About The Summit

Africities is the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa’s flagship pan-African event that is held every three years in one of the five regions of Africa.

We mobilize communities and local authorities in African countries, as well as financial institutions, civil society groups and development partners at continental and international level.

Creating a Vision for the Africa that we want to see

The architecture of all Africities Summits aims to address major questions based on the construction of the 2063 Vision of Africa with debate proposed by the African Union Commission.

From November 20 -24, 2018, the Africities 8 Summit will be hosted in Marrakech, with over 5000 participants. The latter will represent all the stakeholders of African local life as well as their partners from other regions of the world: ministers in charge of local governments; ministers in charge of housing and urban development; ministers of public service; local authorities and local elected officials; officials of local and central administrations; civil society organizations, associations and trade unions; economic operators of the public and private sectors as well as of the social/ solidarity economy; traditional rulers; researchers and academics; and international cooperation agencies.

The Africities 8 Exhibition will host between 400 – 500 exhibitors.

About Africities

Africities is the materialization of a choice and of a will. The aim is to strengthen the role of local and regional governments in the development of the continent and to help build the integration and unity of Africa from its territories. Africities summit is the largest democratic gathering organized in Africa. It is the main platform for dialogue on decentralization and local governance that brings together every three years, African ministers; mayors, leaders and elected officials of local and regional governments; civil society organizations; traditional authorities; representatives of the African diaspora; economic actors ; experts, researchers and academics; financial institutions; and development partners. The theme of the 9th Africities Summit, which will be held from 17 to 21 May 2022 in Kisumu, is: “The Role of Intermediary Cities of Africa in the Implementation of Agenda 2030 of the United Nations and the African Union Agenda 2063”. Kisumu is the first ever intermediary city to host the Africities Summit. The previous 8th Africities edition, held in Marrakesh from 20 to 24 November 2018 in Morocco, registered attendance topped a record of 8,300 participants.

The Africities Summit pursues two major objectives:

  • Defining appropriate shared strategies in order to improve the living conditions of people at the local level.
  • Contribute to the integration, peace and unity of Africa starting from the grassroots.

Organized every three years for the past 20 years, the Africities Summit has been held under the banner of UCLG Africa since 2006, alternately in each of the five regions of the continent.

General Architecture of the Summit

  • Official opening
  • Opening of the Exhibition
  • Thematic Sessions
  • Climate Day
  • Diaspora Day
  • Open sessions
  • Sessions on Local Policies and Strategies • Africities Investment Forum
  • Culture Day
  • Digital Day
  • General Assembly REFELA
  • General Assembly YELO
  • Open Sessions
  • Women’s Day
  • Youth Day
  • Urban Development Day
  • General Assembly: MAGNET / FINET / TECHNET / HR-NET /PS-NET
  • UCLG Africa Elective General Assembly
  • Open Sessions
  • Official Opening of the Political Meetings
  • Meeting of Ministers
  • Meeting of Mayors and Leaders of Local Authorities
  • Meeting of Regional Economic Communities
  • Meeting of Development Partners
  • Open Sessions
  • Tripartite Dialogue Meeting between Ministers, Mayors and Leaders of local authorities and Development Partners
  • Presentation and Adoption of the 9th Africities Summit Declarations and Roadmap / Ministers Declaration / Mayors and Subnational leaders Declaration / Development Partners Declaration / Africities 9 overall Declaration
  • Official Closing Ceremony
  • Official Gala Dinner

Area Map

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Africities Exhibition

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The Africities Exhibition of Kisumu, which is held in parallel with the Conference part, consists of:

  • 5 000 square meters of exhibition space;
  • Between 150 and 200 exhibitors from Africa and other continents, including country pavilions, institutional pavilions, and booths dedicated to public or private companies;
  • B2B Meetings;
  • A series of workshops held each day around the following five main priorities of the African Development Bank (High Five), namely:
  1. Lighting up intermediary cities
  2. Feeding intermediate cities
  3. Improving the quality of life in intermediary cities;
  4. Developing economic activities and employment in intermediary cities;
  5. The contribution of intermediary cities to African integration and unity.