Ilsur Metshin: “The UCLG should become a platform for the exchange of experience of cities”

(KZN.RU, July 15). Today, Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, met with Frederic Valle, general secretary of the European branch of the United Cities and Local Government. They discussed the prospects for the development of the organization and options for the most effective use of the UCLG site to support the city-members of the organization. The meeting was held at the venue of the Kazan Sabantuy.

The meeting between Ilsur Metshin and Frederic Valle took place on the eve of the election of the general secretary of the World Organization, which will be held in December. The general secretary of the European Branch of the UCLG is one of the candidates for this position. In this regard, it was important for Frederic Valle to personally meet and discuss the prospects for cooperation with the Mayor of one of the most important cities in the world stage. Moreover, Ilsur Metshin is president of the Eurasian branch of the World Organization and one of the active members of the organization participating in the life of the UCLG.

Ilsur Metshin noted that the UCLG organization should become a family of mayors, a platform where they could exchange successful practices, necessary for the development of cities.

Ilsur Metshin cited as example cooperation with Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris, who was interested in studying Kazan's experience in organizing and winning campaigns. Kazan happily shared the experience, and productive joint work with Paris was held to support the capital of France in the bid campaign for the right to host the Olympics-2024. “This is a good example of what a great place the UCLG is for exchanging experience and how an organization can serve as a platform for opportunities”, marked I. Metshin.

The Mayor noted that it is important for cities to share both positive and negative experiences so that other cities can learn from other’s mistakes.

The participants of the meeting discussed the direction, in which it is necessary to build work in the framework of the UCLG. So that the activities of the organization maximally meet the needs of the cities in it.

Rasikh Sagitov, the general secretary of the Eurasian Branch of the UCLG, and Evgenia Lodvigova, the first deputy head of the municipal formation of Kazan, also took part in the meeting.

For reference

The World Organization “United Cities and Local Government” is a voluntary international merger of associations, unions, and individual municipal entities, established in 2004 to effectively implement the citizens' rights to local self-government. For today, the UCLG unites more than 1000 cities and associations of the world and represents more than half of the population of the planet. The organization consists of 7 regional branches.

The Eurasian regional office is the youngest and the fastest in growing. It includes more than 100 cities and associations of local authorities of the CIS countries and Mongolia. The headquarters of the Eurasian office is located in Kazan.