MONROVIA – The Mayor of Monrovia, Jefferson T. Koijee, has participated in this year’s U.S. President Joseph Biden Summit of Democracy at the 11th World Urban Forum where he shared his perspectives on sustaining democracy.
The hour-long forum was moderated by Kevin Nelson, Urban Government Lead on Democracy, Human Rights, USAID.
The panel discussion prioritized cities that strengthen their democratic commitments and how local governments are delivering on their public policies to increase transparency and accountability, address corruption, and provide critical municipal services.
Others on the panel are Claudia Lopez, Mayor, City of Columbia; Danny Ricchetti, Director, Intergovernmental Affairs, US Department of State; Nicole Lowery, Office of the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, US Department of State; Gary Bland, Senior Technical Advisor, Democracy, Human Rights and Governance Center, USAID (virtual) and Jose Alvarez Munoz, UCLG.
The session served as an implementation-geared discussion on how cities and mayors can promote democracy and the Sustainable Development Goals by focusing on accountability, transparency, and good governance.
Mayor Koijee was keen on how cities can continue to play important role in promoting democracy worldwide and also reaffirmed Monrovia’s commitment to the Global Declaration of Mayors for Democracy.
“We highlighted how our city is implementing frameworks and strategies that will advance the Sustainable Development Goals through the promotion of democratic institutions,” Mayor Koijee said.
About the President Joe Biden Summit on Democracy
On December 9-10, 2021, President Biden held the first of two Summits for Democracy, which brought together leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector in a shared effort to set forth an affirmative agenda for democratic renewal and to tackle the greatest threats that are faced by democracies today through collective action. He intimated that “Democracy doesn’t happen by accident”.
This year’s forum was held under the theme: Transforming Our Cities for a Better Urban Future Ensuring the Best Democratic and Municipal Practices in the Context of the US Government’s Commitment to Democracy, Peace, and Stability in the World Over.
Coordinated with a session at the Brussels Forum, this session also emphasized the launch of the Global Declaration of Mayors for Democracy, a “Declaration” that remains an integral output of the Biden Administration.
This networking session provided an opportunity for participants to discuss the aim of this Declaration (which we earlier posted) and explored strategies that cities and local governments are undertaking to provide municipal services in a manner that is comprehensive, equitable, and focused on strengthening democratic values.
WUF11 2022 took place in Katowice, Poland, from 25-30 June 2022. The event attracted a total of 17,003 attendees, with 10,799 participants from 155 countries attending in person. Approximately three-quarters of the gender-balanced participants came from Europe, while participants for Africa and Asia accounted for 7.5% and 8.7% respectively.