Africities 2018: city-to-city cooperation to empower young people
Youth, as a player in the transition to sustainable development, was the core of the exchanges during the session on decentralised cooperation jointly organised by Cités Unies France and PLATFORMA on 22 November at the 8th Africities Summit in Marrakesh, Morocco.
The 8th Africities Summit gathered more than 8,000 participants, representing all the sub-national level from 77 countries, including 53 African ones. The popularity of this event highlights the will of local elected representatives, citizens and other local stakeholders to contribute to decision making process.
They showed their responsibility in various areas, and claimed their role in the transition towards sustainable development. This is one of the main supports provided by CEMR through international cooperation projects such as the CoMSSA and PLATFORMA, which have been presented during several sessions and on a joint stand.
“We have to encourage the creation of partnerships, not only between politicians but with all stakeholders on the territory!” which necessary implies taking into account youth, said Jean-Marie Tétart (Mayor of Houdan, France), supporting the idea of an integrated territorial approach to development.
The outcomes of the discussion rely on the necessity to recognise young people as main players of the decision-making process and to elaborate policies supporting youth empowerment, in order to provide them with even more skills, suggested Aissatou Touré (ACP Young Professional Network).
“We must keep in mind the exchange between local and regional governments, the need to share together and learn from each other,” said Frédéric Vallier, Secretary General of CEMR. “This is what makes the difference with external investments that are disconnected from the territories and have no links with populations and local players,” he added.
Linked to this priority, Anna Lixi (DG DEVCO, European Commission) presented the EU call for proposals “Partnerships for sustainable cities” which very much insists on the multi-actors, multi-sectors and triangular cooperation in order to facilitate job creation and urban innovation.
- Discover the pictures of PLATFORMA, CEMR and CoM SSA participation at Africities
- Read more about CEMR and CoM SSA participation at Africities
- If you are interested in participating to the European Commission call for proposals, fill in the online document in order to facilitate the creation of international partnerships
