On 28 November, Geneva Cities Hub will be partnering with UCLG, Cités Unies France and the City of Geneva to organize the annual meeting of the UCLG Working Group on the territorial prevention and management of crises, chaired by Sami Kanaan, Deputy Mayor of Geneva and President of the Geneva Cities Hub.
This year, the meeting will focus on cities affected by war and protracted crises. It will enable local governments to exchange knowledge and expertise on how they deal with those situations and how their role can be reinforced in that regard. For that purpose, mayors from Ukraine (cities of Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Slavutych and Novhorod-Siverskyi) and Lebanon (Saida), as well as representatives from national association of municipalities in those countries should travel to Geneva to exchange with humanitarian stakeholders, including the UN resident coordinator in Ukraine, ICRC, UN Habitat and Groupe URD.
The Geneva Cities Hub looks forward to moderating and engaging in an important discussion about the role of local authorities in armed conflict or in protracted crises. As the world urbanizes, crises often occur in cities. These have a significant and adverse impact on the urban systems and infrastructure in which more and more people live, work, move around and care for their families. Humanitarian and development actors have already started to adapt their programmes to be in a better position to act and respond in urban contexts. However, local authorities remain often side-lined, in spite of their proximity to the population and their deep awareness of the local context and issues. Thus, it is necessary to gather all relevant stakeholders in the same place to discuss those issues and exchange various perspectives and experiences.
