Recently, Nicholas You, the Senior Consultant for the Guangzhou Award, visited the ICLEI African Secretary in Cape Town, South Africa. His trip was at the invitation of Kobie Brand, Deputy Secretary-General of ICLEI and Director of Africa Secretariat, to communicate and share with members of the ICLEI African Secretariat.

Two meetings were held in a lively atmosphere within two days, with participants actively posing questions and engaging in discussions revolving around the 12 winning and shortlisted innovative cases of the Guangzhou Award. They also explored how to apply the outstanding experience of the Guangzhou Award to ICLEI’s work and activities in Africa and around the world.

At the meeting, Deputy Secretary-General Kobie Brand expressed ICLEI’s willingness to deepen cooperation with the Guangzhou Award. She stated that the work being carried out by the Guangzhou Award is of great significance and should be expanded in scope. Compared with UCLG and Metropolis, ICLEI pays more attention to and participates in the practical implementation and promotion of urban governance innovation projects. Therefore, ICLEI hopes to promote its participation in various urban governance innovation projects by deepening cooperation with the Guangzhou Award.

In response, Nicholas You emphasized the Guangzhou Award’s commitment to promoting urban governance innovation and contributing to the development of more inclusive and sustainable cities worldwide. The Guangzhou Award will continue to collaborate with the international community to address the challenges faced by cities, promote cooperation and knowledge sharing among cities, and jointly advance global urban sustainable development.

As the world’s largest cooperative network for local sustainable development, ICLEI achieves sustainable development through its projects, actions, and local plans. It is a non-profit and non-political membership organization with over 1,750 cities and regions from more than 120 countries as members. The work of the ICLEI Africa Secretariat covers two-thirds of African countries, focusing on various sustainable development issues such as society, economy, environment, and governance. Kobie Brand, the Director of the ICLEI Africa Secretariat, is also a member of the Technical Committee of the 6th Guangzhou Award.