What we are doing
African cities are experiencing rapid urbanisation alongside escalating climate and disaster risks, yet planning, governance, and investment systems have not kept pace. As a result, urban growth is increasingly amplifying vulnerability rather than building resilience—particularly for low-income households and communities in informal settlements. While the African Union adopted the Africa Urban Resilience Programme (AURP) in 2024 to address these challenges, a critical gap remains between continental frameworks and city-level implementation.
Local and regional governments sit at the frontline of this crisis. They hold the mandate for spatial planning, service delivery, and local risk management, yet they face limited capacity, fragmented access to finance, and insufficient influence over continental and global policy processes. Without stronger mechanisms to translate city realities into political advocacy and coordinated action, urban resilience efforts risk remaining siloed, reactive, and under-resourced.
Through this activity, city and municipal leaders will move from isolated planning efforts to collective, politically anchored action. Twenty African cities and municipalities will co-produce a shared Action Document for Urban Resilience in Africa, aligned with the AURP, articulating priority actions, institutional needs, and investment pathways from a city perspective. By strengthening peer learning, elevating municipal leadership in continental and global fora, and linking planning to advocacy and implementation, local governments will directly shape how urban resilience is planned, financed, and delivered across Africa.
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How we are tracking
1. Political Leadership & Participation
20 city and municipal leaders (mayors, deputy mayors, senior officials) from at least 4 African subregions actively participate in the Cape Town workshop.
Minimum 40% women representation among participating city leaders.
≥90% attendance rate across all three days of the continental dialogue.
2. Core Outputs & Deliverables
1 Action Document for Urban Resilience in Africa co-produced, validated by participating cities, and formally aligned with the Africa Urban Resilience Programme (AURP) by project close.
3 flagship African urban resilience case studies produced and published in at least 2 languages.
1 policy brief completed and formally submitted to AU, REC, and UNFCCC-related processes.
1 advocacy video produced and publicly launched.
3. Capacity & Knowledge Outcomes
100% of participating cities contribute documented inputs (challenges, priorities, or practices) to the Action Document development process.
At least 75% of participants report increased clarity on institutional, governance, and financing pathways for urban resilience (post-event survey).
≥3 peer-to-peer exchanges or follow-up engagements initiated among participating cities within 6 months of the workshop.
4. Advocacy & Policy Influence
Action Document and knowledge products presented at at least 2 continental or global platforms (e.g. HSC 2026, COP31).
≥5 formal references or endorsements of project outputs by AU bodies, RECs, development partners, or city networks within 12 months.
Municipal perspectives explicitly reflected in at least 1 AU or global policy dialogue outcome (agenda, declaration, or session summary).
5. Reach & Knowledge Dissemination
≥1,000 downloads/views of project knowledge products via LearnWithICLEIAfrica, LearnWithCoMSSA, and RIA platforms within 12 months.
≥10 African cities beyond direct participants access or reference project outputs for planning, advocacy, or learning purposes.
6. Sustainability & Follow-On Action
At least 10 participating cities commit to integrating elements of the Action Document into local planning, advocacy, or investment processes.
≥2 follow-on initiatives, partnerships, or funding conversations initiated as a direct result of the project.
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What we are achieving
Through this activity, ICLEI Africa is mobilising and coordinating African city leadership to turn urban resilience from policy ambition into implementable action. ICLEI Africa is convening municipal decision-makers, the African Union Commission, and strategic partners in a structured, two-phase process that links political dialogue, technical co-production, and global advocacy.
By facilitating a continentally representative, city-led process, ICLEI Africa is enabling municipalities to jointly define priorities, identify institutional and financing barriers, and co-develop a shared Action Document for Urban Resilience in Africa aligned with the African Union’s Africa Urban Resilience Programme (AURP). ICLEI Africa leverages its role as host of the CoM SSA Secretariat, its long-term relationships with over 450 African cities, and its established advocacy platforms to ensure continuity from planning to implementation.
This approach directly addresses the fragmentation and capacity gaps facing local governments by strengthening political ownership, improving coordination across governance levels, and amplifying African city voices in continental and global decision-making. As a result, cities are better positioned to influence policy, attract resilience investment, and deliver inclusive, risk-informed urban development at scale.
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