Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona

The first Panel of Experts on International Affairs and Cooperation was held at the AMB on 4 July. This working meeting, which was scheduled in the Metropolitan Action Plan, discussed the AMB's strategies and contributions in cooperation and international relations, to address the challenges facing large cities and metropolises around the world.

The panel of experts, chaired by Alfred Bosch, AMB vice-president of International Affairs and Cooperation, consists of representatives of various public and private organisations and institutions linked to international action: Joan Clos, executive director of UN-Habitat, Montse Pi, lecturer in Public Internationa Law at the UAB, Antoni Segura, president of the CIDOB, Francesc Mateu, director of Oxfam-Intermon Catalunya, Ester Barbé, lecturer in International Relations at the UAB and director of the Observatori de Política exterior europea, Carme Colomina, journalist and researcher at the CIDOB, Mateu Hernández, executive director of Barcelona Global, Pilar Conesa, director of the Smart City World Congress, Cristina Gallach, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Communications and Public Information, Laura Feliu, lecturer in International Relations at the UAB and associate researcher in the Mediterranean International Studies Workshop and Octavi de la Varga, general secretary of Metropolis.

During the meeting, the debate focused on identifying the challenges posed by the current international agenda, with an emphasis on identifying specific situations in each region, which can be shared by several continents: newly created metropolises, cities with large suburbs, African, European and Mediterranean metropolises, etc.

It also examined the strategies that are under way for each of these cases, which are all closely linked to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) established on a global scale by the United Nations.

All those attending the event highlighted the importance of the role played by cities and metropolises in the global world, where they exert an increasingly strong influence over international decisions. The various experts also expressed their agreement that the sustainable development of cities needs to be focused and work must be done to eradicate inequalities, and emphasised the importance of addressing the challenge of the refugee crisis, as well as migration, which is a challenge for the much longer term.

Finally, the AMB explained that it is organising two important meetings in the coming months: a workshop with international experts in November 2017, and an international congress in spring 2018. Both these events will work and debate on the challenges posed in cities and metropolises in the current post-Habitat III scenario.