The National Forum of Mayors on Learning Cities: First actions of local governments, held in Mexico City on 6 December 2016 gathered Mayors from different Mexican cities, education authorities, legislators, members of universities and civil society, and was attended by PASCAL Director, Professor Francisco Javier Carrillo Gamboa.

It was opened by the Director and Representative of UNESCO in Mexico, Nuria Sanz and by Mr. Miguel Ángel Mancera, Mayor of Mexico City.

The panelists reaffirmed the importance of municipalities to join efforts with international agencies such as the United Nations to analyze and develop projects on issues such as security, civil protection and disaster prevention, environmental management, climate change and the cultural heritage of cities.

During this Forum the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities was presented and some mayors highlighted the readiness of their cities to join the network in order to exchange good practices and experiences in social and economic development, especially to address the challenges of urban growth in cities, where it is essential to promote diversity and equality.

The Government of Mexico City and UNESCO, through the Global Network of Learning Cities, made available a platform with more than 40 indicators to evaluate the development of cities towards learning policies and to encourage city authorities to promote more inclusive policies for social development. 

It was explained that this tool will provide updated information on the international agenda of Learning Cities, data and support to the municipalities concerned. In addition, this platform will connect mayors from all over the world with the exclusive purpose of improving the development of cities.