The UCLG Annual Retreat

What is the UCLG Retreat?

The UCLG Annual Retreat is a week-long gathering that provides an opportunity for the key notes of the organization and partners to define synergies and develop actions in line with the work plans set out by the governing bodies.  

The Annual Retreat further offers participants an opportunity to boost the connections among the different parts of the UCLG ecosystem, including the involvement of political leaders and the technical staff, to come together as a Network and reflect on our priorities for the rest of the year.

In the five years since its inception, the UCLG Annual Retreat has become a global gathering, with participants eager to engage and has proved highly useful to the broader UCLG Network.

Who is expected to come?

The heart and soul of the municipal movement is invited. A limited but representative group of practitioners, our political representatives, the Secretariats of our Regional Sections, our Committees and Working groups and major partners are the invitees of this selective group, many of whom request to be invited.

Representatives of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments have come together during the framework of the Retreat to shape the priorities of the constituency of local and regional governments and enhance synergies among the Networks.

What’s in it for the different participants of the Retreat?

Our political representatives are the ones who provide the vision and the direction for the networks’ actions, inspire other participants and experience first-hand the concrete definition of the work plans.

Committees and Sections help identify the necessary collaborations among the different parts of the network and strengthen the synergies between the different work plans, aiming to put territorial development at the heart of the international agenda, and providing a local perspective to global challenges.

Partners from the international community can propose joint ventures, brainstorm on how to influence the Agendas and are offered a unique opportunity to fully get to know and engage with the world of local governments.

Outcomes

The Annual Retreat is the place in which the UCLG Waves of Action will have been defined, and the space for identifying partnerships. Participants can also expect to see their ideas included in the work plan for the year, and see their contributions help shape the Congress. Further, a Report of the Retreat will be published with the outcomes of the gathering.