The UCLG World Secretariat, with the support of the CSIPD and other partners, participated in the call for proposals of the European Union (UE) named "Non-State Actors and local governments in development actions", a programme aiming at strengthening local governments and civil society organizations as a pre-condition for a more open, democratic and equitable society. More specifically, the goal of this call for proposals is to foster poverty reduction in a context of sustainable development, especially by pursuing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The project presented by UCLG is entitled "For Millennium cities and local governments: achieving the MDGs at local level" and it includes two kinds of actions: on the one hand, mobilizing local government associations to launch awareness-raising campaigns on MDGs and on best practices with regard to their localisation; and on the other hand, training several cities to draw up MDG local action plans. These actions are intended for implementation in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
In order to develop this project, the UCLG World Secretariat will have the following partners: the CSIPD (through Barcelona); the Committee on Decentralized Cooperation (through the Andalusian Fund of Municipalities for International Solidarity -FAMSI), the Committee on MDGs, the Latin American Federation of Cities, Municipalities and Associations (FLACMA), UCLG Asia-Pacific; the East African Local Governments Association (EALGA); the National Association of Municipalities of Benin (ANCB); the Association of Municipalities of Mali (AMM) and the Association of Municipalities of Senegal (AMS).
Next September the European Union will notify whether or not the project has been selected.