11th World Urban Forum - Be there on site or virtually

There is a global consensus that cities have a key role to play in creating a just, resilient and climate-friendly world. But where do we currently stand? What challenges do cities face in unfolding their transformative power and what is needed from different perspectives to achieve the sustainability agendas? The 11th World Urban Forum, which will take place from 26 to 30 June 2022 in Katowice, Poland, under the motto ‘Transforming our Cities for a Better Urban Future’, offers the opportunity to initiate dialogues at the international level and to position central agendas of sustainable urban development.

In the following, we would like to draw your attention to some of the events in the German Pavilion - which can also be followed via livestream.

The Urban7 Alliance invites you to a conversation on local leaders' activities to shape the G7 process in the German Pavilion at the World Urban Forum and online. The G7's goal of working towards a just world can only be achieved if the 'transformative power of cities' is unleashed and true multi-level governance is realised across all levels of government.

As the voice of cities within the framework of the German G7 Presidency, the Urban7 Group adopted a U7 Mayors' Declaration in May 2022. At the World Urban Forum, it would like to present its vision and report on the progress it has made in the Urban7 process.

Local governments in Ukraine have demonstrated their effectiveness, not only in transforming administrative structures, but also in their impressive resilience in face of an existential threat. Partnership-networks have proven to be a critical source of immediate material and immaterial support for local autonomy. Is the redistribution of responsibility from hierarchical structures towards horizontal networks key to integrative and resilient forms of governance? How can local governments be strengthened as independent actors, in international cooperation and beyond? Engagement Global and its Service Agency Communities in One World would like to discuss these questions with you locally or virtually.

Together with the Global Water Operators' Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA) the international community of practice Connective Cities is hosting the panel discussion on 'Bringing the SDG´s nearer to the citizens' and will present learning formats and new agile methods for promoting local change processes and approaches to solving municipal challenges.

Connective Cities is a cooperation project carried out between the German Association of Cities, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Engagement Global and its Service Agency Communities in One World and supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).