French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the next Africa-France Summit would focus on sustainable cities. He made the announcement in his general policy address on Africa in November 2017 in Ouagadougou. The summit will be held from June 4 to 6 2020 in Bordeaux (France) and things are gradually taking shape. An association known in French as “Urbanistes Sans Frontières”, thus gives appointment in Paris for a meeting which is part of the preparation for the event. Be careful: the registration deadline is 4 May 2019.
The recent appointment of Stéphanie Rivoal, former French Ambassador to Uganda, as Secretary General of the Africa France Summit, is bearing fruits.
An international seminar was held on April 25 and 26 2019, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg under the theme: “Building together the sustainable and inclusive city of tomorrow in Africa and in France”, organised by the city of Strasbourg and the Gescod association, with the support of the AFD (The French Development Agency). It aimed to deepen reflections on the decentralised cooperation between French and African partners.
A meeting (for members of the MEDEF) of the Africa Committee and the MEDEF International Task Force on the subject, will also be held in Paris, on May 7 2019, in the presence of Stephanie Rivoal.
Finally, the latest initiative, the “Sustainable Cities in Africa” forum, which is also part of the preparation for the summit, will be held on May 14 at the National Assembly in Paris. This conference is organised by “Urbanistes Sans Frontières” (USF), in partnership with the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE), the French Partnership for the City and Territories (PFVT), the International Sustainable Development and Multidisciplinary Organisation (Oddim) and with the support of the International Coalition for Cities and Sustainable Territories. Registration is free, but mandatory before May 4, 2018.
The programme is as follows:
2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Welcoming participants
2:30 pm – 3:30 pm Opening Ceremony
Mr. Hubert Julien-Laferrière, Deputy of the Rhone 2nd district, co-president of the PFVT
Mr. Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Secretary of State, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs
HE. Stéphanie Rivoal, Secretary General for the preparation of the Africa-France 2020 Summit
Mr. François Albert Amichia, Minister of the City of Côte d’IvoireMr. Moussa Baldé, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Equipment of Senegal
HE. Bassirou Séné, Ambassador of Senegal in France.Dr. Maggie Cazal, President-Founder of USF
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm Roundtable 1
Strategic planning and financialization of the sustainable city
Moderator: Mrs Brigitte Bariol Mathais, Delegate General of the FNAU (Federation of Urban Planning Agencies) and PFVT (French Partnership for the City and the Territories)
Key Stakeholder: Mr. Jean-François Habeau, Director General FMDV (Global Fund for Cities Development)
Mr Serge Allou, Technical Adviser of UCLG (United Cities and Governments)
Ms Karine de Fremont, Head of Urban Transition and Mobility at AFDMs
Dieynaba Diop, Head of the Diamniadio-smart-city office, General Delegation for the Promotion of the Urban Poles of Diamniadio and Lac Rose, DGPU (Senegal)
Mr. Alioi Ciss, Mayor of the city of Diass (Senegal)
Mrs. Laure Agnès Carradec, Marseille urban planning assistant and president of Euro Méditeranée and the planning agency.
Mr. Abdelaziz Adidi, Professor and former Director of INAU National Institute of Planning and Development of Rabat and Correspondent of USF in Morocco
5:00 pm – 5:15 pm
Screening and presentation of USF pilot project in North Pikine
Mr. Cheikh Cissé, USF Correspondent in Senegal
5:15 pm – 6:45 pm Roundtable 2
Innovations, circular economy and sustainable development
Moderator: Mrs. Djamila Joualalen-Colleu, Chargé de mission “Sustainable Cities” Directorate of European and International Affairs; Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition; Ministry of Territorial Cohesion and relations with local authorities.
Representative of Vivapolis and keynote speaker: Mr. Christophe Debien, Director of the INEC (National Institute of Circular Economy)
Mr. Jean-Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General of UCLG Africa
Ms Geneviève Sevrin, Executive Director of CUF (United Cities France)
Mr. Jean-Claude Ndong-Mba, Professor at Omar Bongo University of Libreville (Gabon)
Mr. Auguste Dago, African Enterprise Representative (Côte d’Ivoire)
Mr. Omar Talla, elected from the city of Pikine North (Senegal), Ambassador of the pilot project of USF
Marc-Arthur Diaye, Specialist in Econometrics and Big Data. University Professor (Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne); Scientific advisor to France Stratégie.
6:45 pm – 7:30 pm Closing Ceremony
Mr. Paul Koffi Koffi, Commissioner in charge of the Spatial Planning and Transport of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) Committee
Mr. Amadou Diarra, Mayor of Pikine Nord (Senegal) Dr. Maggie Cazal, Founding President of USF (Summary of Debates and Future Actions)
Mr. Hubert Julien-Laferrière, Deputy of the Rhône 2nd district, co-chair of the PFVT (Closing speech)
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Field visits reserved for delegations
Wednesday, May 15
09:30 – 12:30: Technical tour in the Parc and Villette district
14:00 – 17:30: SDO (Sustainable Development Objectives) workshops
18:00 – 19:30: Technical visit “Beaugrenelle District”
Thursday, May 16
09:30 – 12:30: Technical visit in the Batignolles District
14:00 – 17:30: SDO (Sustainable Development Goals) Workshops
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm: Meetings with members of the ICOSCAT_CIVTED coalition
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm: TechnicalVisit at the CNAM Museum
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Christoph Haushofer
