Decentralised cooperation between Mozambique and Brazil advances through technical exchange

The city of Nampula, in the North of Mozambique, opened its doors to Brazilian and Mozambicans technicians who met for a seminar to exchange experiences and challenges in the areas of urban and territorial planning, cadastre and financial management which took place between 26-28th of August. The event, which is part of the activities of the cooperation project of local authorities in both countries as actors of decentralised cooperation financed by the European Union, Cities Alliance, Government of Norway and Barcelona City Council, brought together more than 40 participants.

This meeting marks the conclusion of the first phase of the ongoing project that has been focused in the definition of priorities and needs of the Mozambican municipalities in order to make the exchange process more effective through the elaboration of participatory diagnoses with the collaboration of technicians. The need to take stock of acquired knowledge through experience and share it with peers, between Mozambican cities as well as cities from Brazil and Mozambique was revealed.

Cooperation between cities is an efficient mechanism for knowledge exchange. Together, 14 Brazilian and Mozambican cities identified areas of cooperation to guide their growth and improve their management. Through the application of reforms or optimization of planning and urban management instruments they will benefit from practical experience of peer cities.

This cooperation is being mobilized by local government associations ANAMM and FNP, with the support of UCLG, as well as technical guidance from Architects Without Borders (ASF)  and the universities UdL Lleida - Cátedra UNESCO, Universidade Lurio of Mozambique and UPC Barcelona.

Following the event, Brazilian technicians traveled to different cities in Mozambique to carry out technical assistance visits. As a result of the event and visits, cities will develop a joint work plan to be implemented during the next 18 months that will be supported technically and financially by the project.

The mayors of the cities visited in Mozambique re-affirmed their support and commitment to the project highlighting the relevance that Brazilian experience has to Mozambique. They expressed the need to strengthen an articulated and frequent exchange between technicians of Mozambican cities through the support of the associations.

The Brazilian “prefeitos” from afar expressed their commitment towards decentralised South-South cooperation emphasizing the importance of exchanging experiences between cities to contribute to their development.

UCLG appreciates the support that it is able to offer in this initiative to apply the experience of Brazilian cities on "the right to the city" as a principle of planning and urban management as a step forward towards the optimization of decentralised cooperation.