Talent for Governance Network

City Diplomacy

City diplomacy may be a new term, but the phenomenon has a longer history. Local governments  seem to feel a responsibility to contribute to dialogue and peace, to create a secure environment for  their citizens. They have a history in international engagement, and they also have a history in dealing  with conflicts at home. They are the layer of government that often feels the consequences of conflicts  most directly, that is, in the streets of the city. Local governments have gained experience in projects  and programmes involving international co-operation. They have long-term relationships with partner  municipalities outside their own countries, and they work together in international platforms and associations.

The understanding on how local governments can potentially contribute to peace-building is growing.  Many local government organizations are already working on the issue in practice, and platforms have  been established. It is up to local governments worldwide to continue working with the existing  practices and to explore further possibilities.

We would like to know your opinion about this: Do all local governments have the (moral) obligation to actively participate in these platforms in order to contribute in making this world more peaceful?

Arne Musch and Alexandra Sizoo. ‘City Diplomacy: The Role of Local Governments in Conflict Prevention, Peacebuilding and Post-conflict reconstruction’. Available at: http://www.psdnetwork.nl/documenten/publications/20090202_city_diplomacy_the_role_of_local_governments_in_conflict_prevention_peacebuilding_and_postconflict_reconstruction.pdf.

Photo: Representatives from Myanmar’s government and the Karen National Union at peace talks at Hotel Zwekabin in Pa-an, capital of the Karen State in eastern Myanmar on Thursday. The talks are aimed at ending the country’s longest-running rebellion as part of a drive to strike ceasefire deals with all its ethnic separatist groups (Featured on www.thestar.com)

Female Leadership in Local Government
This  month the question of the month was based on a  text found  on the website of the  Federation of Canadian Municipalities.  It is titled: promoting women’s leadership in local government.

Although women comprise over 50 per cent of the world’s population, they continue to be under-represented as voters, leaders and as elected officials, including at the local level.  As a result, women do not have equal influence over the policy decisions that affect their lives. The participation of women in local government can have a particular influence on local and national development.

The factors commonly identified as barriers to women’s participation include gender stereotypes and outright discrimination, personal obstacles such as lack of confidence, culturally prescribed domestic roles, low voter education, women’s relative lack of financial and socio-economic capital.

Despite various commitments made by the international community to empower women through increased women’s political participation (Beijing Platform for Action, ECOSOC, the Millennium Development Goals), the world average proportion of women members of national-level legislatures stands at just over 17 per cent. Rwanda and the Nordic countries have come close to parity, although women’s national political representation remains low in other regions, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa. It has often been argued that a “critical mass” of over 30 per cent women is needed before major changes in legislative institutions, behavior and policy occur.

First of all, it is an issue of human rights. Women have the right to participate in all decision-making processes. Full participation means full citizenship. Second, it is critical that women’s views and experiences are represented in decision-making bodies to ensure that the interests of women are taken into consideration in policy-making and implementation of projects related to economic development and poverty alleviation. The democracy argument tells us that the equal representation of women and men enhances democratization of governance.

In 1998, the International Union of Local Authorities launched the Worldwide Declaration on Women in Local Government as the result of a global consultation process among the members of the Union. The Declaration recognized that local government is the level of government closest to the citizens and therefore in the best position to involve women as decision-makers, planners and managers.

For decentralization to work for women, they need to be able to participate in local governance processes as candidates, as elected officials, as employees of the government and as citizens in order to take advantage of all opportunities for decision-making in budget processes, strategic planning, gender sensitive monitoring and evaluation of how services are provided.

Political parties play an important role for women to be elected. While the type of electoral system remains critical for women’s access to politics, the most influential factor is whether or not a quota system is used. In 2006, countries that used gender quotas nearly doubled the number of elected women, compared with countries without any form of gender quota.  Quotas require the development of a democratic political culture, the level of mobilization of women in civil society, and the transparency, capacity building for women voters, candidates and elected officials, and for men to understand the cost of inequality and the benefits of promoting women in public office.

International and national organizations, including UN agencies, bi-lateral donors, civil society organizations, provide different forms of support to women at the local level. These programmes aim to empower candidates through capacity-building and training on decentralized governance, on the processes and rules, and women’s rights. Training programmes should not only target women, but also involve men as stakeholders.

The way in which women can influence political institutions and processes depends on the norms, rules and procedures within local bodies and political parties. The success of women and men with a clear gender equality agenda depends on the support of their own parties, their linkages to a women’s constituency and other institutions.

Strategies to strengthen women’s leadership and their capacity will have to differ according to individual country contexts, according to each country’s political, economic, social and cultural context. To prepare women for leadership positions and decentralized governance, they must be given appropriate leadership education and specialized skills training, including on policy development, strategic planning, and public speaking and leveraging resources. Women leaders need therefore to develop strategic alliances with men who are willing to actively support women’s participation and gender equality.
(2009, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Promoting women’s leadership in local government)

Question of the month: describe the situation of the women’s participation in the local government at your country.

With only a couple of weeks left, we are approaching the end of 2011 rapidly. Time to look back at some special moments of 2011 and express our wishes for the upcoming year!

Three successful Talent for Governance Programmes

In 2011 we were able to give 13 talented young civil servants the chance to participate in our Talent for Governance Programme. The participants from Indonesia, Uganda, Zambia, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Malawi, Ukraine, Cameroon, Palestine participated in the courses on Leadership and Municipal Management (March), Climate Change and Sustainable Local Development (October), Fiscal Decentralisation and Local Finances (November). After their training course the followed their intership at the municipalities of Huizen, The Hague, Over-Gemeenten, Drechterland, Delft, Steenwijkerland, Zwolle, Groningen, Meppel, Assen and province of Drenthe.

Young Civil Servants Network Activities during the Dutch National Young Civil servants day (JAD) in March and meeting with “Jong Den Haag” in October
We are happy to report that our initiative to organize network activities with the talents and Dutch young civil servants was successful this year. The first group of talents this year had the opportunity to participate in the JAD, which was an event with almost 700 young civil servants from all levels of Dutch government. A lunch meeting was held where interested participants could meet our talents and get an idea on what it is like to be a civil servants in another country. During the second activity that took place in The Hague after the Climate Change and Sustainable Local Development training course, our talents from abroad had a chace to exchange their knowledge with their colleagues from the municipality of The Hague.

The Talent for Governance online Network
Our online Talent Network continues to grow. More than 610 young civil servants from all over the world have become a member of the network at this moment, which comprises an increase of 200 members compared to last year.

Call for Applications for the Talent for Governance Programme 2012
The call for applications for the Talent for Governance Programme 2012 has already been published. You can apply now until the 2nd of January 2012 to participate in one of the three Talentprogrammes: “Citizen Participation & Accountability”, “Local Economic Development” or “Local Service Delivery & MDGs”. Fill in our online application form which you can find at our website www.talentforgovernance.com if you want to be considered as a ‘talent for governance’ in 2012!

Our New Year’s wishes:
Next year we hope to welcome at least three new groups of young civil servants for participation in the Talent for Governance Programme. Moreover, we hope that you will stay active members of the network in 2012 and more young civil servants become members. Of course, our biggest wish is to strengthen good local governance, so that it can play its role in improving the living conditions of all undeserved people in the world to the best of it’s capacity!

We are very curious about your New Year’s wishes! Please write them down in the comments.

Are you a talented civil servant devoted to your work for a local government? Are you working towards a better living environment for the people in your municipality, district or region? Are you 37 years old or younger?

Then you can apply now to participate in one of the three Talentprogrammes that will be organised by Talent for Governance in 2012.

You can make a choice between the  programme themes: “Citizen Participation & Accountabilty”, “Local Economic Development” or “Local Service Delivery & MDG’s”. Make sure you can motivate your choice and show the relevance of the programme to your ambitions.

This year we have added a new element to the programme. Every talent must submit a ‘Real life case’ as a project to write a Back-Home-Action plan for. The employer must agree to this project and support the implementation of the action plan. The results will be posted on the network through the regular updates of the Talent.

Read more about the programme on our website www.talentforgovernance.com. You can apply untill the 2nd of January!

Talents of March and October programmes

Indonesia receives $200 Million to develop strong regional governments
According to the Financial Times, The Asian Development Bank Board of Directors has approved a 15-year loan of $200 Million to develop strong regional governments in Indonesia. This aid will be a part of Subprogram II of the Second Local Government Finance and Governance Reform Program.

The aim of  this financial help it to boost the financial and management capabilities of regional governments as they handle state finances and services that have been decentralized.

“Strengthening regional governments so they spend state funds effectively and provide services efficiently and equitably is essential for improving local living standards and reducing poverty”, said Juan Luis Gomez, Senior Public Management Specialist at ADB.

Reforms in six core areas would be targeted, including strengthening local government management of decentralized funds, improving regional administration to boost service delivery, and developing more local revenue sources. National government is going to include the finalization of a comprehensive strategy for fiscal decentralization, the gradual devolution of taxes to local governments, and pioneering steps to introduce gender-based budgeting.

The Asian Development Bank is expecting to benefit from this programme with around $820 million, with half the amount due to the improved financial management systems of regional governments and the other half stemming from efficiency improvements in collection of  property taxes being devolved to the regions between 2011 and 2014. The future reforms will further improve the policy environment and strengthen the institutional capabilities of local governments.

Financial Times. 2011, October 4. “ADB $200 Million Loan Supports More Local Government Reforms in Indonesia”. URL: http://finchannel.com/news_flash/World/95851_ADB_$200_Million_Loan_Supports_More_Local_Government_Reforms_in_Indonesia/

We would like to know your opinion about this:

What do you think about the efforts your local government makes to increase local revenue resources?

This topic is also being dealt with during the Talentprogramme Fiscal Decentralisation and Local Finances from 07-11 November 2011.

On the 10th of October the Mo Ibrahim Foundation launched the fifth Ibrahim Index of African Goverance. The Index shows that countries that pursue a balanced approach to governance achieve the most success. Talking about the Index, Mo Ibrahim said “We have seen this year that Africa’s young majority are no longer willing to stand for the selective approach to governance adopted by many of our continent’s governments. Our young people are demanding a holistic, equitable and inclusive approach to the management of their countries”.

The top five (best) were Mauritius, Cape Verde, Botswana, Seychelles and South Africa. The bottom five (worst) were the Central African Republic, Congo, Zimbabwe, Chad, and Somalia.

The Index compiles 86 indicators grouped into 14 sub-categories and four overarching categories to measure the effective delivery of public goods and services to African citizens.

You can check out the summery of the report here

After having read this summery of the report, do you think that the local governance perspective is sufficiently covered in the index? Or does  local governance perhaps needs to be discussed as a separate category or sub-category, and decentralisation as a specific indicator for good governance? Or is local governance sufficiently covered implicitly and does it not need to be named specificaly and is it enough to name local governments as part the national government and public service?

We would love to hear your ideas on this and invite you to comment and vote in the poll!

People-Centred Sustainable Development
In June 2012 the world leaders will meet in Brazil for a U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development. Thalif Deen, journalist from IPS News, wonders “what really is “sustainable development” in the context of a fast-changing world of growing poverty, hunger, pollution, political repression and social unrest?”

People from all over the world, either from Stockholm or from Nairobi, find good governance, democracy, capacity building, good education for children, working conditions, water and sanitation infrastructure essential for global sustainability. Gunilla Carlsson, Sweden’s minister of international development cooperation and a member of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s High- Level Panel on Global Sustainability, says that: ‘sustainable development must consider the rights, needs and influence of everyone’. Mrs. Carlsson promises to “utilise the great potential of young people to shape and promote sustainable development”.

Sweden’s current development agenda for sustainable cities in developing countries includes strong political support for democracy and measures to promote the participation of poor people and marginalised groups in the management of basic services, including water resources and sanitation.

In 2005, Gunilla Carlsson visited Katwekera village in Kenya, which was lacking basic water and sanitation services. The villagers decided to change the situation and started to elect leaders democratically, who then took part in a capacity-building programme to enable citizens to effectively participate in monitoring and planning the projects. Today, the situation has been improved. Moreover, the villagers generate renewable cheap energy, thanks to the toilets that generate biogas.

The United Nations Environment Programme, located in Nairobi, reports that rapid urbanisation over the last five decades is changing Africa’s landscape and also generating formidable challenges for supplies of water and sanitation services. Many inhabitants of the more than 200 slum settlements have limited access to safe water and sanitation. For example, Kibera loses about 40 percent of the water it receives through leakage or dilapidated infrastructure. The U.N. countries should exchange experience will less-developed ones in the transition towards a green economy using its own experience of environmentally friendly technology and urban development.

Deen, T., IPS News. 2011, August 14. ‘Sustainable Development Must Start with People’ URL: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=104873

We would like to know your opinion about this: What does ‘local sustainable development’ really mean for you and people in your municipality in this fast-changing world?

This topic will be dealt with in the course Climate Change and Sustainable Local Development from 16-21 October 2011.

Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town
Panasonic Corporation and eight other companies announced in May 2011 that they will work together to build a smart town concept called “Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town”. The solar panels and home-use-storage batteries will be installed in every household by the year 2014. The development of the new eco-friendly cities is aimed  to achieve a low-carbon and sustainable society. The municipality of Fujisawa agreed on this pilot project in order to provide consumers with a new and better lifestyle. The Panasonic’s aim is to create a safe, sustainable and secure smart town which uses the nature resources up to the fullest while reducing the carbon dioxide emissions by 70 percent. (Panasonic Global, 26 May 2011)

We would like to know your opinion about this: Does your local government work together with enterprises in order to achieve sustainability in your town or city?

This topic will be dealt with in the course Climate Change and Sustainable Local Development from 16-21 October 2011.

Due to climate change, food security can prove to be an important challenge for the future. The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing ‘when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life’ (WHO, 2011).

According to the World Health Organization (2011), food security is built on three pillars:

-          Food availability: sufficient quantities of food available on a consistent basis.

-          Food access: having sufficient resources to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet.

-          Food use: appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate water and sanitation.

Agriculture is the most important food source. The impact of climate change on food security is twofold (FAO, 2008). Both local and global food supply will be affected. In low income countries, a decrease in food production can increase the dependence on food aid, as often financial means for food purchase on the global market are limited. Especially at a local scale, high declines in food production can increase the reliance on food aid.

Next to this, the impact of climate change on agricultural production will affect local livelihoods and access to food. Regions and producers which are heavily impacted by climate change might not be able to keep food production high enough for local demand. This will affect local wellbeing and safety through increased food insecurity. 

How can local authorities act on the decline of local food security due to climate change?

Generally, mitigation and adaptation to climate change could secure food production. According to FAO, a key measure could be the development and growth of crops (for staple food) which are better adapted to future climate conditions. Climate-adapted crops can be resistant to more extreme climate conditions, such as heat, drought, submergence and salty water. This way the resilience of food production to climate change can be increased.

We would like to know your opinion about this: How does your local authority ensure a stable food supply to the local community? And how does your local authority support a (local) stable food production? How could your local authority act upon the decline in food security due to climate change? 

This topic will be dealt with in the course Climate Change and Sustainable Local Development of The Hague Academy from 16 – 21 October 2011, and will be part of the Talent programme in October.

Climate change can have severe impacts on local communities. The recent floods in Pakistan show the severity of natural hazards and the difficulty that the government can have to respond to it. Through climate change, the severity and frequency of such hazards is expected to increase. The direct impacts of climate change which are already recorded are higher temperatures. Also, the frequency of heat waves and heavy precipitation events will very likely increase. Furthermore, it is likely that areas affected by drought, the frequency of tropical cyclones and the occurrence of extreme high sea levels will increase (UN HABITAT, 2011). Indirect impacts can be the increase of incidence of vector-borne diseases, air and water pollution, heat stress, and pests (for example, the caterpillar epidemic which Siti has reported on the network).

Naturally, the occurrence and severity of these impacts will vary regionally and locally. Some countries and regions will be more vulnerable than others. Also, the impacts will be time specific and will be different for social groups (rich versus poor, women versus men, etc.).

The process of climate change can be slowed down through mitigation measures and adaptation measures are available to adapt to the impacts. Local governments can play an active role in mitigation and adaptation. They can best assess the complexity and diversity of the local environment and the needs of their communities. Therefore, the question rises:

What role should local governments and institutions play in climate change mitigation and adaptation?

Local governments can take several responsive measures to decrease the vulnerability to climate change (Global Forum on Local Development, 2010). These instruments include:

(1) local planning and regulation to enable or constrain certain activities (such as preventing housing in flood zones),

(2) engaging in local public expenditures to finance public goods and services in response to climate stresses (such as soil erosion control), and

(3) increasing local fiscal revenues of taxes, fees and charges to support these actions financially.

In addition, local governments can play a role in creating social awareness, for example through adopting environmental sound policies themselves.

We would like to know your opinion about this: Is your local government agency taking climate mitigation and adaptation measures? How can these measures effectively be implemented in policy making? And what role should local governments and institutions play? Are there any limitations to this role?

This topic will be dealt with in the course Climate Change and Sustainable Local Development of The Hague Academy from 16 – 21 October 2011, and will be part of the Talent programme in October.

For more information, see the following UN reports: UN HABITAT report on ‘Cities and Climate Change 2011′ <http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/listItemDetails.aspx?publicationID=3085> and Global Forum on Local Development report (2010) <http://www.uncdf.org/english/local_development/uploads/thematic/945_UNCDF_final%20lowres_240111.pdf>.