Cities for Sustainability Governance (CSG)

If you're at World Urban Forum in Cairo, dont forget to say "Hi!" 👋 City of Tallinn is hosting a session on "Local Perspectives – Cities Leading the Way to Achieving the SDGs," and it’s all about how #cities are #driving real progress on the #SustainableDevelopmentGoals. Our own Krista Kampus will be chatting alongside Cecilia Bertozzi from the European Commission, Sharon Gil from UN Environment Programme, and Stefano Marta from OECD - OCDE, and Masha Smirnova from Eurocities leading the discussion. Digging into how #local #efforts (and a bit of global teamwork 🌍) are helping close the action gap for the #SDGs. If you’re around, drop by for some #inspiring #ideas on how cities can make #sustainability happen 🌱✨ See you there! Alessandro Rainoldi, Iraklis Stamos, EU Science, Research and Innovation  #WUF12 #SDGs #SustainableCities #LocalAction #ItAllStartsAtHome #ItAllStartsLocally #ItAllStartsTogether #ItAllStartsNow

✨ Put your hands together for #Braga and #Tallinn on their URBACT #Good #Practice awards✨ Two cities of the Cities for Sustainability Governance (CSG) have been recognized as urban game-changers among URBACT’s 116 Good Practices. This is a #powerful testament to their #commitment to creating #vibrant and #sustainable #communities. 🏆 Tallinn’s Sustainability Governance Model for more sustainable future and 💡 Braga’s Human Power Hub, which recently also hosted our network’s transnational meeting! Looking ahead for the URBACT City Festival in April 2025, where these initiatives will be in the spotlight (amongst other 114 good practises). We can’t wait to see how other #cities will be #inspired to follow in their footsteps. Bravo, Braga and Tallinn! Thank you for leading with vision and heart💙 #URBACT #GoodPractice #SustainableCities #Braga #Tallinn #UrbanInnovation

🌍 Valencia's workshop on #citizen #engagement for #EU #MissionCities!   Valencia (Spain) hosted a workshop co-organized by Cities for Sustainability Governance (CSG) and the SSH Centre, focusing on citizen engagement in the #EU Mission Cities and their #Climate #City #Contracts.   The discussions highlighted a variety of techniques that Mission Cities are using to #empower #citizens in #climateaction, including: 👉🏻 citizens' #assemblies; #participatory #budgets; citizen #science; direct #engagement in public spaces; #funding and #supporting #community-led #initiatives 🙌🏻   The workshop provided an #opportunity for #thematic #exchange, exploring ways to #enhance #collaborative #governance through #multi-#stakeholder #engagement.   💚 With these insights, Valencia is preparing to #strengthen its #participatory #activities, including exciting new initiatives like My Green Neighbourhood, set to launch under the European Green Capital Award - Valencia 2024.   #ValenciaGreenCapital #Sustainability #FutureReadyCity

🌍 Jablonec nad Nisou is committed to sustainable development! 🌍 In June, Jablonec nad Nisou City Council signed up to the #SustainableDevelopmentGoals and has since started to incorporate #SDG #icons into their #communication channels. One of the first steps was to #promote them on #socialmedia, especially through "KAM? JBC!", which serves to inform the public about their #StrategicPlanningDepartment and #ArchitectureOffice activities.    👏 Pleased to announce that this profile has been recognized in a Ministry of Interior publication. This publication presents examples of #goodpractice of #local #governments in the Czech Republic within the framework of the Friendly Office survey. 🏅More information about the results of the survey and the publication can be found here: https://lnkd.in/duTfcvSx.    This award is a confirmation that Jablonec nad Nisou are moving in the right direction in their approach to #sustainability, #transparent #communication and #openness. Huge thanks to everyone who has supported them! They look forward to taking further steps towards a more sustainable future for the city🌱    #SDGs #sustainabledevelopment #Jablonec #fbKAMJBC #goodpractice #communication 

European Sustainable Development Week is here! 🌍 What are the #URBACTacts driving the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals? The URBACT Cities for Sustainability Governance (CSG) #ActionPlanning Network is using the SDGs as a vehicle for implementing strategic urban governance and deliver on the promise of transforming our world! Find out how 👉 https://bit.ly/3TVxWj1 #ESDW #ESDW2024 #CSG #SDGs Stina Heikkilä, Sally Kneeshaw, Karin Luhaäär, Ricardo Rio, Espoon kaupunki - Esbo stad - City of Espoo, Stadt Mannheim

What’s culture got to do with it? Cities for Sustainability Governance (CSG) held a three day workshop at Humanpowerhub in Braga, Portugal. The City of Braga is a world-class example of how the 2030 UN Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals UN-Habitat SDG Localization are being made real in everyday practice in the city and in the community of Braga. Starting from young social entrepreneurs working to solve ecological, social, and cultural challenges in an economically feasible way. With education, science and research institutions connecting the dots for future solutions in biotechnology and other fields, and the industry tackling infrastructure challenges while simultaneously inspiring employees to bicycle to work. But how do you do it? What we witnessed was the strong connectedness between all these stakeholders and the culture of working together facilitated by the city of Braga. Starting from the Mayor Ricardo Rio who, during his evenings supports young entrepreneurs who are solving problems in health, elderly care, digitalisation, gender equality and other issues for Braga community, and next morning is discussing how to build future cities with big time EU and global players, and large scale industry representatives. Primus inter pares. It takes leadership. And that is not enough. You need a team that walks the talk. And they do. When civil servants expose themselves and work together with the community you get results. Governance is a lot about today and the next day. Linear and much needed. It is also about where do we go from here, it’s about future. And that is complex. Don’t try to vision that by yourself. Future is co-created. It’s about leading by example and creating a thriving story for the whole community. In Braga, today, tomorrow and beyond starts with the city strategy and the SDGs. But it is more so about the culture of how that strategy is made alive, visible and meaningful to everyone. Emphasis here on the word culture. All this with a simple and powerful message: quality of life to all. So yes, learnings from Braga indicate that without culture there is now real Strategy, breakfast, lunch or dinner as Drucker might say. https://lnkd.in/dMfbhCtU Thank you team Braga : Hélder Costa Emídio Meireles, Domingos Martins for an amazing experience. Next stop World Urban Forum 12 Egypt where we run a workshop on “SDGs in Action” November 5th, 3 pm in room B, please join us! Claudia García Zaragoza Martino Miraglia Shipra Narang Suri Stay tuned for more about the Story of Braga and Story of European Cities as we move on to explore how to lead by example and how to build a story for a thriving city. Carlos Alberto Videira Carlos de Sousa Santos João Morais Crispim Maria Joao Rauch Annika Dalén Linda Gustafsson URBACT #sustainablespoo #töissäespoolla

💡 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞-𝐍𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: 𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐨’𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐃𝐆 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧! Gabrovo’s URBACT Local Group made meaningful strides in its journey towards a #sustainable, #climateresilient #future. Through its participation in the Cities for Sustainability Governance (CSG) project, Gabrovo is actively contributing to the #European #Union’s #climate #neutral and #smart #cities mission for #2030, setting ambitious targets to achieve climate neutrality ahead of the EU-wide 2050 goal. The #CSG project plays a key role in supporting Gabrovo’s path toward this mission, helping the city develop strategies and solutions to meet its sustainability goals. 🔑 A key outcome from the recent meeting was Gabrovo’s successful submission of its #Climate #City #Contract. This milestone, aligned with the EU’s 2030 mission, reflects Gabrovo’s growing commitment to climate action. During a partner visit to #Braga, 🇵🇹, Gabrovo explored innovative approaches to urban sustainability at the Human Power Hub. Particularly valuable was Braga’s #collaboration between the municipality, #academia, and #scientific communities, which inspired Gabrovo to enhance its own collaborative efforts in #sustainability. 👉🏻 Gabrovo is also adopting the innovative #Sustainable #Development #Goal cards, a tool developed by Espoon kaupunki - Esbo stad - City of Espoo. These cards, which integrate #social, #cultural, #economic, and #ecological perspectives, help visualize the city’s progress on each of the 17 #SDGs. Gabrovo plans to develop its own SDG cards and a related #educational game, which will offer a fun and interactive way to engage the #local #community in #sustainability efforts. This initiative will support Gabrovo’s broader communication strategy, and it will be one of the key challenges tackled at the upcoming 𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐨 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩, scheduled for 25-27 November. The camp will follow the European Committee of the Regions methodology, using the quadruple helix approach to bring together #academia, #industry, #government, and #civil #society to co-create solutions for effective communication on sustainable development. Gabrovo’s commitment to sustainability, coupled with its active role in the #CSG project, demonstrates the city’s steady progress towards climate neutrality. ✨By embracing innovative projects, fostering strong partnerships, and utilizing tools like the SDG cards, Gabrovo is working to build a climate-resilient and socially inclusive future—not only for itself but as part of Europe’s broader journey toward sustainability.✨ #Gabrovo #URBACT #SustainableDevelopment #SDG11 #SDG13 #ClimateNeutralCities #ClimateCityContract #CSGProject #2030Goals #InnovationCamp #QuadrupleHelix

Last week I attended a truly inspiring Cities for Sustainability Governance (CSG) network meeting together with my colleagues Ville Taajamaa and Suvi Jäntti. My key takeaways from CSG-network meeting in Braga: - There are inspiring examples in each city how to enhance sustainability governance. Network fosters trust, which creates innovation and creativity. - Cities play an important role both in the design, planning and implementation of sustainability. Local engagement creates greater impact. - (Sustainability) Education is key for transformation. Thank your for the Braga team for organizing such a wonderful event and the other cities for sharing their inspiring ideas and experiences.

This week #Tallinn International Peer Learning Hub hosted a seminar on #VoluntaryLocalReviews (VLRs)!🌍 As part of Tallinn’s Sustainability Governance, Tallinn is committed to integrating the #UN #2030Agenda and the #SustainableDevelopmentGoals (SDGs) into every aspect of the city’s #strategicplanning. To track our progress and showcase our efforts, we will produce Tallinn’s first #SustainableDevelopmentReport in 2026, highlighting our achievements and challenges in advancing the #SDGs. To #kickoff this exciting process, our recent seminar explored the “why, what, how, and with whom” of VLRs. Cities that have already completed their reviews – #Stuttgart, #Ghent, #Helsinki, #Strasbourg - shared their valuable insights and experiences. The #EuropeanCommission’s Joint Research Centre and Nordregio also shared valuable insights from global and macro-regional perspectives.  🔑#Key #takeaways: * SDGs are a common language for #global #sustainability, providing shared values for cities to align their #local #actions with global priorities. * VLRs play a critical role in closing the gap between the SDGs and tangible local actions by ensuring #accountability, #transparency, and #strategic #alignment. * To date, 347 VLRs have been published, with 63% coming from #cities and #municipalities, reflecting the growing importance of local governments in global sustainability efforts. * VLRs provide an opportunity to #strengthen the links between the local, regional, national and global – particularly important when looking at the #next #era of sustainable development where cities’ experiences must be better reflected. 💡 What is a #VLR? A #VoluntaryLocalReview (VLR) assesses the #implementation of the SDGs at the local level, showcasing progress, identifying challenges, and sharing recommendations. These reviews are vital tools for cities to align their local actions with global goals. #VLRs #SDGs #SustainableCities #Tallinn2035 #LocalGovernance #UN2030 #Sustainability

🌍 We had the opportunity to interview Braga's Mayor Ricardo Rio following Cities for Sustainability Governance (CSG) #paneldiscussion on the #post2030 #Agenda at the Human Power Hub 🙌🏻 In the interview, we explored the role #cities will play in the new era of #sustainable #development, the future of the SDGs, and also delved into Mayor Rio’s personal favorite SDG at the city level 🤍 If you're interested in the future of #urban #development and how #local #governments can drive sustainable #change - you won’t want to miss this conversation👇🏻 #SustainableDevelopment #SDGs #UrbanDevelopment #2030Agenda #LocalLeadership