World Cities Join Forces in Athens to Fight Poverty through Local Democracy

The World Alliance of Cities Against Poverty (WACAP) once again united cities that have decided to take a public stand and mobilise all sectors of society, to do everything in their power to eliminate poverty both at home and abroad. More than 1,000 delegates on behalf of 300 cities in 100 countries spanning all five continents, attended the sixth WACAP forum, making it larger than any of the previous biennial gatherings.

The sixth forum, co-organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the City of Athens, focused on the potential role of municipalities and other local authorities in securing adequate food, education, water and sanitation, as well as in combating hunger, child mortality and disease (primarily HIV/AIDS). The event took place in the Athens Concert Hall (Megaron Mousikis), from 26 to 28 March, coinciding with the 2,500 year anniversary of the birth of democracy in ancient Athens.

The World Alliance of Cities Against Poverty is an international information network that acts primarily as a forum for exchanging exemplary municipal poverty-reduction policies and programmes. "Fighting poverty at a local level" was the message of the sixth WACAP forum, which had the theme: Reinforcement of Local Democratic Government, placing special emphasis on the role of local democracy and participatory processes in endeavours to eliminate poverty, bearing in mind that some 600 million of the world's poorest people live in cities.

WACAP co-ordinator, Mohand Cherifi, said that the theme chosen for the conference was not coincidental. "The lessons we learned from previous forums [...] have contributed to the dissemination of information on the fight against poverty. [...] We have indeed established that, while there has been a reduction in poverty and progress has been achieved in terms of MDGs in certain countries, many shortcomings still exist and delays are occurring [...] leading to the theme of 6th Forum, reinforcement of local democratic government." He added, "One of the innovative outcomes expected from the Athens meeting is the participating municipalities' adoption of time-bound and quantified local 'roadmaps'." A City of Athens representative said, "Richer cities will commit to international city-to-city co-operation."

President of Greece, Karolos Papoulias who inaugurated the conference, said the forum addressed a "reality that was much worse than that reflected in official figures". In the opening address, Cecile Molinier, director of the United Nations Development Programme office in Europe, stressed that every three seconds a child dies of hunger or a preventable illness around the world and emphasized that nothing today is more of the essence than fighting world poverty. She called attention to the fact that unless there is action on a local level, the Millenium Targets that called for a 50 percent reduction of the percentage of the population living before the poverty line could not be achieved by 2015.

During the forum, the participating cities shared their experiences on the subjects of hunger, access to primary education, water and sanitation, child mortality, maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS and gender gaps. The members of WACAP discussed an array of other interrelated issues, such as decentralization, local autonomy, participation, empowerment and participative cooperation to achieve the MDGs, as well as the adoption of time-bound, quantifiable local "road maps" that will establish targets to be reached on several aspects of poverty in each city. According to UNDP, richer cities will commit to cooperation with cities in the developing world to help them accomplish the identified goals.

"Poverty kills more people than terrorism, wars and violence," said Jean Fabre, UNDP Deputy Director and one of the organizers of the forum. "It is the leading cause of death world-wide." He added: "The Athens forum will prove an outstanding opportunity to create a type of school that will reinforce the role of municipalities in the network for the fight against poverty."

President of Greece, Karolos Papoulias, stated that the free movement of capital, people and services had led to "the globalized environment in which we live, where the excluded of the First World, the collateral damage of asymmetric development and the further degradation of the Third World confirm the most pessimistic predictions." Furthermore, he pointed out that poverty was not inevitable but a symptom of the failures of the economic and social framework and that soon, unless we do something to change the situation, there will be further marginalization and degradation of the majority of the Earth's population.

Greek Foreign Minister, Dora Bakoyannis, said that poverty was a challenge to human dignity and underlined the role that local governments could play in alleviating poverty, since they are in direct and daily contact with people and are aware of local problems.
She concluded with the remarks: "With the participation of so many distinguished individuals from around the world, the forum constitutes an excellent opportunity to discuss the most appropriate methods to ensure successful co-operation. All of us here, together in Athens, let's send a powerful, positive message: We cannot accept poverty."

Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis stressed that poverty was not just a phenomenon of developing countries. "It no longer affects only certain countries or societies. It affects all countries, societies and cities," he said, adding: "We can no longer continue to feign ignorance. On the 2,500 year anniversary of the birth of Democracy in our city, this forum takes on even greater symbolic meaning. This forum signifies another transition, the transfer of the responsibility for poverty eradication from the central to the local level."

Chairman of the Association of Local Municipalities and Communities of Attica Prefecture (TEDKNA), Dimitris Kalogeropoulos, also referred to the role that local government could play in the fight against poverty, "The nature of poverty is such that I feel local government is best qualified to effectively tackle it. Combating poverty requires action, it demands initiatives and, above all, it needs alliances. It also requires the formation of partnerships and networks, such as WACAP, and I am confident that the exchange of views and best practices, and mutual contribution toward our common goal, will prove fruitful here in Athens."

About The World Alliance of Cities (WACAP)

The World Alliance of Cities Against Poverty (WACAP) is a contribution made by cities from all continents to the International Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006) proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly. WACAP was initiated during the first quarter of 1996, International Year for the Eradication of Poverty, and officially launched on October 17, 1997 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Plans of action to fight poverty, protect children, regenerate the environment, provide access to healthcare, clean water, education and basic social services, and ensure an income and a decent standard of living for all, have been drawn up by the governments of the world at global conferences held in the last six years under the aegis of the United Nations. Those plans must now be implemented.

With appropriate local and national efforts, as well as revitalized international cooperation, much can be accomplished during the 10 years ahead, so that one day, no child will go without an education, no human being will be denied primary health care or safe drinking water, and no one will be condemned to go hungry.

The World Alliance of Cities against Poverty unites cities that have decided to take a public stand and mobilise all sectors of society, from individuals to governments, to do everything in their power to eliminate poverty both at home and abroad.
The sixth World Alliance of Cities against Poverty forum in Athens enabled the elected representatives and civil servants of participating municipalities to link up with a number of UN agencies, non-governmental organizations and businesses, including UNDP, UN Habitat, the United Nations Capital Development Fund, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Labour Organisation, the World Health Organisation, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, the World Bank and other major development institutions. The Millennium Campaign was presented as well as the Millennium Cities Initiative with the Earth Institute at Columbia University.
The Millennium Development Goals at the heart of municipal action.

By 2015 :
1. Reduce poverty by half
2. Provide all children with primary education
3. Eliminate gender disparities in school
4. Reduce infant mortality by two-thirds
5. Reduce maternal mortality by three-quarters
6. Reverse the spread of AIDS and malaria
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

Special thanks
The United Nations Development Programme wishes to profoundly thank and congratulate AC&C International on a wonderful organization of the 6th Forum of the World Alliance of the Cities against Poverty. We would like to express our special thanks and our great satisfaction to AC&C for the excellent work performed and the outstanding handling of the logistics of this forum [...] All the above were effectuated in a spirit of impeccable collaboration with the Municipality of Athens and our PNUD offices at Geneva. [...]

Mohand Cherifi, Coordinator, World Alliance of Cities Against Poverty - UNDP