UN-Habitat and Madrid city Council gathered more than 70 international experts in the Urban Monitoring Framework Task Team
More than seventy experts from academic institutions, European City Councils, America, Asia and Africa, agencies from UN Organizations and other organisms and international networks joined last July 28 to 30 in a three-day international meeting to tackle the development of a monitoring system that allows the monitoring of the cities´ progress towards the SDO and the New Urban Agenda globally. The meeting took place online, due to the coronavirus crisis and was jointly organized by UN-Habitat and Madrid City Council.
The meeting has been held thanks to the support of the Collaboration Agreement signed between Madrid City Council and UN-Habitat, as one of the activities planned for this year.
The Councilor Delegate for International Affairs and Cooperation of Madrid City Council, Mr. Santiago Saura in his opening speech Introduction on creating a UN Wide Urban Monitoring Framework, stated the commitment of Madrid City Council with the SDO, the relevance of indicators of monitoring harmonized indicators between cities, the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had in the urban systems and in the priorities and advances related to the SDO, and the response of Madrid to the crisis provoked by the coronavirus which had its main and most immediate effect in the Acuerdos de la Villa, an agreement unanimously adopted by all political parties with representation in the City Council.
Later on, the Vicemayor of Madrid, Ms. Begoña Villacís, intervened by a recorded video message, in which she thanked all the participants for their attendance and interest in the meeting. She highlighted how relevant is to support this meeting. She also declared the commitment of Madrid with its objectives.
Then she expressed the importance of working together, in the international area, in order to put in common all efforts and achievements between different cities, with the support of a global frame of monitoring, in the universal path marked by the SDO and the New Urban Agenda.
The Principal Advisor of International Affairs of Madrid City Council, Mr. Nicolas Gharbi, took part in the sessions of the experts’ presentations, within the discussion panel “City needs for Urban Monitoring”, among representatives from different countries. He emphasized the relevance of the local voluntary revisions to improve and enhance the strategies of the SDO in the cities by sharing knowledges and experiences between local governments. He also addressed the main challenges for the availability and selection of relevant and qualified indicators in the municipal area, distinguishing between urban and rural situations.