By Kubeshni Govender Jones
Knowledge Specialist Consultant Cities Alliance
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| Country Programme partners met on 3 December in Dakar to share the innovative approaches they have taken as part of their respective Country Programmes. Photo: Mamadou Diagne/Cities Alliance |
[4 December 2012] -- The Cities Alliance-led Country Programme took an important step forward this week, when the partners from four African countries lent their support to the formation of a learning, sharing and collaborative network.
The unanimous decision to build an exchange platform came after a day of engagements in which partners from Uganda, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mozambique shared how they were pushing the boundaries of urban development in their respective countries.
With his opening address Cities Alliance Sr. Urban Specialist Julian Baskin emphasised the need for coherence of effort and this theme carried through the day with partners coming to terms with what could be learnt from other stakeholders and other countries.
In the hands of multilingual Cities Alliance Sr. Urban Specialist Serge Allou, it was clear that language would not be a barrier to learning as country representatives confirmed their network agenda to include:
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Building community, citizenship, social mobilisation and inclusion;
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Knowledge that is required to bring about transformation;
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Creating synergies between Governments and Grassroots communities; and
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Developing Sustainable Local Authorities.
A Cities Alliance Country Programme is a longer-term, programmatic approach to addressing the specific urban development needs of a selected country, in the context of rapid urbanisation and the growth of urban poverty. It also promotes the development of inclusive cities.
Download a factsheet on Cities Alliance Country Programmes
