Definition

The main association of cities on a world scale, constituted in 2004.  It is the result of the joining of two major organisations that existed until that time: The International Union of Local Authorities (IULA) and the Fédération Mondiale des Cités Unies (FMCU).

The association brings together both individual cities as well as national associations of cities, regional associations and other supra-local entities.

It is structured in regional sections: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Eurasia, Europe, Near East and Western Asia, Latin America and North America, Metropolitan Section and Regional Section. 

The Mayor of Barcelona was appointed ambassador of the Pact for the Future of People at the seventh UCLG World Congress held in Daejeon in October 2022, where the political declaration "Pact for the future of Humanity" was approved. This declaration is structured around three axes: People, Planet and Government.

The World Secretariat is placed in Barcelona.  

Goals

• The main objective of the UCLG is to act as one voice on the international stage and to work on fostering the self-government and democratic decentralisation through cooperation between local authorities. 
• Cooperation, exchange, political lobbying and networking are the mechanisms used by the UCLG to make the voice of the cities heard on the agendas of the international institutions. 

UCLG has a double political and technical aspect. On the one hand, lobbying to influence the world urban agenda (New Urban Agenda, Sustainable Development Goals) and on the other hand, it is structured around the base of thematic commissions and working groups. 

Participation of Barcelona

Barcelona is member of the Executive Bureau of the World Council of UCLG.

It also forms part of the Financial Committee and of the Committee for Statutory Affairs.

Barcelona is member of the following commissions:

• Commission of Social Inclusion, Participative Democracy and Human Rights
• Culture Commission
• CIB Group (Capacity and Institutional Building)