The Strong Cities Network new three-year forward strategy – endorsed by the International Steering Committee in September 2023 – is a roadmap for expanding Strong Cities’ reach and sustainable impact.
Following an intensive two-year consultation process, which included bilateral and multilingual regional consultations with more than 100 Strong Cities member cities, as well as consultations with donors and international partners, the Strategy identifies a key set of city needs shaped across several geographical contexts amid a changing policy landscape and threat profile.
By cities for cities, the Strong Cities Strategy reflects the needs and priorities of members. A roadmap for our global network and collective mission.
Learn more about membership and join the global network of cities committed to building strong, resilient communities
Mayor of The Hague
Co-Chair Term: July 2023 – June 2025
Jan van Zanen was sworn in as the mayor of The Hague on 1 July 2020. He grew up in Edam-Volendam and completed his law studies at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam in 1985 and at Cornell Law School at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He did his military service as a reserve officer with the Royal Netherlands Air Force. His early roles included executive secretary at a national business association, member of the municipal council in Utrecht (1990), and subsequently alderman for finance, economic affairs, public space and monuments in 1998. From 2003 to 2008 he was the chairman of the national People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). He then served as mayor of Amstelveen from July 2005 to December 2013. On 1 January 2014 he was appointed as the mayor of Utrecht. Since 3 June 2015 he has been the chairperson of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) and as such he is also the co-president of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG).
Mayor of Rabat
Co-Chair Term: April 2024 – June 2025
Fatiha El Moudni was elected Honorable Mayor of Rabat on 25 March 2024. Previously, she served as Secretary of the Rabat City Council, and substitute at the UCLG World Council. In this capacity, she chaired many commissions and taskforces and participated in several national and international forums. She has held several key positions in the statutory bodies of many important international organisations and networks. She is currently Co-Chair of the Strong Cities Network’s International Steering Committee, Vice-President of Metropolis Organisation, Vice-President of International Association of Urban Lighting LUCI, and many other international networks, local associations and world organisations of the multilateral system. Born in Rabat in 1981 and originally from Tafraout, Fatiha El Moudni grew up in a strict but influential environment. Her father, surrounded by people of different nationalities, backgrounds, and ideologies, inspired her to take an interest in associative, economic, and political life. After following a purely Moroccan academic path, then attending an American university, she continued her studies abroad in England, where she began a course in International Business and Finance, while remaining active in social events and meetings on economic and political issues in Morocco. She has held various positions in England, Turkey, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, South Korea, and Morocco, and is an accomplished business woman. Back in her home country, she created the “African League for Leadership” association and was appointed vice-president of the “Association of young people from Souissi for social development”, in order to share her experience and contribute to social inclusion and good governance. She is an active member in several associations dealing with women in vulnerable and hard situation. She is an active member of political life and wishes to bring her energy and rigor to the process of evolution and development of her country and specially, the dynamic of sustainable development, social inclusion and gender equality. In recognition of her impressive career, she received the “New Leader for the Future” award at the Crans Montana Forum in 2015, followed by another award “Young African Leader” in 2019.
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