How can cities make their voices heard in global governance and work together to tackle increasingly complex challenges? One answer is international city networks. The Mayors for Digital Cooperation (MDC) is a new global network aimed at strengthening the role of cities in digital governance and localizing the implementation of international digital commitments.
At a historic Urban7 meeting in Nancy, mayors delivered a strong political message to G7 leaders ahead of the Évian Summit: empowering cities leads to more effective, inclusive and accountable public action, particularly in times of crisis and rapid transformation. U7 members called on G7 leaders to institutionalise dialogue with cities and local governments.
On 2 June 2026 the Global Cities Hub and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Center co-hosted an event to mark Heat Action Day. How does Cape Town consider heat in its policies and programmes? What tools do international organizations have for local and regional governments to combat extreme heat? How can cities mitigate workplace heat stress?
Organized by the GCH on the margins of the 79th World Health Assembly, the event “Climate change, health and cities: From global commitments to local impact” explored how cities can help translate global commitments taken by States in the WHO Global Action Plan on Climate Change and Health into concrete action on the ground.
The Global Cities Hub will participate at the 13th World Urban Forum. As one of the leading global gatherings on sustainable urbanization, WUF offers a platform to exchange experiences, strengthen multilevel cooperation and advance solutions for the future of cities. We are looking forward to an inspiring and action-oriented WUF, with the engagement of LRGs.
On 12 May 2026, the GCH took part in the Annual Meeting of the Davos Baukultur Alliance. The Alliance brings together different stakeholders around a shared objective: creating liveable places designed, built and cared for with long-term quality in mind. A mindset shift is essential to making high-quality Baukultur the norm rather than the exception.
The 3rd UN Virtual Worlds Day discussed the concept of the AI-enabled citiverse, a digital paradigm integrating artificial intelligence (AI), immersive virtual environments, and spatial intelligence to transform urban governance and service delivery. Mayors and local leaders contributed with practical insights drawn from on-the-ground experiences in urban transformation.
The roundtable discussion on “Alternative lawmaking for a new multilateralism: cities as co-creators?” explored how LRGs could contribute more directly to international norm creation. It focused on whether evolving forms of international governance may open space for cities not merely as active co-creators of international norms.
The GCH participated in the 2nd Bologna Expert Roundtable to advance discussions on the role of sub-national authorities in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). It addressed a central policy question: how to systematically integrate LRGs into the UPR cycle through localized data, digital tools and structured multi-level governance.
The Global Cities Hub, in partnership with UN-Habitat and UNECE, organised an event on the margins of the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (RFSD) in the UNECE region to discuss the critical question of what comes after a first Voluntary Local Review (VLR). The discussion underscored the importance of ensuring VLRs are continuous, inclusive, and action-oriented processes.
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