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:
- Communicative Cities (urban planning and urban development)
- Healthy Cities (sustainable development and health)
- Resilient Cities (security and protection)
- Connected Cities (digitalisation and civic engagement)
- Inclusive Cities
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.