The UCLG Executive Bureau took place in Lyon (France) from 5 - 7 June and was organized jointly by the City of Lyon and the Rhône-Alpes Region. Lyon represented the last major milestone for UCLG statutory bodies before they meet at the World Summit in Rabat from 1-4 October.
The Executive Bureau focused on preparations for the upcoming 4th World Congress of UCLG, which will see the renewal of the Governing Bodies and the adoption of a new work plan for 2014. The Executive Bureau confirmed the decision to hold the 2014 World Council in Haikou. It proposed 17 - 19 of June as provisional dates for the 2014 Executive Bureau in Liverpool, and confirmed Porto Alegre as the host of its meeting in 2015.
UCLG highlighted the special efforts it is undertaking to make the Congress inclusive, extending it beyond UCLG and its membership to include the private sector, civil society representatives and development partners. The Lyon meetings were attended by around 270 participants from 37 countries.
Culture in the UCLG Agenda
The Executive Bureau concluded that UCLG has played an important role in promoting culture in the global development agenda, building on the work of the Culture Committee. Thus, there will be a revision of the Agenda 21 for Culture in order to make it more relevant to current realities. Work will be conducted to include culture in the post-2015 agenda as specific objective.
Updates on GOLD III Report
Members were also called to contribute to the dissemination and promotion of GOLD III, which will be presented in Rabat, and encouraged to use it as an advocacy tool during debates on the Post MDGs Habitat III Agendas.
Prizes & Awards
The Committee on Development Cooperation and City Diplomacy proposed the establishment of a Peace Prize. The Prize would be awarded in 2014 in cooperation with MasterPeace, an innovative, grassroots initiative, whose goal is to actively involve citizens in peace-building. The City of Mexico, Co-chair of the Culture Committee, will also promote an Award for Culture, which will be defined in the coming months and officially launched in the World Congress in Rabat.
Finally, the meetings included the second edition of the Forum of Regions, a meeting of the Resource Mobilization Group and a briefing on the “Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments for Post-2015”.
The Extract of the Summary of Key Decisions of UCLG Executive Bureau meetings in Lyon sent to all UCLG members is available here.
All comments made through Twitter during the Bureau are still available under the hashtag #UCLGLyon
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Source: UCLG