17/04/2026
💫 UCLG Executive Bureau in Mexico City
🌐 A week ago, under the motto “A Local Social Covenant for Humanity: New Frontier of the Municipal and Territorial Movement,” the Executive Bureau Business Session addressed the work being done throughout the year, the 100 days of local multilateralism, and the road towards the Congress.
🎤 The Business Session of the Executive Bureau opened with Mayor of Mexico City, Clara Brugada inspiring the participants of the Bureau to play a stronger role, as a movement, in building peace form our territories; in opening spaces for dialogue and speaking of disarmament; and with a strong commitment to building care within UCLG, strengthening the ties of the city to all of the Network, and to advance as a network in building systems of care and developing a renewed space for multilateralism.
“I am committed to continue caring for the Network. This is how Mexico understands the implementation of the Local Social Covenant: as a living, political and transformative commitment, anchored in our unity and projecting a fairer future”.
Chaired by President of South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and UCLG Copresident Bheke Stofile; by Mayor of Rabat and UCLG Treasurer Fatiha El Moudni; and by UCLG Vicepresident and Prefect of Pichincha Paola Pabón. Mayor Jan Van Zanen of The Hague, and Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay of Konya, members of the UCLG Executive Presidency, referenced the work done through the year and the 100 days of local multilateralism respectively.
“What we see across these first months of 2026 is a network that is increasingly able to connect its different areas of work—policy and advocacy, research, learning an partnerships—into a more coherent and strategic contribution to global debates.” Jan Van Zanen, Mayor of The Hague.
The “100 Days of Local Multilateralism” provide a unique framework to connect policy processes and to position our constituency with clarity and ambition. They bring together decisive moments into a single, coherent political cycle”. Uğur İbrahim Altay, Mayor of Konya.
The Bureau introduced critical partnerships that UCLG embarks on this year, such as the “Global ScaleX Alliance for Cities” with UNIDO - United Nations Industrial Development Organization, which was represented in the Bureau, as well as the development of our partnership with PSI - Public Services International.
The final part of the Bureau introduced the road to Tangier: the progress of the Outcome Document, the structure of the Congress – with a video message by Mayor of Tangier Mounir Lymouri; and the Assembly Track – the regional representation of the Summit.
💬 The Policy Debate on Care, held back-to-back with the Bureau, brought together political representatives of our World Organization to discuss the care agenda of our Organization, as well as the initiatives that could be undertaken to expand care among the communities that need it most, and to care for those that care.
Mayor of Niterói and President of Mercociudades Rodrigo Neves; Mayor of Athens, Ohio Steve Patterson, Mayor of Balikesir and Vice President for UCLG MEWA Ahmet Ekin and representatives from the City of Mexico, including the former Secretary of Wellbeing Araceli Damián highlighted that developing care services means redesigning our cities, including its public spaces, for care. Developing caring societies means prioritizing caregivers, including and in particular women who often bear the brunt of delivering care without the visibility and recognition. Participants called for developing more participatory measures for our communities, and connecting these debates from the local spheres to the international spheres, to build a multilateral system that cares.
🌍 Throughout the week, local and regional governments reinstated their commitment to a municipal movement that cares, to co-creating a local social covenant that places communities first, and to the whole network, ahead of our UCLG World Congress and Summit in Tangier in 2026.
