The V LED Forum supports resilient territories
One powerful word emerging in various statements at the V World Forum on Local Economic Development was "resilience". Everyone agrees that, in the face of the pandemic, having resilient public services, especially the health and education systems, has been crucial. In addition to the public sphere, it has been stressed that it is important to have strong and resilient societies and economies.
This concept was especially repeated in the thematic space "THE TERRITORY AS THE BASIS OF INNOVATION AND ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL REACTIVATION", directed by ORU Fogar and FAMSI. In the keynote address that opened the space, Professor Joan Subirats was in favor of a great redistribution of public spending. He affirmed that we have problems of 21st century, which we analyzed from 20th century paradigms and managed with 19th century institutional instruments. He explained that growing diversity requires new institutions, therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the decentralization. He also denounced that, nowadays local and regional governments are generally underfunded, if we take into account the requirements of citizens. “Central governments,” he said, “continue with the outdated idea that the power lies in controlling most of the budget. Its power must be in control, including the evaluation, planning and redistribution, because the budget must be in the hands of those who provide public services ”.
This theoretical approach of the professor was specified, in the same session, in a very practical example of the president of ARDCI, the regions of Côte d'Ivore, Eugène Aka Aouelé, when he said that decentralizing “means that the regions can build 15 schools distributed among the territory of the region, while before the central state built only one school in the capital of the region ”.
The Forum was inaugurated on May 26 in a ceremony attended by the president of ORU Fogar, Abdessamad Sekkal. It lasted for 5 days, with forty sessions and more than 200 speakers. Alongside the university and economic sector, representatives of United Nations agencies and local governments, the Forum had 36 speakers from ORU Fogar: 15 American governors, 9 African regional presidents and 12 European regional leaders. ORU Fogar's Secretary General, Carles Llorens, highlighted the organization's important African contribution to the Forum. “In previous editions, except in Cape Verde, there was little African presence worldwide. Having a virtual forum allowed African leaders to be present. Their contribution has been of great quality ”.
What is the secret for being resilient? There is consensus in the statements that collaboration and cooperation are the key. At the inauguration, Manuel Calvo, deputy governor of Córdoba, and Abdessamad Sekkal, president of ORU Fogar, pointed out that a space such as the Forum is a privileged environment to promote this cooperation. Everyone agreed on the need for multilevel collaboration of all administrations. Pablo Jurado, Ecuadorian prefect and president of CONGOPE affirmed that, in a situation like the pandemic, people feel safer when they know that their mayors and regional governments are over there, because they are the ones who understand the reality and ensure the best articulation at the national level.
Here you can download the Final Declaration of the V WFLED Córdoba Argentina 2021 in Spanish, English, French and Portuguese:
