 The Museum of Mexico City was the venue for the launching of the Action Plan of the Global Network of Safer Cities for the period 2013-2016, driven by the United Nations Programme for Human Settlements UN-Habitat and led by Current Mayor of Mexico City Marcelo Ebrard as president of the Global Network for Safer Cities.
The UN-Habitat Director of the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean Mr. Alain Grimard, acknowledged that the Plan of Action presented is part of the World Urban Campaign and noted the urgent need for action for hundreds of cities and peoples to implement innovative approaches to deal with crime and violence, and the importance of placing cities at the center of strategies for change.
Mr. Grimard mentioned the importance of the Global Network for Safer Cities, as it will bring municipalities, national and local governments, civil society organizations, academia, private sector, youth groups and citizens to promote fair and safe cities for all.
Franz Vanderschueren the chairman of the experts panel of the Global Network for Safer Cities, said that Safer Cities must be understood as a process of continuous improvement, which should include the participation and involvement of all city dwellers. He explained that while there are global successful experiences, solutions to crime and urban violence must be tailor made for each city.
Meanwhile Mayor Ebrard presented the objectives of the Global Network for Safer Cities, the four concrete results expected and the strategy to achieve the objectives of the Global Network for Safer Cities.
Among the results are the systematization of best practices and design guidelines on security in cities, the development of an urban safety index to compare different cities around the world, creating a global and national trust fund to enable the creation of Safer Cities and establishing a global award for Safer Cities.
UN-Habitat will continue to provide technical assistance to local governments in the development and implementation of crime prevention strategies and construction of Safer Cities, including cities in Mexico. |
