Meeting on Learning to Live Sustainably in Cities in Latin America and the Caribbean, Villa María, Argentina (26-28 April 2017): Meeting Report

Villa Maríia, the first Argentinian city to join the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC), co-hosted the first GNLC meeting in the region, titled ‘Learning to live sustainably in cities in Latin America and the Caribbean’. This three-day event was a joint effort of the City of Villa Maríia, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), UNESCO Headquarters, and the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC/UNESCO Santiago). Participants explored new ways to implement sustainable solutions at the local level, as well as increase awareness and training related to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). 

More than 170 city representatives from over 40 cities and 20 countries (including mayors and deputy mayors, experts, authorities and practitioners) were welcomed by the host city. The first day of the meeting was composed of plenary sessions; the second day consisted of two parallel workshop sessions: (1) a regional workshop on the Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD and Cities, and (2) a regional workshop on learning cities.