CLGF Conference focused on building resilience at the local level
From 13-17 November 2023, the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) welcomed its members and partners to Kigali in Rwanda for the tenth Commonwealth Local Government Conference. PLATFORMA, the Local Government Associat-on (LGA – England & Wales), and associations from across the Commonwealth participated.
The event was organised in partnership with hosts, the Government of Rwanda through MINALOC, and the Rwanda Association of Local Government Authorities (RALGA), in the prestigious Kigali Convention Centre.
The meeting focused on building resilience at the local level, and after the pandemic, and in the wake of the climate emergency, conflicts and economic instability, the theme proved very prescient. This edition of e-news is dedicated to the conference and related events.
The week started with CLGF’s research colloquium, which brought together academic partners and practitioners at the University of Kigali; 450 mayors, ministers, officials, researchers, development partners and private sector representatives from at least 40 countries took part in the Commonwealth Local Government Conference; and a cohort of 30+ youth delegates were mainstreamed and participated fully in the discussions as part of the celebration of the Commonwealth Year of Youth. In addition to the main conference sessions, delegates also visited key projects in and around Kigali to see how Rwanda is building local resilience; there was an exhibition made up of international and Rwandan exhibitors; and a series of social events gave plenty of time for delegates to network and exchange.
PLATFORMA’s Advisor for Policy and Advocacy, Chahaiya Pilkington and Director, Boris
Tonhauser joined CLGF onsite to support the working groups on Youth Leadership and Climate
Resilience.
The final outcomes of the meeting – The Kigali Declaration on Building local resilience across the Commonwealth – encapsulates the key themes discussed at the Conference and emphasises that building resilience must be a bottom-up process. The Declaration sets out a number of priority areas for action
relevant to CEMR and PLATFORMA members including: strengthening local leadership; enhancing networking and supporting city-to-city cooperation and learning; enhancing access to local finance and establishing a CLGF taskforce on access to local development finance; strengthening decentralisation and multi-level governance towards achieving the SDGs; ensuring that development is people-centred and leaves no one behind; and continuing to keep local government’s role on the global development agenda.
Check the pictures of the conference.
