The Mayor of Mérida, Renán Barrera Concha, announced that Mérida is one of the 24 cities selected to participate in the Cities on the Move program, a collaborative initiative between the United States Department of State, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, Resilient Cities Catalyst and the Institute of the Americas.
The Municipal President informed that at the Summit of the Cities of the Americas, this program dedicated to supporting the cities of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and the US to create sustainable, inclusive and resilient futures through from accompaniment to the development of high-impact local projects, the exchange of experiences and knowledge and cooperation between cities.
He explained that in this edition there were more than 129 applications received and only 24 vacancies from cities in the Americas, for this reason the Commune is pleased to participate in this program focused on urban sustainability, resilience and inclusion.
He also added that it will be a bridge to share experiences, challenges, and solutions with other cities in the Cities on the Move Academy, which will be launched in 2025.
He explained that this opportunity will allow Mérida to connect with the other selected cities: Ambato, Ecuador; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Cali, Colombia; Baltimore, Maryland; Cartagena Colombia; Denver, Colorado; Fortaleza, Brazil; Hawaii County, Hawaii; Freeport, Bahamas; Coral Springs, Florida; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Dallas, Texas; Hermosillo, Mexico; Dubuque, Iowa; Manaus, Brazil; Stockton, Calif.; Austin, Texas; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Hoboken, NJ; Renca, Chile; Evanston, Ill.; Rosario, Argentina and Chattanooga, Tennessee.
He indicated that the Municipality will participate with the project “Food security as an inclusive measure of adaptation to climate change in the city of Mérida Yucatán”, a proposal considered aligned to work with the Cities on the Move program.
“Aware of the challenge of establishing adaptation measures to climate change, we apply an inclusive business model, strengthening local producers and fair trade, which we call ‘Circle 47’ so that cities have a food security policy since they are the areas where the highest concentration of the population and a high demand for food occur,” he said.
The Municipal President explained that this climate change adaptation project is being worked on in coordination between the Sustainable Development Unit, through the Department of Climate Change and International Liaison, and the Directorate of Economic Development through the Circle 47 program.
“We are excited to partner with these cities and harness their ingenuity and creativity,” said Angie Fyfe, Executive Director of @ICLEI_USA.
“By bringing together local knowledge and global perspectives, we can create innovative and inclusive sustainable solutions that will have a lasting impact around the world,” he added.
The City of Merida looks forward to working closely with Austin, Texas to create equitable and inclusive economic opportunities, strengthen sustainability, and promote a healthy environment for all.
Finally, he said that those interested in having more details about this program can consult the page https://icleiusa.org/cities-forward
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