During the opening session of the third edition of the World Forum for Peaceful Cities and Territories, Mexico City 2020-2021, where key figures and organizations in the construction of peace in urban territories meet, the mayor of Bogotá Claudia Lopez spoke alongside the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, and the head of government of Mexico City Claudia Sheinbaum to share their strategies and approaches to solve the different manifestations of violence in the city.
The moderator of the event Ana Laura Magaloni, an expert in state policies focused on human rights, before giving way to the mayors, and as an introduction to the event, said that “There is no peace without sustainable development and there is no sustainable development without peace ”.
The High Commissioner for Victims, Peace and Reconciliation, Vladimir Rodríguez, was designated by the District Administration as a participant in the forum in representation of Bogotá and explained peace in the urban context and what it means. “Bogotá has decided to implement tools proposed in the peace agreement, with emphasis on the rural area that is part of the city; the world's largest water-producing moorland reserve and at the same time one of the areas in the country with the highest concentration of victims of the armed conflict. Here, we are carrying out an exercise of peace where the truth and reparation of the victims is taken into account through a sustainable, social and environmental development"
🗨️ Mira el mensaje de la alcaldesa de @bogota, @ClaudiaLopez en la inauguración del 3er Foro Mundial Ciudades y Territorios de Paz.
— ForoMundialCTPaz (@ciudadesdepaz) October 5, 2020
🌐 https://t.co/suatB3swOf
🕊️ #ciudadesdepazpic.twitter.com/fAzyMpJozw
Claudia Sheinbaum, the head of government of Mexico City, agreed with what was being proposed at the discussion. “The question we must ask ourselves is, what is causing the violence? From our perspective, what generates it are inequalities in access to rights ”
🗨 Reducing gaps and inequalities is the best way to reduce violence in our cities: @Claudiashein#ciudadesdepaz#citiesofpeace 🕊 pic.twitter.com/C2uG7NbgJg
— ForoMundialCTPaz (@ciudadesdepaz) October 6, 2020
The strategy of building a lasting peace, for the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, has to do fundamentally with education and the concept that peace is not the absence of violence but the capacity to guarantee rights for citizens.
🗨 In the cities we have to make policies that combat inequalities, discrimination and segregation to build a future of peace: @AdaColau#ciudadesdepaz#citiesofpeace 🕊 pic.twitter.com/tyEIGOsY5V
— ForoMundialCTPaz (@ciudadesdepaz) October 6, 2020
At the end of the opening session, the three cities reached the common conclusion that peace in city contexts is not achieved by setting up more control and repression bodies, it is achieved with the concretization of public policies designed to reduce the gaps in mobility, education, housing, food and sustainability taking into account that today cities account for 55% of the world's population.
To follow the rest of the program, visit the forum's YouTube channel.
