Mayor Claudia López will join prominent international leaders at the World Urban Summit in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. This significant event is organized by influential global and regional city networks such as the Brussels-Capital Region, Eurocities, Metropolis, and the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth Initiative.
The international event will bring together more than 300 cities and over 1,000 leaders, officials, experts, and representatives of civil society, with the aim of addressing current urban challenges and forging a more sustainable and livable future for all citizens of the planet.
Under the theme "Urban answers to global challenges," the Brussels Urban Summit represents a strategic platform for the exchange of ideas, the establishment of partnerships, and the development of innovative solutions to urban issues. For Bogotá, it will be a crucial opportunity to project the city internationally and shed light on the care policies implemented in the Colombian capital.
Contenidos relacionados
Mayor Claudia López will participate as a panelist in various discussion and decision-making spaces within the summit, including the World Congress of Metropolis, the OECD Champion Mayors meeting, and the executive committee of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG).
Her attendance will not only allow for the sharing of Bogotá's experiences and achievements in terms of care and sustainability but also represent the voice of cities where the main solutions to the climate, social, and economic crises facing humanity are being generated.
Bogotá will take advantage of this platform to present the Care System, an initiative of the current city administration that serves as a reference in Latin America and has three main objectives: recognizing the work of caregivers (mostly women), redistributing these burdens between men and women, and reducing the unpaid care work time for caregivers. This comprehensive system includes social policies, care services, friendly urban infrastructure, and actions to build a fairer and more cohesive society.
Among the Bogotá initiatives to be highlighted in Brussels are those related to education, sustainable and multimodal public transportation, and the creation of green and digital jobs, in which the Colombian capital is making the largest investment in its history. Long-term plans such as the Master Plan, the Climate Action Plan, and the Social Rescue Plan have been aligned, leading to outstanding results such as the recovery of 1.1 million jobs.
Furthermore, Bogotá will share with international leaders and experts its housing policies, which recognize the heterogeneity and differences of the population through programs for renting, purchasing, improving, and progressive housing. Through these initiatives (as of April 2023), more than 16,500 subsidies have been provided, with 72% of them being directed to households headed by women.
Main participation spaces
The Mayor will be a panelist in the plenary session on Migration and Diversity: 'Migration and Diversity: Cities lead the way in turning challenges into opportunities,' where strategies will be shared to define how migration and diversity shape cities and what strategies local governments and civil society are implementing to address this reality.
In this space, she will share the stage with Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, Mayor of Gdansk (Poland); Raf Tuts, Director of Global Solutions at UN-Habitat; and Ayşe Çaglar, Professor and Writer at the University of Vienna.
In her role as the President of the global network of major cities and metropolitan areas, Metropolis, the Mayor will lead its Annual Congress, Assembly, and Board of Directors. She will also participate in the political debate 'Greener Cities: A Path to Social Inclusion?' which will involve a discussion among mayors and metropolitan leaders on how climate change, access to housing, and the consolidation of social infrastructure are being addressed from an urban dimension.
She will also participate in the 6th Meeting of the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth, alongside 30 mayors from around the world, including those from Montreal (Canada), Montevideo (Uruguay), Bristol (United Kingdom), Glasgow (Scotland), Helsinki (Finland), and Stockholm (Sweden). The meeting aims to find global solutions to tackle the cost of living crisis and improve access to and affordability of housing.
The Brussels Urban Summit 2023 will bring together leaders and experts from over 150 cities worldwide to share knowledge, best practices, and innovative solutions for building more sustainable, inclusive, and livable cities. Bogotá will also take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen its international ties, learn from successful experiences, and establish strategic alliances that promote the city's sustainable development.
In this regard, the Mayor will be responsible for participating in the opening of the summit and will also be a panelist in various discussion spaces related to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.
Claudia López's participation in this summit highlights the capital's commitment to building more inclusive, sustainable, and livable cities, as well as strengthening Bogotá's international projection to position it as a reference in the search for innovative urban solutions.
