A global community that cares

What is the UCLG Retreat?

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

Why is this year different? The spirit of our Retreat in 2021

If the 2020 Retreat was that of synchronization, of aligning the entire Network, this year the 2021 Retreat will be dedicated to highlighting how UCLG is A Global Community that Cares, discussing how to capitalize on this window of opportunity, to exchange on how our communities are working for the people, for the planet, for government, and for the future. For the first time, the UCLG Retreat will be a truly global experience aiming to make the most of this virtual environment, to highlight the closeness of the network. Even if having a screen between us separates us physically, it cannot separate our synergies, our goals, and our determination as a global network. Physical distancing cannot overcome how close we have become as a Network.

In this spirit this year we'd like to open our windows and welcome you to do the same. Over the past year, our screens have become our windows into the outside world, a time in which we have been limited to travel physically -- join us as we open the windows into the Global Home.

After the adoption of the mandate to develop a Pact for the Future, the UCLG Retreat will encourage participants to think outside the box, to envision the future that we want in the coming years, the visions towards 2021 and for the renewal of our Strategic Priorities in 2022.

What will the Retreat experience be like, and will there be coffee?

As we peer into the windows of the Global Home, we will have the more traditional gatherings for sessions and brainstorming, but we will also be innovating new shared spaces for members and partners to connect.,

You will find our usual features: a warm networking hub for a one-on-one or bilateral meeting that you can request during sessions and in advance. A welcome desk throughout the meeting with friendly faces that will have all the answers on the programme and possibilities.

You will also feel all the care in the world with our unique resources in our UCLG TV. We will share the best pictures of the past year, and share as well as the special soundtrack of our diverse community. We welcome you to share with us ahead of time the songs that carried you through!

Dynamic spaces will be open for participants to join group sessions, and there will also be the ability to join a sort of virtual networking hub, where a UCLG team member will open a virtual room for those previously mentioned bilateral meetings, or small team meetings. You are of course encouraged to BYOC -bring your own coffee- to these spaces!

For the first time, we will hold a full team meeting of the UCLG Secretariats, allowing us to fully connect and build on the synchronization of UCLG throughout 2020. The Work Areas of UCLG will share with all participants what it means to advocate, to research, and to learn with UCLG as we enter the renewal process of our strategic priorities, and we will start the journey towards our 2022 Congress through learning from our Waves of Action.

The global scope of the 2021 Retreat will also be in full display in the sessions led by our UCLG Sections, who will each have a moment to share their priorities and visions, and we will also be able to witness the leadership of UCLG spearheading transformation in the meeting of the Presidency and the gathering of UNACLA.

Beyond the traditional exchanges, there will also be opportunities for more informal moments. “Stay tuned” as we celebrate a challenging year together, and specifically, all that the network has accomplished -- all that we have accomplished.  

Our Aspirations 

The Annual Retreat will aim to position our network to embrace the Digital Revolution of the Movement, seeking new ways to connect both within the network and with partners, both new and old. The discussions throughout this week of gatherings will position UCLG to lead the transformation, and to continue to be on the forefront of embracing new technologies, and virtual platforms, augmented reality to better tell our story, to share our policies and our overall agenda. Participants can also expect to see their ideas included in the work plan for the year. Further, a Report of the Retreat will be published with the outcomes of the gathering. 

Every experience is unique and the added value is for you to define

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.

The Retreat has come to be the gathering in which the World Secretariat, the Presidency, partners, the Secretariats of our Sections, Committees and Working groups, civil society, and beyond, gather to launch new ideas and to innovate as the world around us is in flux.

As has been the case for the last six years, representatives of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments 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.

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. In the lead-up to this year’s Retreat UCLG has convened the first meeting of the Policy Councils, strengthening the political mandate.

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.

Before the Retreat

To make the most and fully engage in the gathering, we recommend for participants to read the political documents that have been developed over the previous year: our UCLG Decalogue for the COVID-19 era and the Rome Charter. We also encourage participants to explore the LLE knowledge hub, in which they will be able to witness the shared knowledge of our Live Learning Experiences, which drive our upcoming Pact for the Future.

Reading the Report of the previous edition of the Retreat is also recommended, to get a sense of what the gathering represents, as well as our UCLG Constitution and our Strategic Priorities, to jog your memories before embarking on the journey to renew them in 2022.

Finally, we would like to invite you to watch our video welcoming 2021: A year of caring, of coming together, and of transformation. For the people, for the planet, for governments.