[29 June 2018] -- The Cities Alliance Secretariat will attend the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), 9-18 July 2018 in New York City.
Every year, the HLPF convenes to monitor progress on the 2030 Agenda. This year, UN member states and stakeholders will gather under the theme “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies” to review six of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities. Forty-seven member states are presenting Voluntary National Reviews to share their progress on the different SDGs.
However, implementation of the 2030 Agenda does not happen exclusively at the national level. In an increasingly urban world, cities have an important role to play in eradicating poverty and fostering equitable prosperity for people and planet. Through its engagement at the HLPF, the Cities Alliance aims to ensure that local and regional governments and local actors are engaged.
Cities Alliance recently produced a publication in partnership with Adelphi, Local and Regional Governments in the Follow-up and Review of Global Sustainability Agendas, in collaboration with the African Centre for Cities (ACC), the German Development Institute (DIE) and the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP).
To spotlight some of the innovative ways local actors are accelerating the implementation of the global agendas, Cities Alliance issued a call for best practices that take an integrated approach to the Follow-up and Review (FuR) process. Five best practices were selected, and we invited the top three – Monitoreo CDMX, Mexico City; #weResilient, the Province of Potenza, Italy; and Red de Ciudades Cómo Vamos, Colombia – to showcase their approaches in Cities Alliance Secretariat’s activities at the HLPF.
Events co-organised by Cities Alliance
Realising the SDGs – urban knowledge, challenges and tools. This workshop convenes a variety of stakeholders to discuss (i) National Urban policies – initiatives, programmes and policy relevant research, and (ii) challenges and approaches towards implementing and localising the SDGs (featuring the three selected best practices).10 July 2018 I 09:00-15:00 I closed event. Co-organised with GCRF UK, ICSU, OECD, UN-Habitat and SDSN
Secondary cities – Integrated localisation beyond SDG11. This event will discuss how the different global sustainability agendas can be implemented and monitored in secondary cities. It will build on the experiences of the three selected best practices on follow-up and review at the local level (Monitoreo CDMX, Mexico City; #weResilient, Province of Potenza, Italy; Red de Ciudades Cómo Vamos, Colombia) and on the findings of two papers commissioned by Cities Alliance. 10 July 2018 I 18:30-20:00 I Convene, Conference Room 7, UN Conference Building. Co-organised by the members of the Cities Alliance Joint Work Programme on Cities in the Global Agendas (Ministry of Cities of Brazil, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, BMZ, GIZ, SECO, DFID, ICLEI, UCLG, SDI, HFHI, Ford Foundation, IHS, SDSN and UN-Habitat).
Strengthening rural-urban linkages for inclusive and resilient societies and healthy ecosystems. This side event will present innovative examples of how strong rural-urban linkages can be used to leverage and accelerate progress on SDG targets, while engaging the small-scale producers and the rural poor as critical agents of change to ensure no one and no space is left behind. 13 July 2018 I 13:15-14:30 I Conference Room 12. Co-organised with GCRF UK, ICSU, OECD, UN-Habitat and SDSN
Meeting Global Climate Commitments in Cities – The science we need for the cities we want. This event will discuss the actions needed from national and local governments to achieve climate change commitments, as well as the kinds of supportive scientific inputs that are required. It will present the conclusions of the recent CitiesIPCC Conference and highlight initiatives that have emerged since the conference. 17 July 2018 I Time TBC I Location TBC. Co-organised with C40, Future Earth, ICLEI, IPCC, UCLG, UN-Habitat, UNSDN, UN Environment, WCRP and the City of Edmonton
Preparatory Session for the Local and Regional Governments’ Forum. This session will serve as a preparation for the first Local and Regional Governments Forum at the HLPF, that is taking place the following day. 15 July 2018 I 13:00-17:00 I closed event. Co-organised with the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments, UNACLA, Cities Alliance
Cities Alliance participation in official HLPF sessions
HLPF Session: Perspectives of Least Developed Countries, Landlocked developing countries and Middle Income Countries. Cities Alliance’s Senior Policy Advisor Maruxa Cardama will speak in this session. 11 July 2018 I 11:00 -13:00 I UN Trusteeship Council
HLPF Session: Local and Regional Governments’ Forum. Cities Alliance Director William Cobbett will moderate a session of the Forum. 16 July 2018 I 11:30-12:30 I Conference Room 2
Through our engagement at the HLPF, we aim to ensure that local and regional governments and local actors are engaged.
Events:
List of Cities Alliance Events
List of Member and Partner Events
Related Items:
JWP Cities in the Global Agendas
Local and Regional Governments in the Follow-up and Review of Global Sustainability Agendas
