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Event Date: -
Country: Africa
Event Topic: Transformational Leadership and New Mindsets to Implement the SDGs

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (UN DESA/DPIDG), in close collaboration with the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa), organized a capacity-building workshop on the importance of transformational leadership in aligning the SDGs and Africa’s Agenda 2063 through the lens of intermediary cities. The workshop, which was an integral part of the 9th Africities Summit, hosted 8 speakers from least developing countries, representing all levels of governance (regional, central, regional, and local) in Africa. It included speakers from academia and civil society, who shared their perspectives and ideas on the role of intermediary cities in the development of Africa.

The workshop's key messages were the following:

  • Designing visionary approaches and policies with the ability to tackle the challenges of African countries requires transformational leadership.

  • Leaders, that can integrate development imperatives at both the national and local levels are indispensable for the achievement of sustainable development in Africa. 

  • The success of all public policies is hinged on the presence of strong and resilient institutional frameworks. Therefore, building strong institutions continues to remain a priority for the successful implementation of both agendas, and transformational leadership must be able to identify and address structural weaknesses and spearhead the institution-building process.

Participants agreed that the focus of the much-needed public administration reform in Africa should be placed on the development and implementation of sound, integrative, inclusive, and coherent public policies. Hence, the need to address the leadership capacity deficit and equip public servants with the necessary skills, knowledge, and mindsets. 

The workshop was well attended by participants from African countries and their development partners. The conclusions and recommendations of the workshop were included in the final declaration of the 9th Africities Summit. The 10th Africities Summit scheduled to take place in 2025 in Egypt will review the progress in the implementation of these recommendations.

Contact Information

Ms. Elida Reci
Governance and Public Administration Officer
DPIDG, UN DESA
Email: reci@un.org