Today, the General Assembly and Board of Directors of the Metropolis Cities Network® were held virtually. In this session, the Board of Directors and the governance positions within it, including the presidency of the network, were elected. During this meeting and under the consensus of all members, an alternate presidency was approved between the city of Guangzhou in China, which will preside over the organization from 2021 to 2022, and Bogotá, headed by Mayor Claudia López, which will lead from June 2022 to December 2023.
The World Association of Major Metropolises (metropolis®) is a network with a 35-year track record in interconnecting metropolises, helping to find collective answers to the common problems faced by the world's major cities to improve their metropolitan governance. Currently, the network has more than 140 members.
During this Assembly, the Board of Directors was also designated, which will be formed by the cities of Bogota and Guangzhou alternating in the presidency and, Berlin, Barcelona, the Province of Gauteng, Tehran, Montreal and Montevideo as co-presidents. The Regional Secretaries and the new Secretary General were also selected.
"As a global association, in metropolis, it is our responsibility to inspire and engage our members to build more inclusive, sustainable and participatory cities" said the Mayor of Bogota.
"As a global association, in Metropolis, it is our responsibility to inspire and engage our members to build more inclusive, sustainable and participatory cities" said Mayor @ClaudiaLopez about the role of @metropolis_org in the international agenda. pic.twitter.com/HcbuPwJllc
— Relaciones Internacionales Bogotá (@BogotaInter_nal) November 30, 2020
Within their bets as presidents of metropolis®, Bogotá will seek to continue strengthening the positioning of the world's great cities and the network, as well as in the international scenario. Likewise, it will seek to transform the network into the hub of the world's great metropolises in order to share experiences and mobilize to advance towards a post-pandemic recovery focused on Agenda 2030 and green development. With Bogotá's presidency, renewed leadership is expected from the contributing experience of a city in the global south.
With this appointment, Mayor Claudia López becomes the first Latin American woman to be president of Metropolis®, a truly historic achievement. This appointment joins other leadership positions that the city already holds in international spaces. In March, the mayor was appointed regional vice president of the C40 Leadership Cities Group together with the mayor of Buenos Aires, who have succeeded in promoting the green agenda through initiatives such as the dialogues for climate action in Latin American cities in the post-COVID-19 context. Also, in October she was appointed Vice President of the Ibero-American Center for Urban Development (CIDEU).
To read this note in spanish, click here.
