Today, ICLEI Europe is proud to join the first European Social Progress Cities Summit, hosted by ICLEI Member Umeå (Sweden).

Under the umbrella of the European Social Progress Index, this international event brings together European cities that are top-ranked on the European Social Progess Index (EU SPI) within their countries. The EU SPI aims to measure social progress for each region as a complement to traditional measures of economic progress. Collectively this summit forms an international network of city leadership that champions the role of Social Progress in their countries.

During the Summit, a declaration including policy suggestions to the EU Social Pillar post 2020 will be adopted.

This declaration builds on ICLEI Europe’s Basque Declaration by acknowledging that genuine sustainable urban development requires a comprehensive and integrated societal transformation, including cultural, economic, and technological dimensions.

The declarationa also calls on the European Union and its authorities to establish a European Capital of Social Progress Award. This is to be awarded each year to a city that is a transformation role model to other cities or municipalities. For example, by having implemented successful policies addressing social justice, spatial segregation, inequality, polarisation, integration, intergenerational issues, or by having implemented innovative and enterprising solutions that improved the quality of urban living environment.

During the signing ceremony, Matthew Bach, Officer for Governance and Social Innovation, ICLEI Europe, highlighted the value of networks, including ICLEI itself, the European Green Capital Network, and the recently-launched Horizon2020 UrbanA project. He encouraged those present to see networks as “key to pioneering solutions and coalitions for social progress and sustainable and just cities.”

For more information and to read the declaration, click here.