Opening remarks by President Jan Van Zanen at the Towards Sustainable Proximities Conference in Paris, 4 September 2025

 

Dear Mayor Hidalgo,
dear Executive Director Rossbach,
dear Professor Moreno,
dear fellow Mayors, colleagues and friends,

It is a great privilege to join you here in Paris, one of the most emblematic cities of the 15‑minute city model and a beacon of proximity based urban innovation.
Let me start by thanking Mayor Hidalgo, UCLG’s Ambassador for the Future of the Planet, for her leadership and vision, and for hosting us in the city that has done so much to shape the global conversation on sustainable living.

Paris has taken an ambitious step with the 15-minute city.
Walkable neighborhoods, green public spaces, and local service hubs.
This is more than just urban planning.
It is a powerful expression of the right to the city.
A collective right to live in, shape, and transform our communities through local public services.
A right grounded in dignity, care, and solidarity.
A right that fosters social inclusion and climate resilient living.

Paris is also home to one of the founding members of the Global Observatory of Sustainable Proximities.
That is the Chair ETI of Sorbonne University.

Together with UCLG and UN-Habitat, this Observatory forms a global coalition.
A coalition launched to map and support local innovations.
Innovations that reimagine how we live, move, work, and care in cities.

 

Since its start, the Observatory has become a true powerhouse.
A source of knowledge, policy, and partnerships on proximity-based urban development.
It advances sustainability by making sure people can meet essential needs close to home.

But proximity is more than a planning principle.
It is a political imperative.

Proximity is at the heart of the municipal movement.
It shapes how we organize services.
It defines how we see rights.
It guides how we build democracy.

Proximity restores trust between institutions and communities.
It helps us localize global commitments.
And it brings the future closer to people.

As we stand just five years away from the 2030 milestone, the pressure is greater than ever.
But so is the opportunity.

Local and regional governments are ready.
In fact, we are already taking the lead.
Showing that transformation begins where people live.

Because a city that works for people must be built on inclusion, not exclusion.
On equality, not privilege.
It must guarantee rights.
It must ensure access to public services that are affordable, universal, and rooted in care.

This is what defines sustainable proximities.
Not only here in Paris, but in communities across the world.

In The Hague, a student project mapped 150 sustainable initiatives.
From eco-friendly shops to neighborhood gardens.
It shows that the global agenda for 2030 is not abstract.
It is lived in our communities, street by street, block by block.

And the same is true in cities across the world.
Our cities show how proximity can transform urban life.
A vision at the heart of our global movement.
A movement to localize the SDGs and bring the goals closer to people.

Paris is one of many flagship cities in the Cities Countdown to 2030.
From Mexico City to Johannesburg, local governments are proving that proximity-based investments deliver real change.
And they show that when trusted and resourced, cities lead the way.
They build more liveable, equitable, and sustainable societies.

Accelerating the global agendas from the ground up means building partnerships, and sustaining them.
Partnerships with national governments and international organizations.
With civil society, with the private sector.
With trade unions, with academia.
And with communities themselves.

That is the spirit of local multilateralism.
Global cooperation, grounded in proximity.
Rooted in trust and co-creation.
Focused on rights and impact.

The Local Social Covenant, a political process led by UCLG, gives shape to this vision.

It creates a critical space to renew the social contract from our communities.

It shows that local public services are not isolated policies.

They are interconnected rights, grounded in care.

 

From housing to food.

From climate justice to education and health.

The Covenant frames a shared commitment.

A commitment to a new generation of rights and services.

Ones that can only be delivered through proximity.

With political will.

With bold action.

And with multilateral solidarity.

 

The pledge we bring to Paris today reflects the strength of the movement I represent.

A municipal movement devoted to its mission, with proximity at its core.

 

Our shared values of solidarity, justice, and peace strengthen our resolve.

They keep us united.

They keep us committed to advancing the common global agendas.

 

Our shared goals are a beacon of hope.

Guiding us toward a future that benefits all of humanity.

 

And as we look ahead, we reaffirm this truth:

It is through care, through rights, and through proximity, that we will regenerate trust.

That we will renew democracy.

That we will leave no one, and no place, behind.

I thank you.