Fifth Global Summit

Strong Cities Network
Fifth Global Summit

On 3 — 5 December 2024, Strong Cities will host its Fifth Global Summit in Cape Town (South Africa).

About the Summit

This year’s Summit is being co-hosted by the City of Cape Town and will convene mayors and other local leaders together with local government practitioners, civil society actors and national and international partners from around the world to showcase on a global scale how cities are preventing and responding to rising levels of hate, extremism and polarisation amid consecutive global crises.

It will also showcase progress made with implementing priority areas and learnings from the Fourth Global Summit, held in New York City in September 2023, which gathered more than 220 representatives from local governments, national governments and civil society, including mayors and other senior city officials from more than 115 cities across 50 countries and five continents.

The Strong Cities Fifth Global Summit is sponsored by the City of Cape Town, the European Union and the U.S. Department of State.

Together in Cape Town

Cape Town joined the Strong Cities Network in September 2022 and was invited to join the reinvigorated International Steering Committee in September 2023. Since joining Strong Cities, Cape Town has actively sought to share its experience with prevention, including by co-hosting with Strong Cities a roundtable for South African cities and a learning visit on community safety for mayors and technical officers from border municipalities in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Home to the iconic Table Mountain – one of the new Seven Wonders of the World – Cape Town is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Africa. With a diverse population of almost five million, it is the second largest city in South Africa. Its climate, rich cultural heritage, natural assets and biodiversity make it a unique place to live, work and visit: it is globally recognisable with 307km of coastline, over 45000 hectares of accessible protected areas and is one of only a few cities in the world with a national park within its boundaries. It also has two World Heritage sites designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO): Robben Island and the Cape Floral Region Protected Areas.

Catalysing city-led action

The Summit will showcase progress made with implementing priority areas and learnings from the Fourth Global Summit, held in New York City in September 2023, which gathered more than 220 representatives from local governments, national governments and civil society, including mayors and other senior city officials from more than 115 cities across 50 countries and five continents. Mayors and cities will share steps taken to implement the New York City Mayoral Declaration‘s commitments.

City leaders and partners at the Mayoral Meeting of the Fourth Global Summit, Gracie Mansion, New York City

Hear from local leaders

It was a great opportunity to learn global experiences from different city mayors all over the world. Every city is facing challenges related to hate, extremism and polarisation but in different forms. Moreover, group discussions also enriched my understanding of this global scenario. These experiences will help me to build tolerance and resilience in Narayanganj City.

Dr. Salina Hayat Ivy, Mayor, Narayanganj City

Mayor Kebler had the honor to represent Bend at the Fourth Strong Cities Network Global Summit in New York last month. We are now excited to announce that we are formally joining the Strong Cities Network as a member city! We will also be partnering with Strong Cities to develop a whole-of-city plan to prevent and respond to hate and extremist-motivated violence and related threats facing our communities. It is at the local level where prevention can be most effective – we look forward to continuing to collaborate with our citizens and community to develop innovative efforts to bring the community together, including our Human Rights and Equity Commission and Welcoming Week activities for those new to Bend and new to our country. We look forward to working with Strong Cities to build on these efforts.

City of Bend, Oregon, USA

It was an extremely interesting event, that helped us to network with city leaders from all over the world. Very good organization and interesting subjects discussed during the workshops.

Beata Kimek, Mayor, Ostrów Wielkopolski, Poland

To all fellow delegates, thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiences. To all the Strong Cities Network team, sincere appreciation for making our experience and time here in New York uplifting and inspirational.

Eric Apelgren, Head of Department: International and Governance Relations, eThekwini (Durban) Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa

Empowering our youth and engaging public speakers are vital steps for preventing and addressing major societal concerns. Participating in Strong Cities seminars, workshops and forums connects us with local and international advocate experts, enriching our understanding and ideas to address these issues.

Saud Ali – President of Thinadhoo City Council, Thinadhoo Atoll, Maldives

Strong Cities has helped the City of Prishtina in fostering global connections and enabling the sharing of good practices and experiences with colleagues from other countries. This has helped us better understand, appreciate and learn from the prevention landscape in the region.

Albaton Bejta – High Security Officer, City of Prishtina, Kosovo

Saida went through some challenges that pushed us towards a preventative approach. As a result, the mayor considered the Local Prevention Networks to be a priority for youth and for schools especially. Engagement with Strong Cities has had a very positive impact on the city’s practitioners and municipal officials. To be honest, we didn’t expect this result. It has exceeded our expectations.

Focal Point—Saida Municipality, Lebanon

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Summit Co-host

Strong Cities is proud to be partnering with the City of Cape Town to co-host this year’s Summit

Summit Partners

The Summit will feature sessions delivered in partnership with ICLEI Africa, the South African Local and other regional and international partners.

Summit Sponsors

The Summit is sponsored by the City of Cape Town, the European Union and the U.S. Department of State.

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