In the last plenary session, the summary of the reports by Mr. Jean Fabre from the UNDP European Office in Geneva and the subsequent discussion were followed by the closure addresses and a final statement by the coordinator of the World Alliance of Cities Against Poverty.

4.1.1 Mr. Jacques Chirac - The Many Faces of Urban Poverty

Below, the full text of the message of Mr. Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic, is given as it was read during the closing session of the Forum:

"I am delighted that cities from all over the world have created a vast network, the World Alliance of Cities Against Poverty, and I congratulate UNDP for organising the first international forum, in tandem with the city of Lyon.

Urban poverty is a specific form of poverty. People in rural areas may be poor, but are not excluded, because of strong family and community ties. But poverty in cities adds loneliness and exclusion to the problems of unemployment, homelessness and inadequate health care. As the world becomes increasingly urbanised, you are therefore tackling a crucial problem of the coming century.

Cooperation between peoples is almost always presented as North-South. This is a misconception. There is also South-North cooperation, as demonstrated by the success of the micro-credit schemes initiated by the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, applied a few years later in Arkansas and Chicago at the request of President Clinton, and used today by Norwegians on the Lofoten Islands to stimulate cottage industries.

It remains true that the cities of the North are richer and benefit from networks of public infrastructure and extensive experience in managing them. Transfers of knowledge and technology therefore tend to be North-South.

The wealth of the cities of the North has not prevented a rise in poverty and exclusion there, and they have had to develop mechanisms to alleviate or, where possible, eliminate the effects of these damaging problems. National governments, municipalities and civil society have a great deal to gain from combining their efforts. Through their flexibility of operation and capacity for innovation, non-governmental organisations in North and South alike can be a source of valuable support to local authorities. I was impressed that several papers from your forum described the key role of women in the mobilisation of society.

Your forum rightly calls for suitable national policies. You have spoken of employment, of support for the informal economy, so rich in potential, of raising local taxation to reflect the increased responsibilities of municipal governments, of the importance of education and of the need to address social problems in general.

Mention should also be made of regional planning as a means of achieving an equitable balance between rural and urban areas. Cities are not dangerous in themselves. They become dangerous when their size makes them unmanageable and generates problems that cannot be resolved by the State alone. It is this uncontrolled growth over the last 15 years which explains how large cities have taken over from the industrial arena as the new forum for social conflict.

Globalisation sets different economic and social systems in competition, placing some inevitable strain on societies that are forced to adapt rapidly. But globalisation has another side: that of cooperation between peoples, between cities and between individuals. This is the side highlighted by your network and which kindles the hope of building a more caring and peaceful world."

4.1.2 Mr. Charles Josselin - An Upward Spiral Against Urban Poverty

Ms. Cécile Sportis from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs delivered a message from Mr. Charles Josselin, Minister of the French Government in charge of Cooperation and Francophonie, containing some important conclusions on the work of the Forum. With all its positive and negative effects, urbanisation constitutes the reality of the next millennium. On the one hand, cities offer employment opportunities, as well as access to culture, education, and health to a far greater extent than do rural areas. However, wild and uncontrollably rapid urbanisation threatens to suffocate these positive tendencies, before they can gain a foothold in the life of city populations.

Even though reports on living conditions in the mega-cities of the South do not fail to recall descriptions of European cities during the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century, the two situations are linked by no more than a superficial resemblance. In contrast to the prevalent opinion of the last century, it is now commonly agreed that urban poverty is not a question of fate. At a time when decision-makers' responsibilities for reducing urban poverty are being commonly acknowledged, events like this Forum of the World Alliance of Cities Against Poverty clearly show the strong will to face the challenge of controlling urbanisation.

In this context, Ms. Sportis stressed the crucial importance of initiating research and launching programmes to establish comprehensive, well-balanced land management strategies, which view urban development in relation to the situation of the rural hinterland. A second essential aspect of urban development is the move towards decentralisation, where recent progress in the field of telecommunications significantly facilitates local managements' direct exchanges with the populations, and eventually helps promote local democracy.

Finally, Ms. Sportis pointed out three elements which are at the root of effective local poverty reduction: identity, land registers, and local taxation. In fact, these three concepts constitute the outline of a stabilising strategy for urban development. Once city dwellers are provided with an identity of their own, land registers can be established. These will in turn form the basis for urban planning and infrastructure management, which will eventually allow the introduction of taxation schemes. Even though taxation may be of a rather symbolic character for many of the poor city dwellers, it promotes among them a sense of responsibility for their environment, as these financial resources are implicated in urban management. This sense of responsibility, moreover, contributes to the further strengthening of local identities. So once such an upward spiral can be initiated, it is likely to stabilise otherwise volatile social situations.

Furthermore, well-established local identities are a sound basis for working out clear and structured reference schemes necessary for city-to-city cooperation, which greatly enhances local communities' capacities to fight against poverty, as has been shown during this Forum.

4.1.3 Mr. André Soulier - Proximity and Globalisation

Recalling the important role outside influence has always had on the development of the city of Lyon, Mr. André Soulier, Member of the European Parliament and Deputy Mayor of Lyon, expressed his satisfaction with the choice of the organisers of the Forum to hold the gathering in this city and thus bring together in Lyon so many distinguished participants from all the continents. He stressed the eagerness of the city of Lyon to be involved in the future activities of the World Alliance of Cities Against Poverty that have been planned during the Forum.

Mr. Soulier stressed that poverty is a matter of proximity: whereas a poor person is a mere figure in the statistics of a central state, for the mayor of a city he or she may be a familiar face.

On the other hand, the impact of globalisation on the urban environment has become undeniable. Mr. Soulier called for the harnessing of the energies released by globalisation to put them at the service of society. Cities in particular should consider it their duty to meet the social needs of citizens and to create thus a counterweight to the vertiginous acceleration of economic performance, which all too often leaves entire sectors of the population on the fringe. In that sense, a new world-wide culture of urbanisation could be built around the aim of eradicating poverty.

4.1.4 Mr. Norbert Burger - Pertinence, Partnerships, and
Exchanges

Since December 1998, the International Union of Cities and Local Authorities (IULA) has been connected to UNDP through a Memorandum of Understanding. Its president Mr. Norbert Burger, Lord Mayor of Cologne (Germany), stressed in his statement that he welcomed the Forum of WACAP for three reasons.

First, the fight against poverty as envisaged by WACAP is highly pertinent to sustainable development. Although merely altruistic reasons should be sufficient to take up immediate action aimed at improving the sometimes dreadful living conditions of many people world-wide, the importance of the topic goes beyond that. It is now universally understood that ecological, economic, and social aspects of poverty must be dealt with together if future generations are to have suitable living conditions.

Mr. Burger expressed his satisfaction that the Forum brought together so many mayors from those regions of the world which suffer most from absolute poverty, a situation where not even people's most basic needs are guaranteed. He pointed out that the eradication of this most dire form of poverty must be given absolute priority. However, the experiences described at the Forum showed that there is also relative poverty, found in industrial countries, and characterised by phenomena such as inadequate material provision and social, cultural, and emotional exclusion.

Second, Mr. Burger underlined the importance of partnerships, as they are promoted by the Forum bringing together representatives from the local government level and representatives from the UN and its agencies. Local governments possess insight into the needs of people. They are in immediate touch with the problem of urban poverty and must be involved if the challenge of poverty in an increasingly urbanised world is to be faced. And partners of local authorities involved in the fight against poverty do not necessarily have to be international institutions, but can be national governments, the private sector, non-governmental organisations, civil society players, academic institutions, or simply other local authorities.

Mr. Burger praised the openness of the UN system towards partnerships. In this context, he mentioned the highly successful International Conference on Governance for Sustainable Growth and Equity organised by UNDP in July 1997, which saw numerous mayors among its participants. Also there is close cooperation between IULA and the UN Centre for Human Settlements UNCHS on such important projects as the World Charter of Local Self-Government, or the Local Democracy Watch conceived after the well-known model of Human Rights Watch.

Within the Local Agenda programme, very promising information is being gathered on the involvement of civil society in decision-making processes. In a partnership with civil society, local authorities can profit enormously from the knowledge of the private sector in their efforts to reduce poverty. And enhanced dialogue between the public sector and civil society will definitely bring real improvement in democratic values.

With respect to partnerships between local authorities, in the framework of international municipal cooperation, Mr. Burger stressed the poverty alleviation potential inherent in the exchange of information and experience, the provision of know-how, and the dissemination of best practices.

This leads to the third reason for welcoming the WACAP Forum. The event has lived up to its name and has provided a basis for the exploration of practical solutions and for the discussion of types of partnerships and innovative sources of financing. Mr. Burger underlined this last aspect by stating that money very often could be spent more effectively by municipalities than by national governments, particularly in terms of poverty alleviation.

Finally, Mr. Burger made some remarks on the future structure of the Alliance. He expressed his doubts regarding the advantage of yet another organisation emerging in the field of urban cooperation against poverty, as the resulting organisational confusion would invariably weaken these efforts. Instead, Mr. Burger stated that in his opinion the purpose of this Forum would be best served within the framework of existing organisations, such as UNDP or IULA. And if as a result many concrete alliances of two, three, four cities were formed for the mutual support in the fight against poverty, it would be all the better.

In his final statement, Mr. Mohand Cherifi, Coordinator of the World Alliance of Cities Against Poverty, presented some information on the activities of the Forum and acknowledged all those who contributed in making the meeting a success.

A total of 279 participants assisted at the Forum. Mayors, or their representatives, from 112 cities and city associations participated in the meeting. Forty-five speakers made presentations encompassing the diverse aspects of urban poverty; 352 statements were made during the discussions, in plenary sessions and workshops. Numerous contacts were established between participants from the most diverse backgrounds.

Experiences in the fight against poverty were shared. Ways and means for promoting cooperation among cities as well as with civil society partners were studied. New strategies for increasing municipal revenues were examined.

The World Alliance of Cities Against Poverty finds itself strengthened, and has been provided with a programme of activities equal to the challenges of the International Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006).

Based on the conclusions of this work, the first Forum of member cities of the Alliance can rightly be considered a success that constitutes, according to Mr. Cherifi, the starting point for continued action in awareness raising, information, training, and cooperation, aimed at supporting cities in their efforts to eradicate the scourge of urban poverty. In this context, Mr. Cherifi underscored the crucial role of participants' active involvement in the work of the Forum, be it as chairpersons, rapporteurs, speakers, or contributors during debates.

The messages from Mr. Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic; and of Mr. Raymond Barre, Mayor of Lyon and Former Prime Minister; the opening of this Forum by Mr. Claude Bartolone, Minister in Charge of Urban Affairs; the support granted by Mr. Charles Josselin, Minister in Charge of Cooperation and Francophonie to the holding of this Forum, and the assistance of his advisers in the work of the Forum; all have equally marked the high level of these days of effort and have given meaning to the action of the different players in the world-wide fight against poverty.

Mr. Cherifi singled out the cities of Algiers and Geneva, two WACAP members which, since the creation of the Alliance, have offered to host this Forum and the representatives of which have now contributed to the work by chairing workshops. The presence among Forum participants of the Governor of Algiers, who has renewed his city's candidature for organising the next Forum, and the Sudanese Minister for Social Affairs, as well as the delegation from Monaco which transmitted a message from HE the Minister of State of the Principality announcing the participation of Prince Albert in the Committee of Honour of the Alliance, encourage the action of WACAP and deserve the esteem of all participants.

Mr. Cherifi also acknowledged the initiative of certain municipalities from industrial countries which sponsored the participation of city representatives from developing countries, thus providing an eloquent example of solidarity between cities within the Alliance.

Finally, Mr. Cherifi thanked all those who provided support to the Forum: officials of the Urban Community and the City of Lyon; advisers from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Cooperation and Francophonie); member associations of WACLAC, in particular FMCU, IULA, ATO, and UVA; and the staff of UNDP in New York, in Geneva, and in the various regional offices. Mr. Cherifi expressed his gratitude as well to the private sector of the Lyon region, which, through Antésite, Carrefour, and Medical Production, contributed generously to the catering during the Forum. Also he acknowledged the work of Package Organisation and all the personnel in charge of the reception, accommodation, and transport logistics.

Mr. Cherifi ended his statement by making an appointment with all the participants in the year 2000, at the Second Forum of the World Alliance of Cities Against Poverty.