3rd Mayors Summit on Living Together - Izmir

December 21, 2021

The 3rd International Mayors Summit on Living Together, which took place on December 7-8-10, was hosted by Izmir

The Metropolitan Municipality of Izmir, in cooperation with the International Observatory of Mayors on Living Together, organized the 3rd international Mayors Summit on Living Together, which took place on December 7 and 8 (online), as well as on December 10 in Izmir, on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day.

Sommet

This Summit aimed to explore the current challenges and opportunities for cities in terms of social cohesion and human rights, in a context of global recovery from COVID-19 - see Programme

A dozen of Mayors and elected officials - from twelve cities in Africa, Europe, North America, as well as from Turkey - participated to this third Summit.

The event also brought together representatives from international organizations (i.e. United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), UNESCO, World Bank, etc.), cities networks (i.e.: UNESCO's International Coalition of Inclusive and Sustainable Cities - (ICCAR), OCDE Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth Initiative, Strong Cities Network (SCN), Resilient Cities Network (RCN), City Diplomacy Lab | Columbia Global Centres, etc.), as well as experts and representatives of civil society from different parts of Turkey.

Sommet - Mayors Dialogue

The Summit was officially opened by Mr. Tunç Soyer, Mayor of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and host of the event, and Ms. Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montréal, host city of the International Observatory of Mayors on Living Together.

December 7

The Summit started by a political segment "Mayors Dialogue on social cohesion in cities" (online). The keynote adresseses were made by:

- H. E. Mr. Miguel Angel Moratinos, Hight Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)

- Ms. Ângela Melo, Director of Policies and Programmes, Human and Social Sciences Sector, UNESCO

- Dr Stephan Keller, Mayor of Düsseldorf (via video message).

Following a dialogue with mayors of the Observatory, a special message was delivered by Cheikh Khaled Bentounes, President of AISA International, instigator of the International Day on Living Together in Peace (IDLTP).

An Interactive City Dialogue on "Living Together: lessons learned and perspectives for cities in the future", organized on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the Observatory, took place afterwards. Following an initial presentation by Mr. Lorenzo Kihlgren Grandi, Director of the City Diplomacy Lab, Columbia Global Centers | Paris, an introductory speech was given by Mr. Turgay Erdem, Mayor of Nilüfer.

December 8

This day was organized around three workshops - on the topics: 1) Building Resilient Cities, 2) Fostering Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and 3) Promoting Dialogue and Solidarity, respectively - in order to exchange on current trends and innovative practices in cities (online).

December 10

On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, two on-site plenary sessions were held in Izmir - see programme.

Sommet

- A first plenary session gathered civil society organizations and institutional stakeholders from Turkey in order to explore the links between human rights, local democracy and living together in cities, in the context of the pandemic.

- As conclusion to the Summit, a high-level panel gathered mayors - from Mersin, Karşıyaka, Bodrum, Nicosia Turkish Municipality, Sindelfingen and Izmir - in order to exchange more particularly on the role of cities in terms of social cohesion and human rights.

Communiqué (in Turkish): Izmir Metropolitan Municipality

Final speech by M. Tunç Soyer, Mayor of Izmir (watch video - extract - in Turkish)

Speech by M. Bernd Vöhringer, Lord-Mayor of Sindelfingen, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Council of Europe (watch video message)