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| President Yoon Suk-yeol, center in bottom row, poses with Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo, front row sixth from left, dignitaries and heads of local governments around the world during the opening ceremony of the 7th United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) World Congress held in the central city of Daejeon, Wednesday. Yonhap |
Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo declares bid for presidency of UCLG
By Lee Hyo-jin
Over 1,200 city government officials from around the world gathered in Daejeon to discuss ways for cooperation in tackling global crises at the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) World Congress hosted by the Daejeon Metropolitan Government.
The UCLG is a global network of cities and metropolitan governments, committed to representing the voices of local municipalities. With 240,000 local governments from 140 countries as members, it is the world's largest organization of regional governments and the only such organization recognized by the United Nations.
Since 2004, it has been holding the UCLG World Congress every three years where mayors, councilors and elected representatives of member states come together to boost cooperation and prosperity.
The seventh such event, held at the central city of Daejeon, kicked off on Monday and will run through Friday. It is the largest-scale international event to be hosted in the city since the Daejeon Expo in 1993.
Under the theme "Local and Regional Governments Breaking Through as One," the event is taking place at a newly built international convention center which the city has decided to establish after being announced as the host country for the 2022 UCLG World Congress.
On the fourth day of the event, Thursday, heads of municipal governments gathered at a meeting to share insights on various topics including urban diplomacy, multi-level governance and ways to build safe and resilient cities.
The attendees were also invited to smaller group meetings on a variety of issues including feminism, culture and climate change.
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| Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo poses with renowned futurist Thomas Frey during the 7th United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) World Congress held in the central city of Daejeon, Thursday. Courtesy of Daejeon Metropolitan Government |
The international event also featured a "smart city show" where visitors were offered exhibitions on smart city models, future mobility, self-driving delivery vehicles and extending reality contents.
Meanwhile, Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo declared his bid for the presidency of the UCLG, becoming one of the four candidates competing for the post. The vote will be held on Friday, according to Daejeon city officials.
The opening ceremony held on Wednesday was attended by President Yoon Suk-yeol, Foreign Minister Park Jin, Minster of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, UCLG President Jan van Zanen who is also mayor of The Hague, as well as former U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, among others.
"A set of global crises such as the pandemic and climate change has highlighted the importance of solidarity between not only countries, but also among local governments," Yoon said in his congratulatory speech. "It is deeply meaningful that Daejeon, the city of science and technology, is hosting the 7th UCLG World Congress."
In his opening speech, Ban stressed the importance of partnerships between cities in order to achieve the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals amid continuing global uncertainties due to climate change and health crises.
