Conference on local government in South East Europe

Vienna, 6-7 November 2008

Address by Antonella Cagnolati, Director of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

Mr President,

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

My dear colleagues,

First and foremost, let me tell you how honoured I am to be addressing you at this Conference which I am sure will form a significant contribution to the development of local government in South East Europe, especially as regards the promotion and management of territorial communities in this geographical region of crucial importance to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.

At the opening of this Conference, the President of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress, Ludmila Sfirloaga, already gave an account of the philosophy which underpins the orientation of our activities in building cohesive and sustainable local communities in Europe. This philosophy is founded on our conviction that their welfare today calls for an integrated approach which encompasses –  rather than addressing them separately –  the political, economic, social, cultural and ecological aspects of our citizens’ daily lives.

This approach necessarily leads us to the creation of a new urban and rural environment, characterised by balance between economic development and ecological issues, industrial areas and nature parks, historic sites and modern residential districts, a family environment suited to children, mindful of present-day urban biological diversity.

This philosophy found expression in the new European Urban Charter, or “Manifesto for a New Urbanity” adopted by the Congress at its last plenary session at the end of May this year. In the accompanying resolution, we call upon local authorities to apply the principles set out in the Charter in their daily activities, and to live up to this new urban ideal. Needless to say, our Congress stands ready to provide any possible assistance and its full support in this matter.

That is the spirit in which I should like to lay before you this new design, one which fits into our overall scheme of efforts to establish a new citizen-centred urban environment, a setting that incorporates the various aspects of the lives of all population categories whether children, the elderly, minorities or people with disabilities. The new Urban Charter encapsulates our resolutions and recommendations which serve the same goal, which were also adopted at the plenary session and this year’s spring session. I am speaking, for example, of the texts on children in towns, rehabilitation of street children, youth participation, responsible consumption and protection of urban biodiversity.

All these efforts are aimed at aiding and instigating the construction of sustainable communities in the European area, South East Europe included of course. We are convinced that the implementation of the proposals and the application of the principles contained in these texts will help local and regional authorities meet the present-day challenges for the greater good of our communities. The associations of local authorities and their networks, such as NALAS, and organisations such as the CEMR, have a crucial part to play in raising the awareness of the players concerned by these projects and in their active promotion via your activities, in cooperation with the Congress and with its full support. Practically speaking, with the support of the Congress, you can help by disseminating these texts in your languages, discussing their application in your localities, putting the arguments to the national governments, and tangible measures for their implementation.

Coming back to new Urban Charter, may I stress that we consider the document cardinal as a consummate manifesto for the right to the town, a manifesto for a new urban lifestyle, for shared values of community living in 21^st century Europe. Faced with a situation of towns in a state of constant change, it pinpoints challenges, methods and means to act with due respect for our diversities, identities, and cultures, with a common resolve to be receptive to others.

As early as 1992, the adoption by the Congress of an Urban Charter was plainly an innovative pioneering move. It signified recognition of the urban phenomenon, the commitment of European towns as “collective players” capable of meeting the challenges of our changing societies with their citizens and on their behalf.

It was in such a context of transformation of our societies, of our economies, of our cultures, that our towns showed their capacity to cope. They have become the prime setting of adaptation to the new economic, social and environmental conditions; they are the crucible of new democratic paradigms, places of solidarity, liberty and emancipation, but also carry increased risks of social divides, discrimination and exclusion.

We perceived the need to supplement the first Urban Charter of 1992, updating and reformulating some of the principles in order to reassert our conviction as European elected representatives that towns and their citizens are central to the major challenges of the 21^st century, that the future of our children centres on them and is prepared within them.

Our prime ambition, reflected in the new Charter, is, most of all, that of a town for the people, that of everybody’s right to the town, of a strong civic ethic, of active, effective and supportive subsidiarity. The town we want is one where democracy is regenerated in all its forms. Within it, besides representation by election, various forms of participation, association and debate are developed, where the interactiveness of the new technologies ought to afford us further opportunities.

It is a town seeking optimum proximity, a strong relationship, a rich and living relationship with its townspeople and citizens. In particular, it fosters transparency, clarity of responsibilities and of means of action, financial in particular, and review and assessment of official action.

Our second ambition for the town is that of a sustainable, environmentally friendly town. Towns have a major role to perform for a lastingly more liveable planet because they are the points of concentration for populations and activities, as well as where change in practices and behaviour is massively influential.

Our concern is to develop urban ecology, reduce the ecological footprint of our towns, preserve natural resources and biodiversity, save energy, and aid access for all to major public assets.

We advocate denser, more compact towns that conserve space and facilitate general access to services and recreation. We wish to develop alternative forms of mobility to motor traffic, energy-efficient collective transport, cycling and pedestrian travel, so great is the importance of regulating car use in order to maintain health, reduce pollution, noise and unsafeness of roads and preserve our landscapes.

Our third ambition for the town is that of a supportive town which actively combats division, exclusion and discrimination. It is a town that cares about compositeness, freedoms and exchanges. It is an area of quality, of solidarity between districts, social and occupational categories and people of different origins. It reflects our ambition to build a more inclusive, cohesive and diversified society throughout Europe.

We must make the social dimension the centre of our sustainable urban development policies because, as everyone knows, alarming processes of pauperisation, segregation and exclusion are afoot in towns.

The town we want is also a town that wholeheartedly expresses within its precincts a concern for solidarity, as well as beyond its boundaries in the regional hinterland for instance, and more widely by being at one with the world. It is an open town, looking out on the world, for our ambition is to build a more united world with towns, a world of dialogue, exchange and co-operation.

Finally, our fourth ambition for the town is that is should be a setting of modernity, catalysing knowledge and creativity, hosting learning and culture of all kinds.

Our towns are crossroads of civilisations, signposts of identity, seedbeds of culture and repositories of memory. These forms of expression, far from being backward-looking, forge the future and unite with tremendous creative, innovative, progressive and adaptive capabilities.

Our towns are centres of excellence, major poles for economic and cognitive development, for furtherance of the research and education which are the sureties for truly sustainable development. At the dawn of the present millennium, information and communication technologies should, here again, move in that direction.

Ladies and gentlemen,

There, in a few bold outlines, are the ambitions of our approach. It was necessary to bring up to date our perception of the role of European towns for sustainable territorial development serving our fellow-citizens. We intended the Manifesto as the manifesto of the town for our time, as a telling political declaration that states our perception of a new urban spirit, a new togetherness, a new culture of urban life.

The Manifesto carries the force of conviction and resolve of European local authorities, and we rely on your support in spreading and applying – in cooperation with the Congress – the principles of the new urban philosophy set out in the Charter, in order to make a reality of this ambitious design to build a sustainable, supportive, civic-minded, modern town. For our part, the Congress extends you its full support, and stands ready to provide you with any possible assistance.

Thank you.