco in recent years and to pay tribute to this international city with important cultural heritage and legacy.
As it celebrates the hundredth anniversary of the international municipal movement, this edition will also be a tribute to African integration
MAIN TOPICS
The 2013 World Summit will be structured around two main concepts:
1. The contribution of local and regional authorities to the wellbeing of communities and the role in the Post 2015 development agenda;
2. The identification of the new challenges and models needed to answer the demand of an increasingly urban population as we work towards Habitat III in 2016.
Other specific topics:
Fostering wellbeing; Managing diversity:
Supporting new governance and the change in the Mediterranean;
Promoting solidarity among territories;
Shaping the urban future;
ATTENDANCE:
Important international figures are expected to take part in debates at the Summit, among whom: Heads of States, UN Representatives, Mayors of the cities of Barcelona, Bogota, Cairo, Johannesburg, Mexico, Paris and Rio de Janeiro, Regional Governments such as Catalonia, the State of Sao Paulo and Lagos together with Nobel Prize winners Tawwakul Karman, Wole Soyinka and Roger Myerson
NETWORKING: Over 3,000 participants from more than 100 countries are expected at the Summit: local and regional leaders, representatives from international organizations and financial institutions, and partners from civil society organization as well as the public and private sectors.
The exhibition space "Rabat Expo" will be a unique occasion to exchange with fellow participants on experiences and innovative projects.
THE FUTURE WE WANT: The Summit will facilitate an extended and on-going dialogue between local and regional authorities and their key partners - international organisations, development agencies, experts, actors, and civil society organizations - in order to analyse and evaluate the extent to which the development goals have been met, and to define new priorities.