Multi-level conference on the integrated development of towns
Multi-level conference is taking place from l to 2 December 2010 at the Palais des Congrès in Liège. This conference of the Belgian presidency will be preceded by the annual conference of the network of European towns Urbact (30 Nov. and 1 Dec. before noon). Spread over a day and a half, the afternoon of 1 December will be spent visiting urban sites and projects, both in the north and south of the country. The conference of 2 December is about the implementation of the Leipzig Charter in sustainable European cities. The emphasis will be on the implementation of multi-level, integrated urban policy, via methodologies such as the Open Method of Coordination, transverse action plans, monitoring, exchange of information, etc. It intends to provide an insight into the transverse approach which has already been implemented in the countries of the EU in the course of the last decade.
On the programme speakers from various countries and European networks. Workshops for reflection and the exchange of good practices are also planned. This event should attract approximately 400 participants.
Towns are faced with a wide range of policy areas: town and country planning, accommodation, employment, culture, well-being, mobility, environment, etc. Urban policy cannot therefore be regarded as an independent policy area. It pertains to various levels of power and implies various areas of competence.
The problems with which towns are faced require a universal and integrated approach. Indeed, everything is linked to this approach: unemployment results in a loss of income and lower quality accommodation, children with parents who are unemployed have problems at school, people on low incomes have more health problems, etc. Lasting solutions in this respect can only result from collaboration between the various political actors, not only at local and municipal level, but also at regional, national and European level.
In our country, this transverse and integrated governance is still in its infancy. At a European level, the importance of integrated urban policy, with the involvement of all the public entities, has been emphasised in the Leipzig Charter , which was approved in 2007 by the Ministers of Urban Policy of all the Member States of the EU. Quotation: “Every level of power (local, regional, national and European) is responsible for the future of our towns. This is the reason why the coordination of sectoral policy areas must be improved, in order to achieve a renewal of the sense of responsibility with regard to the integrated policy of urban development, in order to make this administration really effective at several levels. This is the challenge and the point of focus of our conference on 2 December 2010.