At the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments this week in Kuala Lumpur, a delegation of over 200 local and regional government representatives, including CLGF’s Secretary-General Dr Greg Munro, called for the implementation of all global agendas. 

Joining other members of the Global Task Force and Cities Alliance, Dr Munro was participating in the 9th World Urban Forum (WUF9) taking place in Malaysia from 7-13 February.

Strong local governance

Setting the theme for the session on governance of proximity, Dr Munro stressed the need for strong local governance within the framework of the New Urban Agenda and argued that the issue of trust between different spheres of government was key in order to develop joint governance. He also spoke at a session on equitable economic development. 

Listen2Cities

The 9th Session of the World Urban Forum is focusing on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda adopted in Habitat III. An ideal place to re-launch the Listen2Cities campaign, calling on the international community to define effective mechanisms to ensure full involvement of local and regional government in the monitoring and reporting process of the New Urban Agenda. A dedicated Listen2Cities room provided the venue for specific events to foster effective discussion on action-oriented solutions involving representatives at all levels of government.

Created in 2001 by the United Nations, and convened by UN-Habitat, the World Urban Forum is the world’s leading conference tackling the challenges of urbanisation. WUF9 is a great opportunity to increase the dialogue between national and subnational authorities on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda (NUA) implementation, exploring the practice of towns, cities and regions to address the urbanisation challenge in an integrated manner with their hinterlands. 

Creating change
The forum has become one of the most open international gatherings, allowing discussion, debate and the exchange of views and experiences on all things urban, including the many challenges. The event combines inclusiveness with high-level participation and includes roundtables, assemblies and side events that pull in a wide range of stakeholders in an effort to create a multifaceted dialogue. The exhibition and urban village situated in Kuala Lumpur city centre presented real-world examples of projects, ideas and initiatives to create change at all scales.