From December 6th to 8th, co-hosted by CPAFFC , Guangzhou Municipal Government, UCLG and the World Association of Major Metropolises(METROPOLIS), the Global Mayors' Forum & 2018 Urban Innovation Conference and the 4th Edition of Guangzhou Award for Urban Innovation (Guangzhou Award) was held at Baiyun International Conference Center in Guangzhou. More than 700 guests and representatives from 105 cities and local governments in 39 countries were present at the Conference.
On December 7th, Mr. He Wei, Vice-Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, Mr. Ma Xingrui, Governor of Guangdong Province, Song Jingwu, Vice President of CPAFFC, Emilia Saiz, UCLG Secretary-General, and Rudi Vervoort, Representative of METROPOLIS, Minister President of Brussels Capital Region, Belgium, addressed the opening ceremony. Maimunah Mohd Sharif, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat sent a video remarks. Mr. Wen Guohui, mayor of Guangzhou, chaired the opening ceremony. Tri Rismaharin, Mayor of Surabaya and President of UCLG ASPAC also attended the conference.
Vice-Chairman He Wei pointed out in his speech that, the Chinese Government attaches great importance to and actively supports international exchanges and cooperation in urban governance innovation.. Guangzhou Award as an important exchange platform will better serve global cities and benefit global citizens.
Vice President Song Jingwu said that the Global Mayors' Forum is established with the purpose of further implementing the United Nations’ SDGs and the New Urban Agenda, and encouraging cities worldwide to participate in global governance and to contribute insights to a more fair, sound and balanced global governance mechanism.
The theme of the forum is titled Global Openness and Inclusive Innovation. A three-day activities was organized. The Guangzhou Declaration at the Global Mayors’ Forum is also released.
Five cities are awarded as the winning cities of the 4th Edition of Guangzhou Award: Milan of Italy, Guadalajara of Mexico, Wuhan of China, Mezitili of Turkey and New York City of the United States. Surabaya of Indonesia received the largest number of votes to win the Online Popular City.
