The second edition of the Arab Mayors’ Academy took place on 6–7 August 2025 at the UN House in Beirut, Lebanon. This year the central topic was institutionalizing SDG Localization. Aligning cities’ actions with global and regional agendas is increasingly important.
At the “Global Community of SDG Localization” session, GCH delivered 3 key messages:
- Without better involvement of LRGs in the localization of SDGs the global targets cannot be achieved.
- Strengthening multilevel governance through coordination between local, national, and international levels is critical for effective and coherent policy making.
- LRGs should gain more influence when the international community starts shaping the post-Agenda2030 approach.
When discussion the different opportunities for mayors to intervene at the international scene and influence global processes with local effects, we used as a prime example the 5th meeting of the UN Forum of Mayors to be held in 2025, with the title “Cities shaping the Future”. At the Forum, Mayors intervene in their own capacity and discuss topics focusing around
- SDG3 (Good Health and Well-being),
- SDG5 (Gender Equality)
- SDG8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)
Similarly to last year, the development and use of Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) will be broadly discussed. Local and regional governments are increasingly engaging in such sub-national reviews of SDG implementation. While the VLRs hold no official status, the process of undertaking these reviews is providing multiple benefits to the LRGs engaging in them and to SDG implementation at large.
At the Arab Mayors’ Academy the exchanges between LRGs and the UN, as well as among peers were of crucial importance. Sharing the experiences of Amman, Ramallah, Madinah, Turbat and Mafra were very interesting. Thank you for the invitation to share GCH’s point of view and activities regarding the localization of SDGs, financing the localization efforts and developing VLRs.