Second International Mayors’ Summit on Living Together in Düsseldorf
As the proportion of the world’s population living in cities grows at an unprecedented rate, with projections indicating that it will reach 68% by 2050, cities are becoming key players in meeting citizens’ needs. Municipal leaders must address the implications of this growth and develop a new understanding of living together in urban communities. Factors such as limited space, the growing digital divide and emerging security threats are already reshaping our very understanding of what it means to live together. In 2015, more than 20 mayors gathered in Montreal and expressed the need to exchange experiences and solutions to the major challenges of social cohesion, inclusion and community safety in the context of globalisation. The outcome of their discussions was the Montreal Declaration on Living Together, a commitment to developing better policies for urban life. To continue this discussion, the city of Düsseldorf is inviting distinguished mayors, deputy mayors and thought leaders from around the world to take part in three days of workshops. Our ambition is to work together to develop an inspiring vision of the liveable city of tomorrow, one that responds to citizens’ needs. The summit will offer mayors unique opportunities to present their initiatives and best practices across five key themes related to living together, and to engage in constructive discussions on strategies and solutions to current challenges. The programme will feature results-oriented workshops with interactive elements, public debates, press meetings and cultural events in a state-of-the-art environment. Over three consecutive days, participants will have the opportunity to create together, learn from one another, strengthen their relationships and enjoy the beauty of Düsseldorf. Düsseldorf will be the first city to communicate the summit’s outcomes directly to its citizens and establish an innovative platform for discussion. The workshop conclusions will be digitally summarised overnight and presented at a public exhibition, enabling open discussion between mayors and citizens. Any participating city will be able to use this exhibition format to present the results and discuss them with its own citizens. Report (PDF)
The World’s Major Cities Want to Celebrate the International Day of Living Together in Peace
What will make major cities worth living in in the future, and what are the best solutions for promoting peaceful coexistence among their citizens? From 30 August to 1 September, more than 30 delegations from 23 countries discussed responses to the current challenges facing major cities in Düsseldorf, the capital of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The conference represented approximately 60 million people living in metropolitan areas around the world. The conference was inaugurated by Thomas Geisel, Mayor of Düsseldorf, and Magda Popeanu, Vice-President of the City Council of Montreal, Canada, responsible for culture and diversity, representing the International Observatory of Mayors on Living Together. Following several opening speeches, including one by Niels Annen, Minister of State at the German Federal Foreign Office, representatives of the participating cities gathered in five thematic workshops to discuss practical aspects of living together in urban environments: During these workshops, selected cities such as New York, Palermo and Venlo presented best practices related to each theme and exchanged ideas with representatives of other cities. In this way, the cities were able to learn from one another and discover how the challenges of living together in peace had been addressed elsewhere. Sheikh Khaled Bentounes, Honorary President of the AISA NGO, was also invited to the conference to deliver a closing address on the future of the International Day of Living Together in Peace (16 May) and its prospects. Among other things, he stated: “It is urgent today that humanity rise up and proclaim its rejection of and horror at all those who, for political or economic gain, support and fuel the destructive conflicts raging throughout the world. We must become aware that our destiny is bound up with the preservation of all living beings on our planet, and this calls upon us to act by strengthening the bonds of living together.” Taoufik Hartit, a member of the AISA NGO’s board of directors, then presented a short video about the International Day of Living Together in Peace, which was warmly received by conference participants. The day concluded with the official signing of the Düsseldorf Declaration at the Tonhalle in Düsseldorf. The Düsseldorf Declaration sets out concrete measures to promote living together in peace, to which the signatory cities commit themselves. It states, among other things: “We, the mayors and representatives of cities from around the world, gathered in Düsseldorf from 31 August to 1 September 2019 for the Second International Mayors’ Summit on Living Together, (…) Welcoming the proclamation by the United Nations of an International Day of Living Together in Peace, to reflect globally on how we can build more inclusive communities, (…) Therefore, we commit to promoting the International Day of Living Together in Peace, to be celebrated every year on 16 May. The International Observatory of Mayors on Living Together, in collaboration with the organisers of this international day, will designate a Capital of Living Together — a city appointed each year to host the main event of the worldwide celebrations.” Thus, metropolitan cities from around the world agreed to celebrate the International Day of Living Together in Peace every year on 16 May.