CLGF news

CLGF Secretary-General Dr Greg Munro addressed an international conference on Marginalisation, Poverty and Decentralisation held at the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) in India on 19 November. Dr Munro highlighted the importance of a holistic, planned and integrated approach to urbanisation and rural planning to meet the requirements of incremental urban growth. Read more

The CLGF Executive Committee meeting took place on 9-10 November at CLGF’s new headquarters in London. Executive Committee members welcomed Secretary-General Dr Greg Munro’s 100 Day Report and approved a new direction of travel for the organisation. Speaking at the EC meeting, Dr Munro said, “Together with my team of dedicated and talented staff in London and the regions - we will be creating good change while building upon a legacy of past delivery and tangible results." Read more

Using local economic development as an approach to tackling poverty and encouraging sustainable development is having a positive impact on communities in West Africa, according to the results of CLGF’s work with national and local governments in the region. CLGF held a regional conference on 23-24 November to disseminate the outcomes of its regional programme in West Africa and further explore the role of local government in delivering the SDGs. Read more

CLGF Deputy Secretary-General Lucy Slack participated in UN Women’s Expert Group Meeting on measuring women’s representation in local government on 3-4 November in New York. The meeting discussed various approaches to capture data on SDG indicator 5.1.1b - the proportion of seats held by women in local governments and discussed ways to ensure that the statistics collected are globally comparable. Read more

CLGF Chairperson Rev Mpho Moruakgomo and Secretary-General Dr Greg Munro launched CLGF’s newly revamped Bulletin during the Executive Committee meeting held in London on 9-10 November. Released during the 100th day celebrations of CLGF Secretary-General, the new look Bulletin highlights the ways in which CLGF is punching above its weight to deliver development on the ground through its programmes and activities across the Commonwealth. Find out more

 Local government news

Councils around New Zealand are offering their support to the affected Hurunui and Kaikoura districts in the wake of recent devastating earthquake and aftershocks. Neighbouring councils are sending staff to share expertise as well as emergency and communications resources with councils under pressure. Read more

The Government of India is working to set up an intelligent transport system up and down the country by designing and adopting best practices around traffic management. A new Advanced Traffic Management System will be set up across different states to share major data on road usage in a move to reduce road accidents, congestion and pollution. Read more

Water collection on Valletta's roofs, PV-powered air-conditioning by pumping cool air from wells, green roofs, solar-powered water taxis, city bike sharing and community gardens created through civic waste management initiatives were some of the ideas presented during a recent Climathon event in Valletta. Read more

A bill to grant financial autonomy to local government councils in the country scaled through the second reading in the House of Representatives. The bill once passed will give councils the financial autonomy necessary for effective management. Read more

Young people in Western Australia will have the opportunity to start or further a career in local government, thanks to a new grant by the state government. Grants of up to $20,000 have been awarded to 12 regional local governments to support the creation of traineeship positions through the a new Youth Development Program. Read more

Aberdeen City Council has become the first council in Scotland to raise money from the capital markets as it launched index-linked bonds worth a total of £370m. These bonds are the first of their kind offered by a Scottish local authority and follows Aberdeen becoming the first council in Scotland to be given a credit rating. Read more

 Commonwealth news

The Commonwealth will chart a course to decrease violence against women – one of the biggest problems facing humanity. Coinciding with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Commonwealth Secretariat hosted a meeting to highlight the role of health and education in empowering women and protecting them from violence. Read more

The Commonwealth Secretariat has launched a new set of guidelines on election good practices called the Compendium of Commonwealth Good Practice on Election Management to help both new and mature democracies to deliver fair, credible and inclusive elections. This includes guidelines on social media calling for election bodies to create new strategies and codes of conduct for polling officials to communicate to the public. Read more

 CLGF Knowledge Hub

CLGF's new Knowledge Hub contains summaries of and links to resources from CLGF, its members and partners on a range of local government topics including local democracy, finance, service delivery, women, cities and urbanisation, LED, small states and global development agenda. CLGF invites its members and partners to share any knowledge materials or resources that would be of interest to others involved in local government. Please get in touch on knowledgehub@clgf.org.uk

Did you know?

The European Commission has set out a new strategic approach for achieving sustainable development in Europe and around the world. The approach includes the Commission's political priorities contributing to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a shared vision and framework for development cooperation for the EU and its member states and plans for a renewed partnership with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Find out more

A new interactive 3D maps app is helping blend the physical and digital worlds to better facilitate urban visualisation and city planning. Unveiled at the Smart City Expo in Spain on 15-17 November, the new HoloMaps program renders cityscapes, forests and other types of landscapes and allows multiple people to view and play around with maps at the same time. Find out more

Get in touch: Do you have a news story that would be of interest to others involved in local government? Get in touch with CLGF on enews@clgf.org.uk