At the invitation of Matteo Renzi, Mayor of Florence, the city of Florence hosted the UCLG World Council from 9 to 11 December, gathering 500 local and regional representatives from over 40 different countries.
The main decisions of the UCLG World Council focused on the definition of the UCLG Strategy for the coming six years and paid particular attention to the contribution of local and regional authorities to the international debate on sustainability on Rio +20 Summit.
In his opening address, Kadir Topbas, the President of UCLG and Mayor of Istanbul, stressed that building governance from the bottom up will be crucial for the future of our planet. Citizens are taking the streets demanding solutions and local and regional leaders need to be engaged in the global solution that is being sought.
In preparation of the World Water Forum to take place in Marseille in 2012, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the World Water Council and UCLG. UCLG members also agreed to produce the 3rd Report of the Global Observatory on Decentralization and Local Democracy on the "Governance of Local Basic Services".
The organization further committed to advocate for specific recognition of local and regional authorities before the international community, particularly towards the 3rd United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III). UCLG members have expressed their solidarity and support to the democratic processes taking place in the Mediterranean region.
The gathering counted with the presence of mayors from cities around the world such as Dakar, Harare, Paris, Rabat, Seville and Stuttgart, and with the participation of numerous mayors of Italian cities. It further brought together private partners and key international partners, representatives of Cities Alliance, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and OECD.