Commonwealth Local Government Forum

New year's message from CLGF!

13 January 2022

 

Wishing you, our members and partners, a very happy New Year.

 

It is with great pleasure that I take on the substantive role of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum. Having known and worked with so many of you for a number of years, it is an honour to continue to work with you to advocate on behalf of local government; to create new partnerships; to strengthen local government capacity across the Commonwealth; ensure a strong voice for our sector; and to strengthen the established relationships with you and your organisations.

 

My association with local government in the Commonwealth has enabled me to see, first-hand, the incredible impact that you and our sector has on the daily lives of all citizens. From delivering basic services and supporting the most vulnerable; enhancing wellbeing by contributing to public health and building leisure and transport infra-structure that enriches and improves our lives; to providing vital, strategic leadership to create opportunities and a future and environment in which we can all flourish; local government and local leadership is at the heart of all of this.

 

Local government has always faced challenges: achieving fair and effective local democracy, attaining decentralisation, and having the financial resources to implement the many responsibilities it has. Climate justice and building resilience have come to the fore, together with the need for planning and targeted finance for rapid urbanisation and sustainable development. This has all been exacerbated by a cruel, global pandemic, tainting everything in its path and adding another demand to the role of local government in recovery and building back. I believe that many of these issues can be improved through working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. To do this, we have to work in partnership, sharing our expertise, good practice and experience. These partnership must transcends different spheres of government, numerous professional disciplines and different sectors of society.  

 

CLGF, like so many organisations, is negotiating the new work landscape and, with your help and support, has continued to advocate our key issues; deliver existing programmes, secure funding for new activities, and deliver a number of rich and beneficial virtual events. This is in no small way due to the hard work of our committed and competent CLGF team, who will continue to work towards our shared aims across the Commonwealth.

 

To this end, we look forward to your continued support to do more and better in the coming year. We are ready to build new partnerships, and to identify new opportunities with and for our members. Please do get in touch with your suggestions for future work and I hope that 2022 will provide opportunities for us to bring the network together and to drive forward our shared agenda to empower and support local government across the Commonwealth.    

 

With every good wish for you and our sector.

 

Lucy Slack and the CLGF Team across the Commonwealth 

 

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