Title of Event:

Name of Organisation:

Date and time of the session:

Localising the Millennium Development Goals in the City

UN-HABITAT Urban Management Programme

Wednesday, June 21, 2006, 4:30 – 6:30

Key Highlights

1. Estimated no of participants: Over 150
2. Stakeholder group representation at the event:  Local authorities, NGO representatives and others.
3. What were the expected objectives: n/a
4. What did the networking event achieve: Even though the MDGs are global, they can most effectively be achieved through action at the local level, as it is at the local level that inequalities between people in a city can be addressed.  Chaired by Joseph Roig of Metropolis and Prof. Akin Mabogunje of Nigeria, this networking event shared experiences from Local Urban Observatories and other cities that have begun to implement MDG based local strategies.  The Mayor of Naga City, the Philippines, the Mayor of Kisumu, Kenya, the Director General of Instituto Municipal de Planeación (IMPLAN), Leon, Mexico and the UN-HABITAT Programme Manager in Salé, Morocco, all presented on their efforts and achievements in localising the MDGs. 

A UN-Habitat guide book, developed to help local authorities implement  activities at the local level aimed at achieving the MDGs, was launched at the event by the Hon. Dinesh Gunawardena, Sri Lankan Minister of Urban Development and Water Supply.  The Minister also launched a CD-ROM of all electronic information and material collected during the era of the Urban Management Programme, which was handed over to regional networks in December 2005 after close to 20 years.

2. What were the core issues identified in your event as they relate to the theme and sub-themes of WUFIII?

The core issues identified in the event linked the sustainability issues related to Shape of Cities: Urban Planning and Management and Public engagement: the inclusive approach. The focus of this networking event was to link MDGs to city development strategies developed through an inclusive process. The key issues discussed were those of inclusion and participation around localising the Millennium Development Goals, and the need for the collection and management of city indicators and baseline data to inform participatory decisions. 

3. What were the main points raised by panellists and participants in relation to these different issues? What new ideas have been generated as a result of the discussion?

The city presentations highlighted that achieving the MDGs, even at the local level, was not something new to local governments and communities, but rather a framework and particularly a method to measure success.  They all emphasized the importance of baseline data and city profiles as a means to measure progress.  The creation of Local Urban Observatories, as in Leon, Mexico, was cited as a very useful mechanism to monitor this.  The need to integrate the MDGs into “regular” city planning was emphasized, as was the importance of institutionalising this, for example, as in the Kisumu Action Team in Kenya and IMPLAN, a municipal planning body in Leon.  MDG localisation efforts are most effective when building on existing poverty reduction programmes, as in Naga City, the Philippines, the CDS process in Kisumu or working in combination with such initiatives at the Local Agenda 21 programme in Salé, Morocco.

The importance of stakeholder participation through all stages, including poor communities, was highlighted in all presentations.  NGOs and CBOs need to be coordinated in their work to most effectively achieve the MDGs.  Both medium and long terms goals and targets should be agreed, to help monitor progress.  Participants agreed that monitoring helped with transparency and accountability.  It was agreed that local plans should always be linked to and supported by the national level.  There was a concern that MDGs are sectoral, and care should be taken to prioritize vulnerable groups and not just specific targets and goals.  It was also pointed out that some goals and targets work better at the local level than others. 

The discussion was summarized by Prof. Mabogunje when he pointed out that whatever is being done at the local level, and whatever framework is being used, it is about good governance.  He highlighted the critical need for quantitive targets and the need to monitor our own work, to see if we are helping those most in need.  He also emphasized that this could only be done by involved stakeholders.

4. What process steps have been identified in your event that could help turn ideas into operational reality?

Localising the MDGs involves a series of steps, and presentations at the event served to confirm that cities should begin with preparing an MDG baseline and monitoring system and move to a city consultation to develop a local MDG response strategy.  The next steps include implementing the local MDG response strategy, with a focus on budgeting and costing concerns, with monitoring and evaluation part of the final and then on-going effort.