Mayor’s Conference “City Development and Democracy: Visions for the Coming Decade”

The International Mayor’s Conference was held from the 8th to the 10th of October, 2009 in Leipzig’s Grassi Museum. In attendance were representatives from 19 cities in Europe, Asia, America, and Africa including almost all of Leipzig’s partner cities.

Leipzig had already hosted a Mayor’s Conference on the occasion of the 10th anniversary in order to create a forum for the exchange of ideas. For the 20th anniversary, this cooperation could be successfully continued and built upon.

Leipzig was able to distinguish itself, within the context of its partner city network, as a location of reflection on democratic processes on a community level. Especially acclaimed was the link between “built and lived in cities” and the city development process in Leipzig which has shown itself to be directional and influential for cities in all of Europe.

Mayors from Around the World in Leipzig

The agenda for the conference included, alongside the opening lecture presented by Professor Saskia Sassen, three working sessions on “City Development and Democracy: Visions for the Coming Decade” and participation in the official celebrations commemorating the peaceful revolution in 1989.
This Mayor’s conference, together with the other local events happening around the 9th of October - especially the conference “Democracy in the 21st Century” held two weeks later - highlighted and strengthened, for the rest of Europe, Leipzig’s role as the origin of the peaceful revolution in autumn, 1989.

Closing Declaration of the International Mayor’s Conference

At the conclusion of the two day event, the participating mayors released a closing declaration formulating several factors for a successful and sustainable city development within the context of globalization. The mayors shall undertake even stronger action in the coming years to realize its goals:

• Development and perpetuation of a strong and reliable political leadership founded on basic democratic principles and containing a clear vision for the future.
  
• The opening of a new dimension of local possibilities for action and necessities resulting from global challenges which increasingly require cities worldwide to act together and cooperate.
  
• The creation of integrated city planning concepts as the most successful method towards an efficient and future oriented city development – especially for those city areas marked by problematic conditions. Of central importance is the creation of new and consistent partnerships which integrate the various levels of politics, business, society’s institutions, initiatives as well as the citizens. The potential, resources and the ideas of residents should be collected and put into use.
  
• The creation of new and continual programs in education and training in order to ensure that all people are guaranteed access to important technologies and the skills necessary to use them. In this way, social solidarity should be guaranteed. Close attention should be paid to the creation, stabilization and the expansion of structures which awaken and make civil involvement possible – beginning with the accessibility of places of action through to possibilities for further education and training. This is to also be directed at groups which are currently involved at a low level because of a lack of resources such as education or income.
  
• To make civil involvement visible and honor it as an important and positive factor which leads to people gladly living in their city as well as taking responsibility for and identifying with it. The strength of a city lies, not least of all, in the vitality of its citizens.
  

• Museums in the Grassi
  
• Leipzig Twin cities