The 9th edition of the Africities Summit kicked off Tuesday in the Kenyan city of Kisumu, with the participation of Morocco.
The 9th Africities Summit, which will run through May 21, 2022, is held under the theme: “The Role of Intermediary Cities of Africa in the Implementation of Agenda 2030 of the United Nations and the African Union Agenda 2063”.
These two Agendas call for the urgent need to develop resilient and sustainable urbanization in Africa, cognizant of the fact that by 2050 the bulk of African population will be living in cities, and that the majority of city dwellers will settle in intermediary cities, United cities and local governments of Africa (UCLG- Affrica) said in a press release.
The improvement of the living conditions of the African people and the economic and social structural transformation of the African continent is therefore closely linked to the way the realization of these agendas will be addressed in African intermediary cities, which are for sure the places where Africa will be inventing its own approach and trajectory to sustainable human development based on its realities but also taking stock of the knowledge and experiences accumulated across the world. As much as possible the development models to be implemented in Africa should be more energy efficient, low carbon, more inclusive and more resilient, UCLG-Africa said.
Africities is a flagship pan-African event of the UCLG-Africa that is held every three years in one of the five regions of Africa.
The Africities Summits aim to address major issues in a bid to contribute to the materialization of the 2063 Vision of Africa.
The Summits seek to strengthen the role of local and regional governments in the development of the continent and to help build the integration and unity of Africa from its territories.
Africities summit is considered as the main platform for dialogue on decentralization and local governance that brings together every three years African ministers, mayors, leaders and elected officials of local and regional governments, civil society NGOs, traditional authorities, representatives of the African diaspora, economic operators, experts, researchers and academics, financial institutions, development partners and other srakeholders.
Morocco is represented at the event by a delegation, including Presidents of local authorities, elected officials, representatives of the Ministry of the Interior and experts.
The previous Africities edition was held in Marrakech in 2018 (November 20 – 24).