Forum for Cities in Transition

Conference UMass Boston

14-16 April 2009
Conference Mission Statement
The Forum for Cities in Transition (FCT)
Cities across the globe are stressed by poverty and overcrowding, expensive and scarce food and energy,
and lack of medical care. Cities in political conflict or its aftermath and those that are divided by issues of
race, ethnicity, religion, and political ideology find themselves in far more difficult and often very different
circumstances. They face the life and death problems of conflict and war and at the same time the
challenge of meeting the practical basic needs of their citizens. But such cities continue to function even in
extraordinary circumstances. Each finds its own particular way of adapting to the exigencies of everyday
life with the threat of imminent, explosive divisions hanging over them. Normalcy overlays what is
essentially abnormal.
The Underlying, Unifying Principles
Cities that are in transition in countries divided by conflict are in the best position to help other
cities in transition in other such countries. They have common problems ranging from policing,
garbage collection, housing, road construction, the provision of health and welfare services, to identifying
flashpoints and interfaces that trigger violence and having in place mechanisms to control and contain
such outbreaks. Each city is at a different stage of transition.
Nevertheless, through the process of sharing their narratives they can learn from each other and create a
dynamic that becomes a catalyst for change. Each city, in turn, will host the others and the experiences of
on the ground engagements will expose participants to ways of dealing with similar, although different,
problems, thus creating an expanding pool of knowledge and support from which all can draw.
A Pilot Project to Create a Forum
The Moakley Chair of Peace and Reconciliation at the University of Massachusetts Boston will host a
conference from April 14 to 16, 2009, at which participants from the invited cities will discuss the
feasibility of establishing a Forum for Cities in Transition (FCT), what form it might take, the range of its
remit, how it might work, and its terms of reference. The Forum would meet annually on a rotating basis
in one of the member cities.
Participants will include the mayors and senior city delegations from:
Derry/Londonderry (NORTHERN IRELAND)
Kirkuk (IRAQ)
Mitrovica (KOSOVO), Mitrovica (SERBIA)
representatives of the GREEK and TURKISH CYPRIOT communities, Nicosia
government officials from Belfast (NORTHERN IRELAND); NGOs from these cities will also attend.
In the event that the participants agree to establish a forum, the Moakley Chair and Stratagem, Belfast,
will act as its secretariat. The agenda will be drawn up in consultation with participating cities.
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