Virtual Mayors Summit of Mannheim’s Twin Cities 2020
Virtual Mayors Summit of Mannheim’s Twin Cities
on September 9, 2020, 1:00 – 3:00 PM (CEST)
Adoption of the Declaration on the role of cities in the United Nations
Beyoglu – Bydgoszcz – Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf – Chișinău – Haifa – Klaipėda – Mannheim - Qingdao – Riesa – Swansea – Toulon – Windsor – Zhenjiang
In recent weeks and months, the cities have shown that, particularly in times of the current crisis, solidarity and international cooperation are of extremely high importance. With this in mind, we wanted to discuss with the mayors of Mannheim's twin cities and international experts all around the world on the future of life in our cities and the role of cities in the fabric of international cooperation and urban diplomacy. We focussed in particular on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and explain how we as cities want to organize the “recovery” after the pandemic.
During the virtual meeting, the twin cities jointly adopted a political declaration to strengthen city diplomacy and thus took part in the UN initiative for the global exchange of ideas on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. In the declaration, the political representatives of the twin cities advocate the urgent need to increase the efforts to end armed conflicts and to combat all causes of flight and expulsion, and they also call for a redefinition of the role of cities in the United Nations system, which will lead to a formalised participation of the cities in the decision-making processes of the United Nations.
The joint decalartion will be handed over to Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel and to UN Secretary General António Guterres, so that the demands of the City of Mannheim and its twin towns can be taken into consideration in the discussions about the future of the international community at the next General Assembly of the United Nations on September 21 in New York.
Political declaration on the role of cities in the United Nations: Click here
Detailed conference program: Click here
