UCLG Africa is the umbrella organization and united voice of local governments across Africa. Established in 2005 in Tshwane, South Africa, through the unification of three continental groups, it unites 44 national associations and +2,000 cities with populations exceeding 100,000 inhabitants, representing 350 million African citizens. As the African section of the global United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) organization, UCLG Africa’s vision is: “Building African unity and driving African development from the grassroots.”
UCLG Africa unites African local governments and positions them within Africa’s political and economic development, ensuring representation in key forums. It seeks to establish local governments as a distinct sphere of governance that complements and supports national and other governmental levels, while fostering democracy, equality, and respect for human rights at the local level.
Its headquarters are in Rabat, Morocco, where it holds diplomatic status as a Pan-African International Organization.
A Strong Partnership with ENERGIES 2050
Since its creation in 2011, ENERGIES 2050 has been collaborating closely with UCLG Africa to amplify the voice of African local governments. The two institutions share a strong technical and strategic partnership. Notably, ENERGIES 2050 contributed to the establishment of the Climate Task Force in 2016, which unites African and international stakeholders to tackle critical challenges related to climate change and the implementation of SDGs.
ENERGIES 2050 and UCLG Africa have jointly pioneered the concept of “territorialization of climate strategies” and implemented numerous projects focused on climate finance for African cities and local governments.
The partnership has resulted in strategic documents, training programs, and mobilizations during key events such as Climate COPs and Africities Summits.