Created in April 2024, the Local and Subnational Governments (LSNG) Coalition unites local and subnational governments, city networks and other organizations to push for urgent collective action at all levels of government and society to address the environmental and health hazards posed by plastic pollution.
The GCH in cooperation with WeGo and ITU organized the Smart City Leaders’ Talk on “Safe smart cities and climate frustration”. This is a highly important topic because a people-centered smart city approach means finding answers to peoples’ needs – and a climate conscious sustainable urban future is clearly one of them.
The Global Cities Hub and the Association Internationale des Maires Francophones (AIMF) have renewed their Memorandum of Understanding framing their ongoing collaboration.
Geneva will host the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-5.2). The LSNG Coalition has mobilized ahead of the event to ensure that local and regional governments are heard.
On 30 June – 2 July 2025, GCH attended the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Sevilla to promote the localization of financing for development and better access of Local and Regional Governments (LRGs) to national and international financial resources.
On the occasion of the adoption of the report of the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Italy at the United Nations in Geneva on 30 June 2025, a reception was held at the Global Cities Hub. It offered a moment to celebrate the closing of Italy’s fourth UPR cycle and to highlight Italian-led initiatives aimed at strengthening local engagement in human rights.
The Global Cities Hub participated in the Mayors’ Summit organized by Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, marking the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement. The event brought together city leaders from across the globe and served both as a celebration of progress and a mobilization ahead of COP30 in December 2025 in Belém, Brazil.
The Global Cities Hub, in partnership with UN-Habitat and the Global Parliament of Mayors co-organized a Geneva Urban Debate, focused on the newly adopted pandemic treaty and its implications for local and regional governments. With cities having been the epicentres of the COVID-19 pandemic, the discussion explored how urban authorities can leverage this global instrument to better prepare for future health crises.
The GCH new President is Ms. Christina Kitsos, Deputy Mayor of the City of Geneva. We are looking forward to working with her to ensure that local and regional governments become actors in international processes!
We thank our outgoing President, Mr. Sami Kanaan, whose vision of a multilateralism inclusive of local and regional governments shaped the GCH and his committment helped make the UN Forum of Mayors a reality.
Over 3,000 participants gathered in Geneva last week for the 8th session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR). It featured a diverse program of sessions and side-events, with a strong emphasis on the role of local and regional governments in disaster risk reduction.
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