Last week 100 Resilient Cities (pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation) unveiled the committee – a group of city chief executives who will contribute their expertise to the global resilience movement.
The advisory committee will advise on policy and advocacy, act as global champions, and help 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) identify and prioritise key issues that are essential to building urban resilience as 100RC pivots to implementing resilience building projects in cities.
The advisory committee was announced at the 100 Resilient Cities Urban Resilience Summit that took place in New York last week.
A committee of 10 global city leaders was formed to advise and advocate for the global resilience movement as 100RC and its network cities move forward with implementing resilience solutions.
The 10 founding members of the committee are:
* Claudio Orrego, intendente of Santiago de Chile, Chile
* José Isabel Blandó* Figueroa, mayor of Panama City, Panama
* Megan Barry, mayor of Nashville, USA
* Monica Barone, chief executive of Sydney, Australia
* Ye Lwin, mayor of Mandalay, Myanmar
* Kunal Kumar, commissioner of Pune, India
* Giorgos Kaminis, mayor of Athens, Greece
* Ahmed Aboutaleb, mayor of Rotterdam, The Netherlands
* Diriba Kuma, mayor of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
* Patricia de Lille, mayor of Cape Town, South Africa
Michael Berkowitz, president, 100 Resilient Cities, said: “Four years ago the Rockefeller Foundation created 100 Resilient Cities in response to massive urbanisation and the twin threats of climate change and globalisation.
“Since then, the importance of cities, and therefore our work, has only grown.
“We’re pivoting from the early stages of planning to the implementation of concrete projects aimed at improving the lives of people in our member cities.
“The city leaders advisory committee formalises the role that these city executives have played as the global leaders of the urban resilience movement and will help shape the movement in years to come.”
The 100RC’s urban resilience work builds on a century of work by the Rockefeller Foundation helping the poor and vulnerable and more than 50 years of urban planning and policy expertise.
Since 2013, 100RC has worked with its network cities to place 80 chief resilience officers, while 32 resilience strategies have been released to date.
“I am honoured to serve on the committee along with my fellow mayors from around the world who are committed leaders.
“Cities, as the drivers of change, have to lead the way to ensure that our residents, our environments, and our economies can survive, adapt and grow by building resilience to the shocks and stresses of the 21st century.
“The 100 Resilient Cities helps cities around the world become more resilient to the physical, social, and economic challenges that are a growing part of the 21st century.
“100RC provides this assistance through: funding for a chief resilience officer in each member city who will lead the resilience efforts; resources for drafting a resilience strategy; access to private sector, public sector, academic, and non-governmental organisation resilience tools; and membership in a global network of peer cities to share best practice and challenges,” De Lille said. For more information, residents should visit: www.100ResilientCities.org.