Welcome to this MOOC on financial infrastructure in African cities. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Dr. Najat Zarrouk, the Director of the African Local Government Academy, which is a subsidiary body of UCLG Africa. It is my pleasure to welcome you to this course. So before to present to you the context in which we have designed the second MOOC, allow me to share with you who were are and what is our role and job. UCLG Africa was created on 18 May 2005. Its headquarters is based in the kingdom of Morocco in Rabat. Our statute is an international Pan-African Organization with a Diplomatic Statute. UCLG Africa is the United Voice and Representative of Local Government in our continent. It is also the regional section of UCLG work in Africa. And our vision, our mandate, our commitment is to build the unity and contribute to the re-development of Africa from its grassroots. Our members are today, 40 National Associations of Local Government covering the 5 African regions. Including 2,000 cities with 100,000 inhabitants, which represent 350 million citizens in Africa. Our mission is to contribute and assist in strengthening the local government and their associations and networks, and empowering them to allow them to carry out their mandates and meet their objectives. Among UCLG Africa's priorities, we have the Human Capital Development, Capacity Building and Intellectual Exchange. We are working on three pillars as engagement and involvement. First of all advocacy, lobbying and engagement. For example, we're working since 2014 to advocate, and to encourage African states and member states to sign and ratify the African charter on the values and principle of decentralization, local governance and local development, which was adopted in Malabo in 2014. Second, we work to promote corporate learning and knowledge management. And finally, we act to support institutional capacity development among our members and networks. [MUSIC] Our flagship project. Each three years in an African city, we organize the African Africites Summits. Gathering about 5,000 to 7,000 participants representing all the actors and stakeholders involved in the dynamic of development. Our eighth edition will be in Morocco next year, from 4 to 8 December. And the theme is the sustainable transition of the cities and territories, the role of local government in Africa. And we encourage all of you to participate, to come to our summit to interact with all these actors and stakeholders. This bring me to share with you what is ALGA. The African Local Governments Academy is a Moroccan initiative for an African vision. It was created based on a resolution which was adopted by UCLG-Africa members during Africites Summit head in Marrakech in 2009. [MUSIC] Our strategic vision is to invest in human capital, to transform the leadership at local level. To promote professionalism at local level in order to anchor and promote performance in local governments, local developments, in Africa. Our statute, we are a subsidiary body of UCLG-Africa. We have as a brand, together for an effective local Africa and this is our logo. We have four main mission. The first one is to promote the standards and norms of quality through accreditation and quality insurance in the field of trade and capacity building. The second one is to set up an observatory on human resource management at local level in Africa. The third one is to come up with an innovative training offer. And finally, to professionalize UCLG-Africa networks. And today we have a four networks, the elected [COUGH] women elected officials in Africa. We have the network of city managers. We have the networks of the financial managers, and the technical managers. And among the innovative training offer, we have the honor today to offer this second MOOC on financing the urban infrastructure. Ladies and gentlemen, as you may know, member states and local governments, and the components of the civil society, are supposed to implement this new global agenda. Namely, the SDGs, the New Urban Agenda, and the Climate Change Agenda. Our mandate is to support our members, the elected officials, but also the technical managers to better implement this commitment. To understand the need for improving urban management in Africa, we have developed two MOOCs in close partnership with the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies, EHS, based in the Erasmus University Rotterdam in Netherlands. Africa, as you know, is urbanizing at an incredible pace. And it's expected that in 2050, 60% of the estimated 2.5 inhabitants of this continent will be living within cities. With these rising urban populations, the profiles of the countries will change dramatically. And will create problems, huge issues, for policy makers and technical managers aiming to harness urbanization for sustainable and aggressive growth in order to leave no one behind, as decided by the international community. The lack of grid up area results in the growth of crowded informal settlements with little equipment and infrastructure, and services that are disconnected from the main centers of the activity. Creating problems and issues of urban mobility, access to basic services and employment, of course. An additional element is to consider is also the methods required to finance these future equipment infrastructure projects. During this five module course, we will be addressing the topic financing infrastructure in African cities. Focusing on the context, the methods of financing, the challenges, and the opportunities. Through the weeks, you will learn how to identify the significance and the role of urban local body in your own city. Additionally, you will be able to identify main sources of current income for an urban local body. And be able to identify mechanism and approaches for optimizing local revenues and incomes of an urban local body. You will also be able to recognize different mechanism under which an urban local body can raise money for financing urban infrastructure, services and equipment. And apply decision making tools to ensure you make the best decision for your city, for the benefits of your citizens and communities. Finally, at the end of the course, you will be able to implement and to adapt all the lessons learned during the MOOC into your own context of your own city and your country, respectively. Overall this course will provide you with broad knowledge and skills related to financing urban infrastructure. It will equip you with a profound understanding of urban infrastructure, helping you to recognize its impact in cities and to make the best decision for your end. We hope that you will learn how to integrate financing infrastructure actions into local development action in your own context to support a more sustainable urban development in its three dimension. Social, economic, and ecologic dimensions. I wish you good luck, and I hope that you will enjoy the course. [MUSIC]
