Indian cities house almost half of the country’s population and contribute 60 percent to the total GDP. Chennai, a city home to 8.5 million people is the fourth largest city in India and has increasingly faced the brunt of climatic hazards over the last two decades. Climate change is rapidly altering the city’s weather patterns; the city is witnessing heavier rainfalls in shorter spells resulting in floods, and also deficient monsoons leading to drought. The Urban Management Centre (UMC) is supporting the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to prepare a climate action plan. Amidst the plethora of government and private stakeholders, GCC is convening efforts and mitigating negative climate impacts, especially for the urban poor residing in 215 slum settlements that are likely to be submerged by sea level rise by the year 2100. Cities contribute a significant share to environmental degradation and GHG emissions, but they also present opportunities and role models of sustainability, efficiency, inclusivity and committed actions. Chennai city is demonstrating its commitment by targeting to achieve the goals of carbon neutrality and water balance by the year 2050. The session will provide participants with information about the complex institutional ecosystem to implement climate action plans in Indian cities; the various interventions for improving resilience of the urban poor against climate vulnerabilities; and the cross-jurisdictional plans and interventions for reducing GHG emissions and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council was established on 1^st April 2015, a result of local government reform and the merger of two councils. This brought about substantial organisational, legislative, fiscal and cultural challenges, as well as the additional responsibilities from central government.  The Council has a clear focus on the vision and organisational values, it recognises that aligning strategic and cultural aspirations is key to success.

As an organisation, we quickly had to develop new teams and new ways of working that would provide excellent services and would improve the lives of our citizens.

From the outset, our key objective was to work together. Our forty Elected Members and the leadership team understood the interconnectedness of Council business. To our residents, we are simply ‘The Council’, not separate service-area silos, and their expectation is that we get the job done, without getting derailed with internal bureaucracy and perceived barriers between business areas and external partners.

Knowing that a ‘parallel but separate’ approach could deliver a satisfactory functional output, however, to deliver exceptional outcomes we acknowledged the need to become a dynamic, cross-cutting organisation.  This provided us with the ability to nurture creative approaches and partnership working to maximise service delivery for our citizens.

Using an interwoven and agile approach, the Council has earned its place as one of the Top 10 Councils in the UK (England and Scotland) for recycling, and ranked regionally as the top performing council in relation to attracting investment, jobs and turnaround times for processing planning applications.

Leading a political organisation in Northern Ireland requires visionary leadership and a determination to put people and outcomes ahead of political tensions, organisational boundaries and bureaucracy.

An innovative programme was put in place to support Elected Members to continue to fulfil the vital role they play in working with and supporting communities.  Good governance and a bespoke programme of learning and development were provided to support Elected Members to lead, make connections and build places where people can thrive.

The Council has successfully delivered a major, strategic and complex transformational change programme.  The choreography, pacing, decision making and sequencing of change has elevated service delivery to a new level of excellence with demonstrable success in terms of community benefits and outcomes.

With leadership from Elected Members, this Council has earned its reputation as a pace-setter for ground-breaking innovation in leadership.

Ramallah has become a model sustainable city, not only for the region, but also worldwide. The presentation will include background on the city of Ramallah, its vision, and main challenges. Ramallah has adopted the 2030 UN Agenda as a framework for city planning and is working on the three main dimensions of sustainable development: social inclusion, economic development, and environmental protection, as well as culture, which Ramallah has added on as a fourth dimension. Ramallah is realizing the global Sustainable Development Goals through concrete programs in the city.

Cities and countries across the globe are receiving and integrating refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers into their communities and societies in a variety of ways. Learn about the programs and initiatives that cities in Europe and the United States are using to support these new residents through language classes, vocational training, job search assistance, business assistance, and cultural learning.