What is the UCLG Retreat?

The UCLG Annual Retreat is a week-long gathering that provides an opportunity for the key nodes of the Organization and partners to define synergies and develop actions in line with the work plans set out by the Governing Bodies.

It 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.

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

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 other partners, gather to launch new ideas and innovate to find inspiring solutions and safeguard the dreams and aspirations of our communities.

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.

Our aspirations

The Annual Retreat aims to be the first step towards the renewal of the strategies of our movement that will take place during the Daejeon World Congress and will be reflected in a Pact for the Future, for people, planet and government. 

Building on the concepts of care introduced in last year’s Retreat, we gather to start rethinking the agenda of the municipal movement and our stance vis-à-vis the universal development agendas, within the framework of the UN Secretary-General’s Common Agenda as a shared goal for humanity.

The participants will be introduced to the workplans of the different parts of the network and will identify areas of synergy and cooperation.

The spirit of our Retreat in 2022

2021 brought the concept of care to our UCLG Retreat and was the leitmotiv for our World Organization throughout the year. Our first virtual Retreat was also a global experience and harnessed the possibilities of the virtual spaces to gather all of the nodes of our World Organization and truly offer an experience like none before.

In 2022 we want to go back to the roots while embracing new tools and means. We want in person exchanges to define the better normal.

Even if you cannot be with us in Barcelona, we would like to invite you to join our Retreat.

Think outside the box towards the renewal of our strategic priorities, connect the dots and let us get ready to include in our shared work programme the identification of the core themes that will affect our communities in the coming decade.

What does it mean to be back together?

As we open the doors of the Global Home once again, our Retreat will showcase our power with traditional spaces for brainstorming, while offering innovative learning moments and hybrid debates where members and partners will connect. 

You will find our usual features: a warm networking hub for one-on-one or bilateral meetings that will allow new ideas to flourish, and connections that enhance our municipal agenda in the years to come.

Our UCLG TV, a staple of our meetings, will be back for this edition. With it, we will broadcast the key milestones of the past year and share the special soundtrack of our diverse community. We welcome you to share with us ahead of time the songs that carried you through!

We are kicking off the political processes towards our UCLG World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders. The Assembly Track, driven by our Regional Sections, will bring continental priorities to the forefront. The power of our #CitiesAreListening process will be showcased with a day dedicated to the Town Hall process, which will bring partners together to birth the new social contract.

The Local4Action component will gather our sister organizations at the Annual Meeting of the Global Taskforce and our political leadership will participate in the discussions around Equality and the New Urban Agenda. 

Before the Retreat

To make the most of 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 on Cultural Rights. We also encourage participants to explore the CitiesAreListening Knowledge Hub, in which they will be able to relive our experiences with the civil society, 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. It would be also useful to have a look at the Report of the Presidency and other materials included in this space, to jog your memories as we embark on the journey to renew priorities for the years to come.