- 500 delegates including Mayors, Deputy Mayors, and city officials and knowledge partners to attend one of the largest U20 summits ever
- Knowledge partners World Economic Forum (WEF), C40 Cities, All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG), UNESCO, UNICEF, GIZ, and ICLEI collaborating
Delegates from 57 cities from world over and 35 cities across India will assemble during July 7-8 in twin cities of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar of Gujarat for Mayoral Summit of the sixth cycle of Urban 20, an Engagement Group under the G20. By facilitating discussions among cities from the G20 countries, the U20 provides a platform for cities to collectively inform G20 negotiations and discussions with respect to urban priorities. Over 500 delegates including Mayors, Deputy Mayors, and city officials besides government officals and knowledge partners will participate in the function, making it to be one of the largest U20 summits ever. The twin cities are highlighted with banners and posters. Ahmedabad is preparing to welcome the delegates, and preparations are going in full swing on to make the summit a success. Besides the inaugural session and the handover of the U20 Communiqué by the Mayors to the G20 leaders, a number of thematic sessions and spotlight events have been planned in 2-days event. In this endeavour, Ahmedabad is supported by MoHUA Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs as the nodal agency, NIUA National Institute of Urban Affairs, the Technical Secretariat of U20, and the U20 Conveners, C40 Cities and UCLG United Cities and Local Governments. The Mayoral Meet will be officially inaugurated on 7 July by Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel and Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore. Mayor of Ahmedabad Kirit Parmar, on behalf of Ahmedabad city, will welcome the delegates and Abhay Thakur, Sous Sherpa of G20 and Manoj Joshi, Secretary, MoHUA will elaborate on the development journey of Indian cities. Thematic sessions on the six U20 priority areas will be organised during the summit. The U20 priority areas echo the emphasis G20 is laying on environmental responsibility, climate finance, and cities of the future. The six priorities under U20 are namely; ‘encouraging environmentally responsible behaviours’, ‘accelerating climate finance’, ‘ensuring water security’, ‘promoting local culture and economy’, ‘reinventing frameworks for urban governance and planning’, and ‘catalyzing digital urban futures.’
The Thematic Sessions will include talks and presentations by Mayors or equivalent city leaders from the cities of Tokyo, Riyadh, Paris, Surat, Srinagar, Amman, Los Angeles, New York City, Katowice, Rio de Janeiro, Dubai, Indore, Kitchener, London, Montevideo, Johannesburg, Kochi and Durban among others.
Spotlight Sessions on topics such as Decarbonising the Built Environment; Mainstreaming Women, Youth and Children in Urban Development; Redefining City Investments: a global urban framework utilizing future technologies; Closing the Loop: circular economy in water, wastewater and solid waste; Building Climate-Responsive and Resilient Cities; and Making Data Work for People will be part of the subjects to be discussed.
The participating Mayors from across abroad would also engage during closed doors sessions on both days to further deliberate on U20 priorities and sustainability agenda for cities. The closed-door session on the second day of the summit has been designed as a cities’ roundtable on the issue of ‘climate finance.’
During the Mayoral Summit, delegates will visit the GIFT City Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, a state-of-the-art business district in Gandhinagar. The delegates would explore the architectural marvels of the old city of Ahmedabad by a heritage walk, and visit Sabarmati Ashram to understand the pivotal role played by Mahatma Gandhi in the Independence Movement of India and his messages of peace and non-violence to the world. They will also visit various urban development initiatives undertaken in Ahmedabad city, including the Sabarmati Riverfront. Delegates will also attend events of culture of Gujarat and India and experience the taste of authentic Gujarati cuisines.
