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General Assembly Global Cities Dialogue [ GCD] REVIEW of the work that has been done since the Mayors’ Summit on 1&2 June in Bremen where the participating cities have signed the constitution of Bremen and aimed to implement the following goals: The first General Assembly of the GCD The preparations are going full steam ahead. Please look at the schedule of the GA for detailed information • Establishment of working groups "The GCD is a kind of umbrella, which cities can join, when they are interested in. But not all cities are interested in the same projects. Some will join only those projects, that they are interested in." Regarding to this aspect GCD will support the vertical integration of working groups emanating from the cities. Precise subjects have to be established and this could be done within the themes/topics written in the technical annex of the Constitution of Bremen. • Gathering of user requirements In this case the users are the cities themselves. "One information source could be the evaluation of the projects in the Stockholm Challenge Awards database." "Another possibility could be to integrate a survey in the web-sites: a questionnaire could help to find out what kind of subjects the cities are interested in." This task could be accomplished by the new elected Steering Committee. • Internet appearance A web-site with all necessary information about the GCD has been set up. Please visit the following preliminary official web site of GCD: • Steering structure GCD consists of two layers: the first one is the political one and this can only be promoted by all politicians of GCD. The second one is the final steering committee that will be nominated on 20 October in Sophia-Antipolis. Candidatures are still open. Schedule of the first General Assemby The General Assembly of the Global Cities Dialogue takes place on 19/20 October in Sophia-Antipolis, France (France Telecom Agora - 905 street Albert Einstein). The assembly is organised within the framework of Global Forum 2000, an annual event bringing together major players from the IT scene. Attendance to the different sessions is free for the members of the GCD. Thursday 19, October 2000
Friday 20, October 2000
Status on current participation • cities that have confirmed their participation
• cities that have informed that they could NOT attend
• Cities that have not yet replied
The cities that have not yet replied are asked to do so in the very best delais. The delegation of vote for the non-political representatives Non-political representatives should have an accreditation letter signed by their city’s mayor providing them delegation of vote for the General Assembly. New members The city of MANCHESTER sent the signed GCD Declaration. Confirmation of attendance still open. The following cities have confirmed their presence and wish to sign the Declaration of Helsinki:
Other cities that have announced their participation and might join the GCD:
The General Assembly - proposal The Global Cities Dialogue is a GLOBAL initiative aiming to bring together cities from all over the world; even if by now already 44 cities from 24 countries have joined the initiative, the objective of global coverage is not yet reached. The main number of cities is coming from Europe where the initiative started. This globalization has definitely to be reached within the next year, and a substantial number of cities from outside Europe should then be playing an active role in the dialogue. Given the current situation, the following structure is proposed for the next two years :
Chair - Issy-les-Moulineaux
These cities will be part of the Steering Committee, complemented by a number of cities that are ready to play an active “vertical” role, ie. That are ready to take the lead on a specific theme/topic, particularly interesting for cities. At the meeting in Bremen, several other cities had highlighted their interest to play an active role in the GCD, and to be part of the Steering Committee. These cities were : Antwerp, Helsinki, Köln, London Lewisham, New Castle, Roma, Ronneby, Sienna. It is proposed that these cities take the lead (animate a working group, elaborate conclusions, propose recommendations,…) on a specific theme/topic. So far the following areas are proposed: Local representatives in global governance
Other topics can of course be added. Interested cities are invited to indicate the area they would like to cover. Another point to be addressed in the assembly is the work programme for 2001; cities are invited to table their interests and proposals. Press release/Assembly conclusions A press release is to be prepared presenting the major outcomes of the assembly; we propose that the “sherpas” have a working dinner in parallel to the mayor’s dinner on 19 October to finalize this press release and to discuss other matters for a smooth running of the assembly itself. Next General assembly Last not least, the place and date for the next GCD assembly should be fixed. To send a strong signal underlining the global character of the initiative, we would propose to organize it outside Europe. Cities outside Europe interested in hosting the next assembly are asked to volunteer; the final choice should then be taken at the assembly. Website: www.globalcitiesdialogue.org Eric LEGALE |
Download the General Assembly Agenda (PDF)