A Congratulatory New Year´s message from the President of UCLG

A Congratulatory New Year´s message from the President of UCLG

Message from Dr. Mohamed Boudra, Mayor of Al Hoceima, President of AMPCC and President of UCLG

Dear members, partners, colleagues and friends,

Let me express my satisfaction in sending you this first message as President of our World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments. (...)

I would like to begin by thanking you for the trust you have placed in me through what I consider to be a very relevant democratic exercise that makes UCLG a unique Organization.

I hope that, like me, you have experienced the process towards Congress as a path of joint construction, the same path that will provide us with a great impetus to contribute to the, as the United Nation calls it, decade of implementation. I believe that the discussions that took place in the Congress and the roadmaps we agreed upon have allowed us to generate policies to face the future with hope, and to put local governments at the center of the transformation we, as a planet, need.

Dear friends, it is our unity, our dynamism, and our maturity as a movement that has made it possible for us to, in addition to exchanging visions among us, place the communities we represent at the center of the conversation through dialogue with organized civil society. Only in this way, by listening and acting accordingly, will we be able to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

Our joint work in the coming years must place the local and regional spheres of government in their rightful place at the global level. This is not an end in itself, but the way to ensure that the concerns of communities are considered in shaping the sustainable future of the planet.

Our commitment to equality, to intergenerational dialogue as the driver of peace, and to the renewal of institutions by strengthening trust and transparency are key to addressing the challenges of the next decade in the urban era.

Only together can we achieve our goals. The next frontier of the municipal movement will need your support and commitment to speak with a unified voice in the international arena.

It must be more relevant than ever to our communities and, of course, to all members through the consolidation of our thematic strategies, our learning system, forums, communities of practice and regional work.

We have great challenges ahead but also strong instruments and processes for innovation. On behalf of the new presidential team, the most diverse and inclusive in our history, I would like to present to you our firm willingness to work with and for all members without exception. Building on strengths and working to overcome eventual weaknesses.

We count on you to make UCLG the voice of all without exception.

To all our family of local and regional governments around the globe we wish you a Happy and Inspiring New Year.