On 7 October 2025, as part of the 5th UN Forum of Mayors, a high-level meeting convened mayors and deputy mayors from around the world with senior representatives from key UN agencies: UN-Habitat, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
In her opening remarks, GCH Co-director Duong underscored the necessity of a whole-of-government approach to multilateralism, where collaboration across local, national, and international levels is not only encouraged but required for effective policy outcomes.
The meeting facilitated direct dialogue on how to address the world’s most pressing global challenges—such as climate resilience, digital equity, and affordable housing and sustainable urbanization, while providing mayors with first-hand insights into the operations of these UN entities working with local governments and communities.
Ms. Anaclàudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, said about the leaders’ panel: “This is a table of partners.” Indeed, in an increasingly urbanizing world, adequate housing is a basis for achieving most SDGs. People-centered and future-oriented urban planning can create the very framework for socio-economic development. On the issue of land use, she encouraged cities to be creative to create their own revenue in order to gain in agility and adaptability. On inclusive multilateralism, she affirmed that the UN system works more and more with LRGs both at technical and political levels.
UN-Habitat is the UN entity which has naturally considered local authorities as its closest partners. It promotes urbanization as a positive transformative force for people and communities through normative work, advocacy and technical assistance. It supports national and local governments to address their development challenges and advance sustainable and inclusive urban development.
Mr. Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction explained how UNDRR convenes and coordinates risk reduction activities towards a more resilient future, protecting gains made towards the SDGs. He pointed out the Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030), which helps cities assess risks, develop action plans, and improve governance. For example, cities like Medellín (Colombia) and Chennai (India) have used MCR2030 to enhance flood and landslide preparedness. UNDRR also promotes the integration of disaster risk reduction into urban planning, offers technical guidance, and fosters partnerships between local governments and other stakeholders. It supports the implementation of the Sendai Framework for DRR in cities, encouraging data collection, capacity-building, and risk-informed investment to build safer, more resilient urban environments globally. He concluded by saying that a louder voice needs to come from mayors to convince national governments about dedicated investments at the local level.
Mr. Tomas Lamanauskas, Deputy Secretary General of International Telecommunication Union enumerated the numerous activities of ITU related to LRGs – from the smart villages program to the Citiverse. The aim is to use digitalization as an entry point to community development, including health services, education, agriculture or local governance. An important aspect of ITU’s work is the development of standards supporting sustainable urban development, including local digital infrastructure development, smart city services, and the creation of citiverse(s).
He presented the work done at the U4SSC collaboration platform to advance smart cities and its meeting to be organized in Barcelona (more info available here) and the importance of the 1st Citiverse Assembly to be held in Valencia on 3 November. Looking ahead to 2026, he underlined among the milestones the UN Virtual Worlds Day on 11-12 May, the AI for Good Summit (7-10 July) and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance in July in Geneva. All these events are open to LRGs, whose contribution is important. He also encouraged LRGs to consider putting through nominations to the “Independent International Scientific Panel on AI” through the GCH.
Ms. Tatiana Molcean, Executive Secretary of UNECE explained how the organization facilitates greater economic integration and cooperation among its member states, promoting sustainable development and economic prosperity. Its work focuses on thematic areas such as energy, transport, forest management, housing and land management, trade and the environment. UNECE hosts the UN Forum of Mayors and is deeply involved in the localization of SDGs through policy dialogue, the exchange of best practices, and the development of recommendations to member States.
The 2025 edition of the Forum “Cities Shaping the Future” marked a significant step toward bridging global governance with on-the-ground realities, offering a concrete opportunity to rebuild trust in a more inclusive and effective UN-led multilateral system. The direct exchange between mayors and heads of international organizations advanced in a meaningful way a future-oriented inclusive multilateralism.