Biennial Congress, Cardiff, 2008
Cardiff was the host city for the IX UDiTE Biennial Congress, where more than 200 delegates drawn from across European public, private and academic circles met and considered local responses to the great global social, economic and environmental pressures of the day, under the banner of ‘European Futures and Local Solutions’.
It would be this theme that would define the work of UDiTE for the coming 2 years under its new Presidential Team, headed by new President Byron Davies, Chief Executive of Cardiff Council, Wales, UK.
The Congress was opened by the First Minister for Wales, the Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan, who called on delegates to reflect on the changing nature of the international world in which we live. With national economies becoming ever more interdependent, he said, localities in Europe today are profoundly affected by global forces. This warning has been starkly illustrated by the economic events of recent weeks. Byron Davies elaborated on this theme, calling on local authority Chief Executives to embrace a global agenda.
“Nation states are now more intertwined than at any point in history. Global forces have no respect for national boundaries. Interdependency and collaboration are the new reality. The Credit Crunch, migration flows, ageing populations, the threat of climate change – these issues face local government practitioners everywhere.”
In setting out his vision for the coming years Mr Davies argued that UDiTE has a big part to play in bringing the voice of practitioners together, in sharing the ideas and knowledge developed locally to tackle the global issues which have proven to work on the ground, and in developing the next generation of local managers and leaders.
“I have indicated to my UDiTE colleagues who elected me as President that there is a Welsh saying: “A fo ben bud bont”, that is to be a leader you must also be a bridge. This is what I want to achieve as President. I believe UDiTE offers the opportunity for local government managers across Europe to understand each other’s countries.”
Paying tribute to his predecessor Adrian Mifsud, immediate past president, he said: “I believe we have arrived at this exciting stage in the development of UDiTE through the hard work of other people over the past couple of years. I have to mention Adrian.”
‘He has laid a very successful foundation that people like myself and my team can actually build on and take forward. We need people to actually pioneer and break the mould and do things differently. Adrian has done that.’
In reply Mifsud said UDiTE had made significant changes in the past two years in developing a ‘bottom-up’ approach that put the perspective of its members at the heart of its work. “I have worked with a dream team and now I hand it over to you and your team,” he said.
The main sponsor of the event was TATA Consultancy Services and Brian Woodford, Director of the Public Sector, stated that there is not enough interaction between the private and public sectors and he urged both sectors to turn traditional thinking on its head and to come together at the start of the process rather than price driven transactional processes.
Global forces; local places
The Congress welcomed expert speakers from across Europe to discuss the common challenges facing delegates dealing with the social, environmental and economic dimensions in turn:
Economic
The world economy is changing fast. The benefits, and more recently the risks, of economic globalization have been well documented. But what is local government’s role?
The past 100 years has witnessed a fundamental change in the geography of where our citizens live that has seen a 3,400% increase in the number of people living in cities. This profound pattern of change had seen the metropolitan or city region become the fundamental unit of economic organisation at the sub-national regional level.
This, more than any other fact, calls for economic leadership at a city and regional level. However, argued Greg Clark, Advisor on Cities and Regions to the British Government and the OECD. There remains a credibility gap in the minds of some people about it’s capability to undertake this role. Responding to Mr Clark, Trish Haines, current President of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives in the UK, outlined the work that can be done through her experience as a local leader in both rural and urban areas, and Fabien Mesclier of the Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities suggested to delegates the multinational response, including a new EU-wide approach to cohesion policy.
Environmental
Polar Explorer Robert Swan, the first man in history to walk to the North and South Pole, outlined the environmental dangers facing the planet, many of which he had witnessed himself with his own sun-and-snow damaged eyes. His electrifying presentation included stories and scenes from his arctic and ocean voyages and his dealings with world leaders. He also embarrassed congress delegates by questioning how many of them had calculated their own carbon footprints and called on them as local leaders to lead by example. This set the scene perfectly for the more technical discussion which followed.
Dr Louis Meuleman outlined a managerial response to environmental risk and Ronan Uhel, leader of Spatial European Environment Agency, discussed the more practical problems facing Europeans at a local level, telling the Congress that the magnitude of consumption in Europe was exploding. He said: “Our consumption growth is just killing our efficiency gains. It is time not only to think in terms of supply but also in terms of managing the demand.”
All three agreed that these grave challenges would most effectively be met by citizens and organisations at a local level.
Social
Sir Emyr Jones Parry, former UK Ambassador to the United Nations, Klaus Klipp, General Assembly of European Regions (AER), and Brian Woodford, of TATA Consultancy Services, were all in agreement that the social challenges facing Europe transcended national barriers. Europe was facing uncertain times: Immigration; terrorism; youth crime and fractured communities; race; religion and sexual preference; technological progress changing the way we live. In each of these areas the legislation and key debates would increasingly take place at a multinational and a local level. As the nearest level of government to the citizen, local municipalities would need to develop both an inward facing role towards understanding their communities, and to represent these views and concerns to national and international decision makers.
Managerial
Keir Fitch, European Commission Member of Cabinet stated that Brussels has become a magnet for lobbyists and that a lobbying register went live in the summer and to date 300 firms have registered but there are thousands of lobby firms with people registering all the time. This was a symptom of the increased power that Brussels would have over European life in the 21st Century. But with such a varied picture in the size, shape and function of local government, as ably outlined by Prof. Pawel Swianiewicz, how could it form a coherent response, and how though the challenges faced were similar, the managerial challenges differed greatly. Finally, a poignant point made by Rainer Von Leoprechting public sector coach from Brussels, is that the leader’s of today need to create a leadership garden for staff to grow. These are major challenges for local service deliverers, and indeed for UDiTE, over the coming years.
These four themes were brought together in the closing session by Ian Micallef, first vice president of the Congress of Regional and Local Authorities in Europe, and Jeremy Smith, Secretary General of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR). UDiTE intends to work closely with both organisations, and others such as the Committee of the Regions, in supporting, developing and representing the most local government manager in meeting the social, economic and environmental challenges of the 21st Century.
Last Updated:
18. 2. 2009 11:29:03
By
Mike Roberts