Transformative Actions to Create Productive, Sustainable and Resilient Cities – The Basque Declaration

In an urgent call for a transformation of our societies, 800 delegates from local governments and civil society adopted The Basque Declaration at the 8th European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns in April 2016. Organised in the Basque Country from 27- 29 April 2016, the conference gathered city leaders, urban decision makers, stakeholders and civil society representatives from 40 countries all over the world to discuss the future of urban sustainable development. Since the conference, the declaration has been endorsed by many more cities and organisations. The Declaration presents 15 pathways in order to achieve a socio-cultural, socioeconomic and technological transformation on the local and global level, and will instigate new and impactful collaborations that will undoubtedly help shape our future. It is a strong call for social justice, inclusion of all citizens, a focus on marginalised groups and a liveable planet for these and future generations. Organisations, governments and civic society are invited to join the movement and endorse the Declaration at: www.basquecountry2016.eu The Basque Declaration is the next step in a movement that started over 20 years ago. In 1994 Mayors of European cities and towns approved the groundbreaking Aalborg Charter and kicked-off the European Sustainable Cities & Towns Campaign. Inspired by the results of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro and the results of the EU Urban Environment Expert Group, the Campaign developed into the first large scale local government movement based on clear commitments and with a strong supporting structure. In 2004, following the UN Rio+10 Summit in Johannesburg the Aalborg Commitments were created to support cities to develop their commitments and discuss indicators and management systems for their implementation and monitoring. In 2016 the Basque Declaration will trigger the transformative actions necessary to make those commitments a reality.