AS POPULATION RISES IN URBAN AREAS, UN GLOBAL FORUM CALLS

 

FOR INCREASED INNOVATION BY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

(Received from a UN Information Officer)

SEOUL, 25 May -- On the second day of the United Nations sponsored Sixth Global Forum on Reinventing Government in Seoul, high-level participants concentrated on the rising challenges faced by local governments.  The Global Forum being held from 24 to 27 May, provides a platform for governments and key stakeholders to discuss strategies for improving public administration, and to explore practical approaches for governance reform.

Discussions today focused largely on finding mechanisms to face emerging challenges and for governments to find innovative solutions.

“It is projected that the population of the world living in urban areas will exceed the 50 per cent mark by 2007, thus marking the first time in history that the world will have more urban than rural residents”, Guido Bertucci, United Nations Director of Public Administration and Development Management, told government representatives at the forum.  “The speed and scale of this growth, especially concentrated in the less developed regions, continue to pose formidable challenges to individual countries, as well as to the world community.”

Talks centred on decentralization and on bringing political, administrative, economic and financial power to local governments, which has been a growing trend in recent years.

Referring to the past United Nations Public Service Award recipients, Mr. Bertucci stressed that innovation by local governments who have limited resources is possible and is often the solution.  Other speakers emphasized increasing gaps between limited government capacities and citizens’ growing demand for public goods and services.

Speaking at the Ministerial Round Table on Innovation, United Nations Under-Secretary-General José Antonio Ocampo said, “As we have benefited from past innovations, we need to continue to innovate for future generations.  Substantive and enduring progress toward poverty reduction is a necessary legacy for future generations, if they are to live out sustainable development.  The challenge of meeting the basic needs of the most vulnerable populations within the next decade or two depends on innovations.” 

Regional cooperation and partnerships between governments, private sector and civil society will be discussed in the final two days of the forum.

A statement -- the Seoul Declaration -- will be issued by attending dignitaries at the closing ceremony on 27 May, the final day of the Global Forum.

For background conference materials and media accreditation questions, please visit:  http://6thglobalforum.org, http://6thglobalforum.org/eng/registration/online_reg_media.asp.

For more information on the Global Forum or to arrange interviews with United Nations officials, please contact Elia Yi Armstrong, UN DESA, Seoul, mobile:  +82 +(0) 10-2233-4219, e-mail:  armstronge@un.org; or Oisika Chakrabarti, UN DPI, New York, tel.:  +1 212 963-8264, e-mail:  mediainfo@un.org.

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