HRH The Prince of Wales today attended the Commonwealth Local Government Forum's (CLGF) Annual Reception, meeting with delegates to hear about issues around sustainability and urbanisation during the CLGF's second Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Network (CSCN) conference at Marlborough House.

The Prince met with mayors, city leaders and ministers from across the Commonwealth - including from Botswana, Canada,  Ghana, Jamaica, Mozambique, New Zealand, South Africa,  Sri Lanka, UK, and Uganda – and Commonwealth partner organisations and other international partners with an interest in cities and urban issues, including the International Sustainability Unit, and The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community, both established by The Prince of Wales.

Speaking at the reception HRH The Prince of Wales noted that those attending were the champions of local governments at the coalface of responding to humanity’s most pressing challenges   

The Prince said that it was possible to identify some guiding principles for rapid, practical action for special planning. not just to improve living conditions but to make areas places where people want to live. His Royal Highness also described how The Prince's Foundation for Building Community is collaborating with the CLGF and the Commonwealth Association of Planners  to provide in the development and testing of principles for a set of simple tools for city leaders, planners, engineers and architects to work together

To read the full speech: http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/media/speeches/speech-hrh-the-prince-of-wales-reception-the-commonwealth-local-government-forum. 

The CSCN was set up in 2015, to focus on the support needed by cities across the Commonwealth to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and deal with the challenges resulting from increasing urbanisation. This is the second meeting of the network and will determine its work and future direction and help formulate discussions in the run-up to the Habitat III Conference and The World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments.

The reception  followed the opening session of the Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Network (CSCN) meeting: with the theme Successful, safe and sustainable cities: making cities fit for the future, at Marlborough House prior to the reception, and a meeting of the CLGF Board earlier that day.

Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, who welcomed The Prince of Wales to Marlborough House, commented in the opening session that she was delighted the CLGF is part of the new Commonwealth Hub.