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Fifth Global Summit: International Steering Committee Meeting

Publication Date:

21/12/2024

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Cape TownFifth Global SummitInternational Steering Committee

— 13 minutes reading time

Introduction

On 3 – 5 December 2024, the Strong Cities Network held its Fifth Global Summit in Cape Town (South Africa), bringing together more than 140 participants, including 60 mayors and governors, as well as city officials, practitioners and partners from more than 90 cities and 40 countries around the world. The Summit included mayoral conversations, thematic parallel sessions and tabletop exercises – providing city officials from diverse contexts with opportunities to share and learn from city-led innovations and approaches to prevent and respond to hate, extremism and polarisation, and maintain social cohesion amid global crises.

The Summit agenda included an in-person meeting of the Strong Cities International Steering Committee (ISC), a geographically diverse membership of mayors and other senior city officials from across the Strong Cities Network. The meeting was an opportunity to update and discuss with ISC members the Network’s progress and impact in 2024, as well as forward plans for 2025.

Opening Remarks

The ISC Co-Chairs, Fatiha El Moudni, Mayor of Rabat (Morocco),and Jan van Zanen, Mayor of The Hague (The Netherlands) both underscored the continued relevance and urgency of the Strong Cities mission, with communities around the world increasingly impacted by global and national challenges and crises. Mayor El Moudni emphasised that Strong Cities stands at the forefront of these issues, due to the unique platform it provides to local leaders and city governments: “bringing people together from different perspectives, religions and political backgrounds”. Mayor Van Zanen underscored his appreciation for the concrete and practical strategies and approaches shared through city-to-city learning at Strong Cities events, emphasising his strong belief in the potential of “peer-to-peer expertise and sharing stories — practical, not ideological or political – to promote inclusion”.

Panellists additionally shared that migrants are often the primary scapegoat for local crises more broadly and this is largely due to a ‘normalising’ of anti-migrant sentiment globally, which has emboldened local actors to spread anti-migrant narratives in their communities. Konstantinos Exakoustos, Chairman, Development Organisation Board, Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (Greece), shared that the efforts of local officials and community-based partners to “isolate harmful narratives” and debunk anti-migrant conspiracies were important to mitigate the long-term impact of the spike in anti-migrant sentiment that followed the July and August 2023 wildfires in Greece. Migrants were quickly blamed for the wildfires without any evidence to suggest the wildfires were manmade. Councillor Rajiv Chaudhary, shared a similar experience from Delhi (India), where migrants were scapegoated for the spread of COVID-19.

Membership

Allison Curtis, Strong Cities’ Deputy Executive Director, updated the ISC on the Network’s growth since the Fourth Global Summit in September 2023, notably welcoming 44 new members, bringing the Network to more than 260 members. She highlighted the significant growth in North American members, due in part to the launch of the new Strong Cities North America Regional Hub in August 2024. She further underscored significant global growth, with cities from Malawi, Malta, Portugal and Ukraine becoming the first in their countries to join the Network. She also noted that in addition to working with its growing membership, Strong Cities continues to engage with more than 100 non-member cities, demonstrating that membership is not required to benefit from the Network’s mission and resources.

Impact in 2024

Eric Rosand, Strong Cities’ Executive Director, then briefed on what has been a productive year both in terms of delivery and impact. In 2024, Strong Cities delivered more than 50 thematic workshops, consultations and webinars, benefiting more than 1,400 unique participants.

By region, these included:

• five events through the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Regional Hub;
• eight events through the East and Southern Africa (ESA) Regional Hub;
• ten through the new North America Regional Hub; and
• eleven through the South Asia Regional Hub.

It also included 15 events held under the Network’s Transatlantic Dialogue Initiative, ten under Strong Cities’ Global Crises, Local Impacts Initiative, launched at the end of 2023 in response to calls from members.

Eric then shared three specific case studies to exemplify the impact of Strong Cities’ work in 2024.

LOCAL IMPACT: Local Prevention Committee in South Asia

Trincomalee Town and Gravets Council, a multi-ethnic city in the north-east of Sri Lanka, has a history of intercommunal violence. The city has been unable to respond to various local grievances driving hate and extremism because of inadequate understanding of the demographic profile and key needs of its communities.

Since joining Strong Cities, and participating in the Network’s South Asia Regional Hub Inaugural Workshop, city officials have developed a Local Prevention Committee, a multi-actor body that incorporates community leaders, clergy and youth. In addition, the City has enhanced municipal capacities by building an evidence-based risk profile and supporting outreach to the local communities. These activities are building trust between the Council and local communities and help to address gaps in the Council’s understanding of community needs, while proactively working to resolve inter-communal tensions and grievances.

REGIONAL IMPACT: Border Municipalities Working Group in East and Southern Africa

Following a Strong Cities regional workshop in Johannesburg, border towns in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda recognised shared challenges in addressing hate, extremism and prevention efforts, leading to the formation of a Border Municipalities Working Group.

With support from Strong Cities’ East and Southern Africa Regional Hub, the group has expanded to include additional cities, engaged in capacity-building initiatives, and convened for continued peer learning, inspiring members to initiate further cross-border dialogues.

NATIONAL-LOCAL IMPACT: Localising prevention in the Middle East

The Strong Cities MENA Regional Hub – in partnership with UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) Iraq – is leading a project to support the implementation of Local Action Plans (LPoAs) for preventing violent extremism (PVE) in six Iraqi cities: Falluja, Halabja, Hawija, Mosul, Tel Afar and Zubair.

Through this partnership, the MENA Regional Hub is strengthening the capacities of local PVE subcommittees, including by empowering in-country facilitators through training and mentorship to translate the LPoAs recommendations into practical initiatives with tangible impact in the targeted localities, contributing to the localisation of Iraq’s national strategy for countering violent extremism.

During the discussion, Nadia Zourgui, Deputy Mayor of Strasbourg (France), also shared how Strasbourg’s engagement and member journey with Strong Cities has delivered significant impacts for her city.

MEMBER JOURNEY IMPACT: City of Strasbourg

Strasbourg joined the Strong Cities Network in November 2022. Following participation in Transatlantic Dialogue events, as well as the Fourth Global Summit in New York in September 2023, the city raised its hand to co-hosted a Transatlantic Dialogue workshop in May 2024. Inspired by its engagement with the Network, and as a result of co-hosting the event, the city deepened partnerships across its local interagency environment, bringing together departments that had historically operated in isolation, and enhancing interorganisational communication and cooperation.

Deputy Mayor Zourgui also shared how its journey with Strong Cities had enabled the city to strengthen ties with the U.S. Consul General in France, which has led to Strasbourg’s participation in an International Visitor Leadership (IVL) Program. City officials have visited Los Angeles and San Diego, learning about local initiatives addressing gang violence, discrimination and hate. Inspired by these experiences, and the city’s Strong Cities journey, Strasbourg has launched a communication campaign called Strasbourg United Against Hate.

In recent months, the Strong Cities Management Unit has been building the technological infrastructure and gathering data to tell more impact and member journey stories; evidence not only of the Network’s impact on the ground but to further inspire and catalyse city-led action across the growing global Network.

Looking ahead: Areas of Focus in 2025

At the meeting, Eric Rosand briefed the ISC on the Network’s vision and priorities for 2025, informed and shaped by member cities in the course of 2024 to address and support cities in navigating ground realities and a rapidly evolving threat environment.

Global Crises, Local Impacts Initiative

The Strong Cities Global Crises, Local Impacts Initiative was launched in late 2023 following calls for support from member cities in navigating local impacts of the ongoing Middle East crisis, and local manifestations of other global crises. To date, outputs have included a policy brief with 10 considerations for mayors and cities as they navigate local impacts of the Israel-Gaza conflict, a monthly webinar series with expert briefings on relevant threat trends and city exchanges on specific manifestations that are impacting social cohesion. This series has to date reached more than 1,000 mayors and city officials on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2025, the initiative will continue to support cities in the transatlantic context, while expanding through the Regional Hubs to broaden both is geographic and thematic foci.

North America Regional Hub

Launched in August 2024, Strong Cities’ North America Regional Hub is expanding rapidly and delivering impact, including through two new multiyear grants. With support from the United States Department of Homeland Security, the Hub is working with small and medium-sized cities on a multi-actor prevention framework, and with its strategic partner, the National League of Cities on a Prevention Academy to increase understanding on how to operationalise a whole-of-city approach to address hate and targeted violence in 16 cities over two years. Through a United States Department of Justice grant, the Hub is also working with community organisations and local governments in five US cities to increase hate reporting and prevention. In Canada, Strong Cities’ is also expanding and deepening its engagement with both federal and provincial support. In cooperation with another strategic partner, Foundation For a Path Forward, the North America Regional Hub is expanding engagement with cities through regional workshops and direct city engagement.

Thematic Focus Areas in 2025

During the Fifth Global Summit, Strong Cities published six new policy briefs on themes and challenges that member cities have identified as areas in which they need support and inspiration. The six thematic areas, which will serve as a foundation for the Network’s engagement in catalysing city-led action in the year ahead, are:

• City-Led Action Against Hate
• Maintaining Social Cohesion Amid Rising Urbanisation & Demographic Change
• Urban Design and Development for Social Cohesion
• Meaningful Youth Engagement
• National-Local Cooperation
• Local Youth Councils

Women’s Caucus

Following the success of the inaugural in-person meeting of the Women’s Caucus in Cape Town, further developing and convening the Caucus will be another key priority in 2025. Working globally, as well as through the now five Regional Hubs and leveraging ties and shared goals of partner organisations’ gender-focused initiatives, such as that of the National League of Cities, the Strong Cities Women’s Caucus will work to amplify the role of local female leaders in preventing and responding to hate, extremism and polarisation, and address obstacles or threats facing women in local government and civil service.

Leveraging Organisational Ties

ISC Co-Chairs Van Zanen and El Moudni shared their ambition to strengthen Strong Cities’ ties with other networks and organisations, including United Cities and Local Government (UCLG), in which they serve respectively as President and Treasurer. Mayor Van Zanen welcomed Strong Cities active engagement with UCLG in recent years, including providing subject-matter expertise around social cohesion, in the lead up to the Summit of the Future in September 2024. He encouraged the Management Unit to continue to identify areas for further collaboration, which he himself would support and facilitate as UCLG President.

Both Co-Chairs welcomed Strong Cities’ prioritisation of partnerships and collaboration, congratulating the Management Unit on its proactive engagement with networks and stakeholders in its operational regions, and exemplified at the Summit by the signing of a Declaration of Networks Against Hate. They encouraged the Management Unit to continue to identify opportunities for cross-sector collaboration, such as private sector tech companies, universities and civil society to further support evidence-based policy and programming, and opportunities to tie in to and support multilateral frameworks, such as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Spanish Cities

In 2024, Strong Cities added Spanish as its fourth operational language, along with Arabic, English and French; a key step towards making the Network’s website, online Resource Hub, and the living library of tools, guides and policy briefs it houses, accessible to the Network’s growing, global audience.

The ISC invited Javier Bokesa Abia, Deputy Mayor of Fuenlabrada (Spain), to brief the committee on the potential for even deeper engagement with Spanish cities, both as contributors to the good practices Strong Cities shares across the global network, as well as where Spanish cities could benefit from greater Network engagement.

Deputy Mayor Bokesa Abia noted how Spain’s geographic position, as the southernmost point of continental Europe and a bridge between Europe, Africa and the Mediterranean, has enriched Spain’s cultural diversity. He described Fuenlabrada as a success story in how it has supported the integration of its diverse communities, which he credited to having in place a model focused on creating a strong city identity and a sense of belonging for all residents. As a result, Fuenlabrada is Spain’s safest city with a population of more than 100,000 residents.

He underscored how expanding the Network’s engagement with Spanish cities would provide access to approaches and strategies they have put in place to address intercommunal tensions and promote inclusivity and social cohesion, which could contribute to the exchange of innovative solutions for other global contexts. He also noted that importance of addressing online Spanish-language mis/disinformation and hateful narratives, which social media platforms have failed to address meaningfully. Greater engagement with Spanish cities could also further catalyse cross-regional cooperation with cities in the Latin America context as well as ties to Spanish-speaking communities in the United States.

Funding & Sustainability

The ISC also invited Robert Burley, Executive Director, Canada Centre for Community Engagement & Prevention of Violence, Public Safety Canada, to share his perspectives on the importance of Strong Cities’ widening and deepening its engagement with Canadian cities. Recent workshops hosted in Montreal (Quebec) and Edmonton (Alberta), as well as the first ever convening in Victoria (British Columbia), of cities in western Canada and the United States, have brought together mayors and other city officials, as well as civil society representatives, to develop concrete action plans around local, national and regional challenges and experiences. Burley shared two key value aspects that Public Safety Canada sees in supporting Strong Cities’ engagement with Canadian cities. First, the network facilitates meaningful connections, allowing Canadian cities to collaborate not only with each other but also with a global network of cities facing similar challenges. Second, it provides Canadian actors with opportunities to share their expertise. Canadian cities, civil society and academic experts possess growing expertise on these issues, and their engagement with Strong Cities enables them to share their insights with cities facing similar challenges.

Eric Rosand briefed the ISC members on how the funding picture has developed since the Network’s launch in 2015 to now, and as the Network heads into its tenth anniversary year in 2025. The briefing included an overview of historical contributions from national and regional donors, including the US government and the European Union, as well as the governments of Australia, Canada, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom. The briefing also included an overview of contributions – both financial and in-kind – from Network member cities, such as Cape Town (South Africa), Columbus (Ohio, United States), London (United Kingdom), Luton (United Kingdom), Oslo (Norway), Strasbourg (France) and Victoria (Australia), as well as foundations and private sector partners.

Eric noted that the current funding environment is challenging, and that the Strong Cities Management Unit was actively looking to diversify funding sources, including more private sector donors and foundations, and foreshadowed the launch of a targeted fundraising campaign for the Network’s 10^th Anniversary year.

Donors & Partners

The Fifth Global Summit was made possible with generous support from the European Union, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Public Safety Canada, the US Department of State and the City of Cape Town. 

The views expressed in this session report do not necessarily reflect those of all Strong Cities Network members, the Management Unit or Summit sponsors and partners. 

Contact Information 

For more information about the Fifth Global Summit or the Strong Cities Network, please contact [email protected].

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