Over 200 mayors and representatives of local authorities gathered in Tunis from 7 – 9 October for the 35th annual General Assembly of the International Association of Francophone Mayors (AIMF). The meeting was chaired by Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris and hosted by Saifallah Lasram, Mayor of Tunis. The discussions focused on using innovation for community development.
In attendance were mayors from Brazzaville, Brussels, Casablanca, Cotonou, Dakar, Geneva, Kigali, Kinshasa, Lausanne, Marrakesh, Montreal, N'Djamena, Nouakchott, Ouagadougou, Paris, Phnom Penh, Tunis and Victoria.
This year’s annual meeting of francophone mayors held in the Tunisian capital was an act of support for the democratic process launched within the country since the 2011 revolution. UCLG, alongside the AIMF and the entire international community, welcomes the attribution of the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet in recognition of the efforts made towards the consolidation of democracy.
Francophone cities have adopted a declaration for innovative and interdependent cities. The final declaration reaffirms that in view of multiple conflicts and challenges, social exclusion, the climate threat and the rise of extremism, local authorities remain key players for providing concrete, practical and innovative solutions. It also confirms the commitment of francophone mayors to place human rights and human dignity at the heart of local engagement, as well as the willingness to act through dialogue, collaboration and solidarity towards major city challenges.
We fully support this resolution and unanimously welcome the adoption of the new development objectives defined by the United Nations, which reinforce mobilization prior to the Climate Change Conference (COP21) held this December in Paris. Rooted close to our territories and citizens, our engagement is led in collaboration with international organizations and states — enabling privileged relations with associations, enterprises and philanthropic foundations. (extract from the Final Declaration)
Mayors in attendance welcomed the adoption of the new sustainable development goals (SDG) adopted by the UN Summit on the Post 2015 Development Goals and launched a call to all elected local officials to participate in the Climate Summit for Local Leaders in December.
Khalifa Sall, Mayor of Dakar and president of UCLG Africa, remarked that two goals (11 and 16) from the new sustainable development goals (SDG) adopted by the UN Summit on the Post 2015 Development Goals were of particular interest to cities — emphasizing the importance of local and regional governments in development.
Additional information is available at: