Some 50 city leaders and their local parties representing more than 10 countries visited the Nepalese  capital this week for a training workshop on Localising the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through Innovative Leadership and Community Empowerment.
Although the goals were conceived as a way of holding national governments to account on poverty reduction, local governments and their partners have a critical role to play if they are to be realized. The workshop challenged the participants to develop community-based visions and action plans for creating practical initiatives to deliver the goals to their communities. Utilising a highly innovative approach to learning, leaders developed their capacity to work as  “social artists” more closely engaged with the communities they serve. The workshop was organized by UN-HABITAT and CITYNET (The Regional Network of Local Authorities for the Management of Human Settlements) in partnership with the Municipal Association of Nepal, and Kathmandu Metropolitan City. Following the workshop CITYNET and the UN Millennium Campaign established a joint office in Kathmandu. The office will be responsible for leading the MDGs localisation campaign in cities, particularly in the south Asian sub-region. |
