Fourth Forum of Mayors (2024)

ABOUT 

The United Nations Fourth Forum of Mayors, the "Cities Summit of the Future", will take place at the Palais des Nations, Geneva from 30 September to 1 October 2024. It will immediately follow the United Nations Summit of the Future (New York, 22-23 September 2024). Mayors convening in Geneva will have the opportunity to deliberate on the ramifications for local authorities of the “Pact of the Future” to be adopted by United Nations Member States in New York. Furthermore, they will be able to highlight the multiple ways in which cities can substantially contribute to implementing the Pact, forging a brighter future for humanity and accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

The Forum will consist of four sessions. The first three sessions will focus on examining the implications for local authorities stemming from the various chapters of the Pact of the Future.  

During each of these sessions, mayors will have the opportunity to address the audience and provide insights into how their city can contribute to the implementation of the Pact in the areas in question. In particular: 

• Session one will examine the first chapter of the Pact and its implications for local authorities: 
  • 1. Sustainable development and financing for development. 
• Session two, the Forum will delve into the implications for local authorities outlined in the second and third chapters of the Pact: 
  • 2. Peace and security. 
  • 3. Science, technology, and innovation, and digital cooperation 
• Session three will center around two crucial topics of the Pact:
  •  4. Youth and future generations. 
  • 5. Transforming global governance. 

During the fourth, and the last session, the Forum is expected to collaboratively finalize and agree on a Statement from mayors on the Future of Cities representing a unified vision and commitment from municipal leaders towards shaping the future of our cities.  

To assist the cities in their preparation for the sessions, the Guiding Questions document includes background information, expectations, and guiding questions for each of the segments. Cities are encouraged to reflect on these notes and consider how they relate to their experiences and future plans. During the session interventions, they may wish to highlight specific current or future projects, discuss challenges encountered during implementation, and suggest potential solutions.

BACKGROUND AND PREVIOUS MEETINGS 

UNECE is committed to giving cities a voice. The Day of Cities (Geneva, 8 April 2019) brought together fifty mayors and deputy mayors from the region for sharing best practices and defining a new vision for urban sustainability. The success of that event and the pressing sustainability challenges called for further and longer-term actions involving city leaders. Therefore, to continue to welcome the local decision-makers to the multilateral stage, UNECE convened the first Forum of Mayors’ meeting (Geneva, 6 October 2020). 

The Second Forum of Mayors’ meeting took place in Geneva on 4-5 April 2022, back-to-back with the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (RFSD). It was attended by around 500 online and in-person participants representing cities and member States from across the UNECE region and beyond, the United Nations Regional Commissions and specialized organizations, non-governmental organizations and academia. Mayors and vice mayors from 44 cities shared their experiences in finding people-centred solutions that simultaneously meet the needs and aspirations of their citizens, hedge against disasters and rise to the challenge of climate change in a manner that ensures the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda. 

On 13 January 2023, the UNECE Executive Committee, at its 126th session, agreed to the establishment of the Forum of Mayors as a subsidiary body of the UNECE Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management.  

The objectives and the scope of the Forum of Mayors (see ECE/EX/2023/L.4, annex) are: 

a)   To allow for the participation of mayors in the UNECE and to share their city strategic plans, actions and joint initiatives for addressing regional and global challenges, including implementing SDG 11 and other relevant targets; 

b)   To support the implementation of the work of the UNECE Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management and subprogramme 8; 

c)   To promote human-centred solutions for supporting the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; 

d)   To facilitate the sharing of experiences from cities, including success stories and challenges, in line with the topic of the Forum and within the mandate of the Committee; 

e)   To contribute to achieving coherence and complementarity between the local, regional and global levels in furtherance of a stronger, more networked and inclusive multilateral system. 

The Third Forum of Mayors’ meeting, under the theme “Urban regeneration towards 2030”, took place in Geneva, on 2-3 October 2023 immediately prior to the 84th session of the Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management. Representatives of 60 cities were present and shared their experiences on urban regeneration and resilience, finding solutions that simultaneously meet the needs and aspirations of their residents, hedge against disasters and rise to the climate change challenge in a manner that supports the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The Forum developed recommendations and principles related to urban regeneration inviting member States to endorse the Principles and to involve cities and facilitate their participation in relevant UN processes, to foster a renewed and inclusive multilateralism.