The Mayors Dialogue on Growth and Solidarity, spearheaded by the mayors of Freetown, Yvonne Aki -Sawyerr and Milan, Giuseppe Sala, engages about 20 cities from both continents to develop a joint vision, practical actions, and operational partnerships to support urban development and create enabling conditions for human mobility in their communities. As cities grapple with the impact of the Covid pandemic the Mayors Dialogue will chart a path forward by highlighting and testing innovations for inclusive local governance, access to basic services for all, the transition to a green economy, and fairer, more equitable trade, mobility, and a stronger partnership between Africa and Europe.

Alongside Milan and Freetown, other cities participating in the Dialogue currently include; Accra, Agadez, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bristol, Dakar, Durban, Kampala, Kanifing, Lisbon, Mannheim, Maputo, Paris, Tunis and Zurich. Further cities from across Africa and Europe will be joining the Dialogue during 2020. This event will offer an insight into the Growth and Solidarity Initiative and discuss some of challenges that lie ahead.

Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr OBE (@yakisawyerr) has been the Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone, since May 2018. She is a former finance professional with over 25 years of private sector experience, and has previously worked as Delivery Team Lead (from 2014-15) for the second phase of a multi-stakeholder programme to drive socio-economic recovery in Sierra Leone post Ebola. Mayor Aki-Sawyerr is an LSE alumna, and holds an MSc in Politics of the World Economy.

Giuseppe Sala (@BeppeSala) has been the Mayor of Milan, Italy, since June 2016. From 2010 - 2015 he was CEO of the 2015 Universal Exposition in Milan.

Marta Foresti (@martaforesti) is the Director of ODI Europe and she also leads their Human Mobility Initiative, managing the institute engagement on migration at global, regional and local level. She is Visiting Senior Research Fellow at LSE's Institute of Global Affairs and she is acting as senior policy advisor for the consultation of the Global Compact For Migration and to the IOM’s Research Syndicate.

Ricky Burdett (@BURDETTR) is Professor of Urban Studies at LSE and Director of the Urban Age and LSE Cities.

Angelo Martelli (@angelo_martelli) is Assistant Professor in European and International Political Economy at LSE's European Institute.

The LSE European Institute (@LSEEI) is a centre for research and graduate teaching on the processes of integration and fragmentation within Europe. In the most recent national Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014) the Institute was ranked first for research in its sector.

This event is part of the ‘LSE European Institute Series: Beyond Eurocentrism’. Understanding Europe requires going beyond Eurocentrism. And yet studies of Europe may still retain the traces of Eurocentric assumptions and prejudices. This event series aims to explore how the shape and shaping of Europe – its political-economy, its political policy making, or its political culture – needs to be rethought in a time of the exhaustion of Eurocentrism.

This event also forms part of LSE’s Shaping the Post-COVID World initiative, convening a series of debates about the direction the world could and should be taking after the crisis, collaboratively producing a roadmap for the future. 

Twitter Hashtags for this event: #LSEEurocentrism #LSECOVID19