Welcome to Tangier!

Jun 1, 2026

Welcome to the front line of global change through local action

The UCLG Congress and World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders is no ordinary gathering.

The Congress is the largest democratic assembly. It’s where the abstract language of global governance becomes tangible, negotiated not in distant halls of power, but through the voices of mayors, regional leaders, and communities on the ground. The UCLG World Congress offers the space to reshape multilateralism — from our neighbourhoods, from our cities, from our territories.

Whether you are a policymaker, local or regional leader, civil society representative, researcher, journalist or institutional partner, as a participant you are not just a mere witness, but the amplifier of a movement that shapes daily life for billions, even operating under the radar. In this view, Tangier offers a rare vantage point: the chance to capture the municipal voice in all its diversity, complexity, and ambition.

Step into the UCLG World Congress 2026 and let’s take this journey together!

The global gathering of the Municipal Movement

The UCLG World Congress is held every three years and stands as the main meeting point for the global municipal movement. We bring forward commitments, and turn them into collective action.

Thousands of participants from across the world will gather to:

Define strategic priorities
Share knowledge and experiences
Strengthen partnerships
Shape the future of the movement

Shaping decisions together

The Congress is the space where we define the decisions that shape the future of our movement. It connects:

Local and regional governments
Civil society
National and international institutions
Academia and the private sector

Together, they contribute to building a more inclusive and responsive system of global governance. To this end, the Congress will define our strategy, our pathways, and the decisions that will guide us going forward through complementary tracks:

The Statutory track
The Assembly track
The Town Hall
The Local4Action track
The Tangier-Morocco track

Building together a Local Social Covenant

At the heart of the Tangier Congress lies a shared ambition: to strengthen public services through local action. UCLG has embarked in structured dialogue with members of civil society and other stakeholders, and our 2026 UCLG World Congress arrives after a written exchange between the UCLG leadership and organized civil society. The culmination of these exchanges takes place within our Congress, with political debates between local and territorial leaders and representatives from organized civil society, and will lead to the outcome document, our strategy for the future.

The Dialogues of the Local Social Covenant will set the stage for social dialogue and cooperation between our constituency and public workers; they will pave the way to look at the universal development agendas post-2030, with a focus on local multilateralism for peace, and developing coalitions for social innovation. This, with an eye set on the creation of instruments to deliver housing justice and the everyday essentials that our communities depend on. The Congress’ final outcome document comes with the ambition of redefining the social contract from the ground up, placing communities, proximity, and dignity at its core.

Your participation matters

The Congress is shaped by those who take part in it. Every voice, every exchange, and every connection made in Tangier contributes to the direction of the global municipal movement.

As a participant, you will have the opportunity to: