“Urban diplomacy is an important tool for using city power to influence the course of events and respond to today’s crises”, stated Vladimir Prebilic, Spokesperson on Public Ethics of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities during the closing session of the B40 Balkan Cities Network Athens Summit on 24 February 2023 in Athens, Greece. The Summit hosted over 69 mayors from 10 countries and was aimed at setting a common course for stability and prosperity in the Balkans.

“We must advocate for stronger multi-level governance in our countries, in full respect of the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, underlined the Congress Spokesperson. He presented the Congress work, in particular its resolution and recommendation adopted in 2008 on city diplomacy activities which call on both local authorities and national governments to use urban diplomacy in support of dialogue and conflict resolution.

Mr Prebilic welcomed the Urban Diplomacy Strategy presented by Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu and the Mayor’s call on local governments to unite strongly under the flag of democracy, and reiterated the Congress support to Mayor Imamoglu who is facing a prison sentence and a political ban in his country. 

The Congress Spokesperson also pointed out that local and regional authorities had become a political force to be reckoned with, as fully-fledged political players in the development of their communities. “The challenges that Europe and the world are facing, increasingly transversal in nature, require transversal solution and therefore close interaction between all government levels”, he added. He recalled in this regard that the Congress launched a reflection on ways to adapt the principles of urban governance in response to the exigences of urban living in today’s era of transformations, with a current revision of its European Urban Charter which will be presented for adoption at the 45th session in October 2023.

“In the face of the multiple challenges, the society is compelled to build stronger resilience, the ability to prevent, resist and adapt to crises, as well as bounce back quickly. We are convinced that resilient cities and regions are an essential part of building a peaceful, secure, and cohesive future for our world”, he concluded.

More here: https://www.coe.int/en/web/congress/-/vladimir-prebilic-we-must-use-urban-diplomacy-to-strengthen-democratic-resilience-of-our-communities-