United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) is an umbrella organisation for cities, local governments and municipal associations throughout the world. United Cities and Local Governments was founded in 2004, when the existing local government organisations - the International Union of Local Authorities (IULA), the United Towns Organisations (UTO) and Metropolis – united their respective global networks of cities and national associations of local governments in a single organisation.(FCMU). United Cities and Local Governments' headquarters, the World Secretariat, is based in Barcelona, Spain. UCLG is the largest local government organisation in the world and understands itself as the united voice and world advocate of democratic local self-government, de facto representing over half the world's population, the cities and association members of UCLG are present in over 120 UN Member States across seven world regions:

Africa (UCLGAfrica),
Asia-Pacific (UCLG-ASPAC),
Europe (CEMR

Council of European Municipalities and Regions

The Council of European Municipalities and Regions is the largest organisation of local and regional governments in Europe. Its members are national associations of towns, municipalities and regions from 39 countries...

),
Eurasia (UCLG EuroAsia),
Middle East and West Asia (UCLG MEWA),
Latin America (FLACMA),and
North America (UCLG North America).
UCLG has also a dedicated "regional" Section for large metropolitan Areas, Metropolis.

Over 1.000 cities are direct members of United Cities and Local Governments, as well as 112 national associations which represent all the cities and local governments in their respective countries. Members vary, from small cities to national local governments associations and regional associations.

On May 8th 2004, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) adopted the Agenda 21 for culture

Agenda 21 for culture

The Agenda 21 for culture is the reference document of the local governments to draw up their cultural policies. It’s based on the principles of cultural diversity, human rights, intercultural dialogue, participatory democracy, sustainability and peace....

 as a reference document for its programmes on culture and assumed the role of coordinator of the process subsequent to its approval.

Its President since November 2010 is Mayor Kadir Topbaş

Kadir Topbas

Kadir Topbaş is a Turkish architect, right-wing regional politician and the current mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in Turkey.-Biography:...

 (Istambul). He replaces Mayor Bertrand Delanoë

Bertrand Delanoë

Bertrand Delanoë is a French politician, and has been the mayor of Paris since 2001. He is member of the Socialist Party . Delanoë was born in Tunis, Tunisia to a French-Tunisian father and a French mother...

 (Paris). Accompanying the Mayor of Istanbul, as Co Presidents are Antonio Costa of Lisbon, Portugal; Johnny Araya of San Jose de Costa Rica; Wan Qingliang

Wan Qingliang

Wan Qingliang is a Chinese politician who is the current Mayor of Guangzhou, China. He was appointed in 2010.-Biography:...

 of Guangzhou, China; Muchadeyi Masunda of Harare, Zimbabwe; and Ilsur Metsin of Kazan, Russian Federation. Ted Ellis, Mayor of Bluffton Indiana USA is the Treasurer.

The city of Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco will host the next world congress of UCLG in 2013.

Committees and Working Groups

The Committees prepare and implement policies within priority areas, as defined by the Executive Bureau and the work programme for the current period. Each Committee can establish one or more Working Groups. The Working Groups develop proposals and/or cooperation initiatives between local governments and their associations in order to enrich the discussions within UCLG.

The standing Committees are:

- Decentralisation and Local Self-Government

- Local Finance and Development

- Culture

- Development Cooperation & City Diplomacy

- Social Inclusion, Participative Democracy and Human Rights

- Gender Equality

- Mediterranean Interregional Commission

Mediterranean Interregional Commission

The Mediterranean Interregional Commission is one of the twelve Committees of the United Cities and Local Governments.Within United Cities and Local Governments, the Interregional Mediterranean Commission is at the junction of three regional sections: Europe, Africa, and the Middle East/West Asia...

- Millenium Development Goals

- Peripheral Cities

- Urban Mobility

- Digital and Knowledge-Based Cities

- Urban Strategic Planning

The four working groups are:

- Capacity and Institution Building (CIB-ACB platform)

- Migration and Co-Development

- The local dimension of the Alliance of Civilisations

- Responsible Tourism and Sustainable Development