M4EG Overview
Eastern Partnership Mayors gather in Batumi, Georgia, to look into future-fit cities prospects
4 October 2023, BATUMI – More than 200 participants from Eastern Partnership cities convened in Batumi, Georgia, for a two-day urban forum organized by the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) of the European Commission, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and partners. The forum – titled “Future-Fit Cities” – focused on how to tackle complex municipal issues by building green, inclusive and resilient cities, capable of leveraging public-private finances to boost growth and innovation.
M4EG: Reflections on a Journey Toward Sustainable Urban Development
It’s been three years of EU and UNDP partnership in orchestrating the Mayors for Economic Growth (M4EG) initiative in the Eastern Partnership (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine).
General Principles of the M4EG Secretariat's collaboration with signatories
“Imagine the city we want”
Municipalities on a journey to re-imagine their futures
As the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia faces a manyfold crisis brought on by the devastating war in Ukraine, a regional Show&Tell event brings together 300 local self-government entities from the Eastern Partnership countries to discuss ways to overcome the growing challenges and share knowledge about building sustainable systems and livelihoods.
Mid-Year Effects Snaps & Shots
27 Mayors with visions to move beyond “business as usual”
The M4EG introduces new tools and approaches, with four mayors currently testing what it could mean to go from a linear project approach to a systemic portfolio approach for local transformation. Kutaisi and Batumi (Georgia), Areni (Armenia) and Ceadir Lunga (Moldova) are cities making up the first cohort of the Portfolio Journey.
Integrating complexity in development handbooks, with mayors on the front page
UNDP’s identity crisis: A journey from linear to adaptive project management
Many of us working in international development are becoming uncomfortable with presenting ourselves as ‘solution providers’ as if we know what the destination looks like and how to get there. For many of today’s complex challenges and the polycrisis we find ourselves in, we have no ‘best practice’ to lean on.
Testimonies from the joint EU & UNDP initiative Mayors for Economic Growth
I am standing on a podium in Baku, Azerbaijan, in front of 46 city Mayors, gathered together from all corners of the country. There is a sense of optimism and drive in the air – a desire for novelty and moving beyond business as usual. At the same time, on the other side of the Eastern Partnership, a meaningless war rages on in Ukraine – it’s second month in. It is within this context, with much sadness and optimism, that we begin our journey, a journey that seeks to expand options for local decision makers in a highly uncertain world. It is an invitation to change in a rapidly changing world.