Over 200 representatives of local and regional governments from across the world will meet on 21 November in Brussels (Belgium) at the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) programme’s third annual City-to-City event. After years of exchange, cities are coming together once more to take stock of the results of their pairings and of the crucial role inter-city cooperation plays in forging sustainable communities.
One component of the European Union-funded IUC programme pairs European cities with peers from other world regions. Cooperation, for example, has led the Mayor of Mérida (Mexico) to pledge €5 million to implement a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan that was developed in cooperation with West Athens (Greece); São Leopolda (Brazil) to implement an Integrated Socio-Environmental Centre developed through exchange with Viana do Castelo (Portugal); and has prompted the opening of a direct freight train connection from Mannheim (Germany) to Chongqing (China).
The IUC is one of the European Union’s key instruments in support of sustainable urban development, implemented through city diplomacy and mutual learning. It contributes to achieving major international agreements, such as the Paris Agreement, New Urban Agenda, and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Since 2016, European cities have been collaborating with their global partners; there are over 80 pairings to date. Results achieved through inter-city cooperation will be highlighted by representatives from pairings including: Rome (Italy) and Liuzhou (China); Vila Nova de Famalicão (Portugal) and Fort Collins (U.S.A.); and Belfast (United Kingdom) and Santiago de Cali with Medellín (Colombia).
The event will also reflect on the impact of the Global Covenant of Mayors, one of the three core components of the IUC. Speakers representing the European, national, regional, and municipal levels will take to the podium to highlight inspiring examples from signatory cities, and to address a unique challenge that has been highlighted over the past years of cooperation: namely, how to access funding to accelerate local climate action. Perspectives from the European Investment Bank, Covenant of Mayors National Committee of Peru, State of Gujarat (India), and signatory cities Makassar (Indonesia) and Chicago (U.S.A.) will kick-start the conversation.
In addition to leaders of global cities, representatives from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, Directorate-General for Energy, Committee of the Regions, and the European External Action Service will address attendees. Breakout sessions will allow cities to dive more deeply into areas that they are focusing on through their pairings, such as clean energy transition, participatory approaches to smart cities, and mobility and air quality.
This event not only takes stock of the progress already made through inter-city cooperation, but also brings multi-level stakeholders from different countries and contexts together to catalyse further action, and ensure that the future of inter-city cooperation is as productive and impactful as possible.
Header image from the 2018 city-to-City event, taken by Nathalie Nizette for the IUC programme