ED Kisaka in Washington DC to participate in 2023 Diplomacy Forum for Cities, - read her remarks.

Kampala City has participated in this year's Diplomacy Forum for cities hosted by Meridian in Washington DC. 

The forum brought together participants from Europe, Africa, Latin America, and North America comprising senior diplomatic, business, and federal, state, cities, and local government leaders

Speaking at the annual forum, the KCCA Executive Director  Dorothy Kisaka said Kampala city has learned key lessons from networking with the ASTON network, Africa Small Towns Network which consists of eleven cities. Cities share methodologies to resolve urban challenges by using digital tools, particularly in revenue collection, public transport sector management, and air pollution

Kisaka paid a courtsey call on Hon.Robbie Kakonge, Uganda's ambassador to USA at the Uganda Embassy. The  ambassador is committed to advancing the Smart City Agenda by enabling Kampala city to network with other cities.

The diplomacy forum noted that the majority and growing proportion of the world’s population is living in urban areas. The share of the world’s population living in urban areas is expected to increase to 60 per cent in 2030. More and more people will flock to cities in this decade and it is imperative that housing, education, health and transport needs are urgently and consistently addressed by city planners with emphasis on adapting the use of technology in service delivery 

The Diplomacy forum focused on networking across national  borders to explore opportunities for cooperation and collaboration and create learning communities to address urban challenges which are similar across the globe.

The city administrators forum included participants from Ukraine where cities are rebuilding after the destruction by the war. They underscored the importance of intentionality to provide for safety and  healthy spaces that address climate change issues.