I.Metshin: “Local authorities are at the forefront of the COVID-19 crisis”

I.Metshin: “Local authorities are at the forefront of the COVID-19 crisis”

<p> Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, President of the UN Advisory Committee of Local Authorities (UNACLA), took part in the III Forum of local and regional authorities in the framework of the UN high-level political forum on sustainable development. Participants of the conference, via Zoom service, discussed the current situation in the world in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. </p> <p> “We are all going through difficult times. Local authorities and their administrations are at the forefront of the fight against the COVID-19 crisis”, - Ilsur Metshin said, starting his speech. </p> <p> He noted that the way of life, education, work, and communication is rapidly changing. Online interaction is becoming the norm. IT technologies and artificial intelligence are getting a new stage in the development. </p> <p> Now, the crucial issue is to ensure the safety of the urban environment for citizens, the President of UNACLA emphasized. According to him, previously security was meant primarily as physical security, and then in the COVID and post-COVID era, the vector shifted towards ensuring sanitary security. </p> <p> “The unexpected outbreak of COVID-19 is a chance to focus on what should be changed in modern cities, and especially in their technological and digital development. In safe times, most innovations are difficult to implement and slowly accepted by citizens. But now, after an immersion into online, we can seriously talk about converting all types of municipal services to digital form, thereby creating conditions for maintaining sustainable development,”- Kazan Mayor said. </p> <p> He emphasized that the difficult times will pass, but the resilience and experience will remain. “We stand in solidarity with the efforts made by local authorities around the world to maintain stability – we are constantly in touch with our colleagues from all over the world”, - the President of UNACLA said, adding that such cooperation is the key to combating the global challenges. </p> <p> “Today, almost two-thirds of the world's population lives in cities, and this figure will only grow in the future. The world created from cities will probably be more innovative, less warlike, more open to cooperation”, - Ilsur Metshin concluded. </p> <p>   </p>

2020-07-14T11:03:22+0300