The Conference included meetings of the MedCities Board of Directors, the annual General Assembly of the Association, and an international seminar entitled “Mediterranean cities: sustainable and equitable for all!”
The 2018 MedCities Annual Conference took place 4-5 October. It was hosted in Barcelona by the Barcelona City Council and the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. The MedCities international seminar, which took place alongside the MedCities General Assembly, addressed the topics of sustainability and equality in Mediterranean urban areas.
30 member cities gathered for the Meeting of the General Assembly. The general assembly was chaired by the President of MedCities and Mayor of Tetouan Mr. Mohamed Idamomar, and the General Secretary of MedCities Mr. Xavier Tiana.
The assembly approved the admission of Palma de Mallorca – population 403,000 – as a member of the Association. The Fundación Asamblea de Ciudadanos y Ciudadanas del Mediterráneo (Mediterranean Citizens’ Assembly Foundation) was also approved as a new Observer of the Association.
The 2017 Accounts, the provisional 2018 Economic Report, the 2018 Activity Report and the 2019 Budget were all presented and approved by the membership. The Mandate Report of MedCities activities during the period 2014-2018 was presented, and the strategic lines and future Action Plan for the period 2019-2022 were also debated.
5 October also saw the convention of an extraordinary General Assembly in order to elect the Board of Directors of MedCities for the period 2019-22. Nine cities presented themselves as candidates and were duly elected to form the new Board of Directors: Al-Fayhaa, As-Salt, Dubrovnik, Izmir, Larnaca, Marseilles, the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, Sfax and Tétouan. Tétouan will retain the role of President of MedCities for the next four years.
The seminar – which was held in the Saló de Cent of the Barcelona City Council – brought together over 100 participants representing around 40 Mediterranean cities and metropolitan areas, international organisations, other public administrations and NGOs, to illuminate the strategies of Mediterranean cities in mitigating the challenges and crises facing the region.
The ripple effects of the large-scale, structural problems confronting the Mediterranean – such as wars and territorial conflicts, and their attendant massive movements of populations – are felt in the daily issues of urban living and management confronting citizens and local authorities. The day of debates addressed the central role of cities and other urban areas in developing shared solutions to the shared solutions
Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona and President of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, opened the conference and participated in a round table with the mayors of Montpellier, Tripoli (Lebanon) and Tunis. The round table was moderated by Ms. Emilia Saiz, Secretary General of United Cities and Local Governments.
In two further round tables, political representatives from various MedCities members then went on to debate the themes of environmentally sustainable development and economic development and inequality.
Alfred Bosch, Vice-President of International Relations and Cooperation of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, closed the day of debate along with the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Nasser Kamel.
Among the issues highlighted by the participants were the need to integrate the unique perspectives of cities and metropolitan governments with international agendas for urban development and the key role played by city-to-city cooperation in confronting shared challenges and disseminating best practices.
A publication that brings together the speeches made at the event can be downloaded below (PDFs available in Catalan, English and French).
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