Across the world, local leaders are taking a stand against rising inequalities. Through innovations in health care delivery, to living wage campaigns, from the issuance of official identification cards for all city residents to facilitate access to public services, to mobile apps to improve urban mobility for people with disabilities – mayors and local governments are advancing policies and programmes that boost equity and economic growth.
OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth
As a response to the growing gap between the rich and the poor, the OECD launched the Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth Initiative in March 2016. Champion Mayors form a coalition of willing leaders who have committed to tackling inequalities and promoting more inclusive economic growth in cities.
About the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth Initiative
Our mission
As a response to the growing gap between the rich and the poor, the OECD launched the Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth Initiative in March 2016. Champion Mayors form a coalition of willing leaders who have committed to tackling inequalities and promoting more inclusive economic growth in cities.
This initiative has helped governments analyse rising inequalities, monitor material living standards and broader well-being, and design policy packages that promote equity and growth. It is driven by a multidimensional approach to Inclusive Growth, going beyond income to see how people are faring in other areas of life, like jobs and health.
How it works
The initiative fosters dialogue between local and national leaders and elevates the voice of mayors on the global stage.
- A seat at the table with OECD national governments at the OECD.
- Convening the OECD Roundtable of Mayors and Ministers.
- Contributing to the agenda at the G7, Urban 7, G20, Urban 20 and COP.
The initiative supports research and data collection to shed light on inequality in cities.
- Access to OECD data with over 40 indicators for over 1 200 cities.
- Dedicated studies on Inclusive Growth in Champion Mayors cities, including Seoul, Bilbao and Stockholm.
- Cross-cutting analysis on challenges impacting inclusive growth across all cities, including on housing and climate.
The initiative raises the profiles of local leaders and promotes knowledge sharing.
- Making the public case for inclusive growth at +20 of international events.
- Featuring in interviews, podcasts and articles.
- Exchanging ideas at webinars and workshops.
Our vision
In 2022, the Champion Mayors endorsed a vision to champion economic growth that creates economic opportunities for all – in our cities and around the world – by advancing bold and ambitious policies, sharing best practice, and bringing our collective voice to bear on the global stage. This vision is built around nine key pillars.
- Align the inclusive growth agenda with the climate transition
By ensuring all communities benefit from the green transition and minimising trade offs
- Respond to the most pressing challenges facing cities
Including inequality of access to education, jobs, housing, transport, infrastructure and public services
- Stand with our fellow mayors in conflict or disaster
Including solidarity and support to mayors in Ukraine
- Promote our shared values and rebuild trust in democracy
By fighting disinformation and misinformation and further promoting cohesion
- Invest in resources to support our policy making
By sharing best practices across our network and supporting OECD data
- Strengthen our policy dialogues and exchanges
By continuing our regular meetings and through webinars, and engaging our Focal Points
- Strengthen the governance of the initiative
Supported by a Steering Group of willing mayors to lead thematic and regional initiatives
- Expand the coalition to become more inclusive
Engaging more mayors from Asia, Africa and Latin America
- Elevate the voice of our mayors on the global stage
By increasing interaction with national government and participation to global agendas
Programme outputs
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Brussels Blueprint for affordable cities and housing for all flyerLearn more
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5th Meeting of the OECD Champion Mayors For Inclusive GrowthLearn more
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Fourth meeting of the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive GrowthLearn more
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Third Meeting of the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive GrowthLearn more
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Second Meeting of the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive GrowthLearn more
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First Meeting of the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive GrowthLearn more
Governance of the Initiative
The OECD is honoured to count the Mayor of Bratislava, Slovak Republic, Matúš Vallo, as the Chair of the Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth.
The Chair serves as the chief spokesperson and political figure of the Initiative, providing strategic leadership to advance priority themes and policy areas. The Chair supports, shapes, and disseminates the Initiative’s strategy, activities, messages, and engagement efforts, and co-leads governance alongside the Secretariat. This includes chairing Steering Group, spearheading the development of the work plan and overseeing the vetting and invitation process for new members. The Chair represents the Initiative at global forums and OECD events, hosts Champion Mayors events such as meetings, workshops, or dialogues to promote knowledge sharing on inclusive growth in cities, and plays a key role in maintaining and expanding participant engagement.
The coalition has formed a Steering Group to support the Champion Mayors Chair, Mayor of Bratislava (Slovak Republic) Matúš Vallo. The members of the steering group are the mayors of: Braga (Portugal) Ricardo Rio, Brussels (Belgium) Philippe Close, Glasgow (UK) Susan Aitken, Paris (France) Anne Hidalgo, Renca (Chile) Claudio Castro Salas, and Tokyo (Japan) Yuriko Koike, and have an expansive range of experience in advancing inclusive growth agendas across a diverse set of local economic contexts and conditions.
The Steering Group is an advisory body composed of 7-8 existing participants. The members of the Steering Group serve as vice-chairs and provide guidance on the priorities of the Initiative. Members actively participate in the Initiative’s activities, helping to shape its strategic direction and substantive focus. They support practical tasks such as the chair selection process, recruiting mayors, unifying current members, and promoting the Initiative’s outputs and activities. Steering Group members contribute their expertise on specific topics and regional issues, offering insights on thematic priorities and campaign ideas. The group should be gender-diverse and geographically representative of the participant population.
The Champion Mayors initiative is pleased to count on a range of supporting institutions to help shape this work, including the DG REGIO, European Commission, Ford Foundation, Cities Alliance, ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Bloomberg Philanthropies, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and United Way Worldwide.
Are you interested in becoming an OECD Champion Mayor or do you know a local leader who has made Inclusive Growth a central part of his or her policy agenda?
If you or your local leader would like to join the coalition contact us.
Meet our mayors
Inés Rey Garcia
A Coruña, Spain
Chadchart Sittipunt
Bangkok, Thailand
Anne Vignot
Besançon, France
Juan Mari Aburto
Bilbao, Spain
Katja Dörner
Bonn, Germany
Ricardo Rio
Braga, Portugal
Matúš Vallo
Bratislava, Slovakia
Philippe Close
Brussels, Belgium
Heong-Joon Park
Busan, Korea
Geordin Hill-Lewis
Cape Town, South Africa
Nabila Rmili
Casablanca, Morocco
Tim Kelly
Chattanooga, USA
Stephan Keller
Düsseldorf, Germany
Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Sōichirō Takashima
Fukuoka City, Japan
Fatma Şahin
Gaziantep, Turkey
Susan Aitken
Glasgow, United Kingdom
Philippe Rio
Grigny, France
Peter Tschentscher
Hamburg, Germany
Jan van Zanen
The Hague, Netherlands
Satashi Endo
Hirono, Japan
Dow Constantine
King County Executive, USA
Vitaliy Klitschko
Kyiv, Ukraine
James Lewis
Leeds, United Kingdom
Burkhard Jung
Leipzig, Germany
Carlos Moedas
Lisbon, Portugal
Steve Rotheram
Liverpool (Greater), United Kingdom
Zoran Janković
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Satya Rhodes Conway
Madison, USA
Tomás Vodanovic
Maipú, Chile
Andy Burnham
Manchester (Greater), United Kingdom
Fatim Ezzahra El Mansouri
Marrakesh, Morocco
Giuseppe Sala
Milan, Italy
Valérie Plante
Montreal, Canada
Fatimetou Abdel Malick
Nouakchott, Mauritanie
Masao Omori
Okayama, Japan
David Holt
Oklahoma City, USA
Anne Hidalgo
Paris, France
Rui Moreira
Porto, Portugal
Bruno Marchand
Quebec City, Canada
Oscar Calderón Sánchez
Quillota, Chile
Claudio Castro Salas
Renca, Chile
Nathalie Appéré
Rennes, France
Eduardo Paes
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Roberto Gualtieri
Rome, Italy
Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol
Rouen, France
Karim Bouamrane
Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, France
Kazuko Kohri
Sendai, Japan
Oh Se-Hoon
Seoul, Korea
Basílio Horta
Sintra, Portugal
Danela Arsovska
Skopje, North Macedonia
Karin Wanngård
Stockholm, Sweden
Kakha Kaladze
Tbilisi, Georgia
Ron Huldai
Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel
Erion Veliaj
Tirana, Albania
Yuriko Koike
Tokyo, Japan
Stefano Lo Russo
Torino, Italy
Jean-Luc Moudenc
Toulouse, France
Hirohisa Fujii
Toyama, Japan
Tatsuo Igarashi
Tsukuba, Japan
Sharon Dijksma
Utrecht, Netherlands
José Manuel Ribeiro
Valongo, Portugal
Takeharu Yamanaka
Yokohama, Japan
Jamael Tito Brown
Youngstown, USA
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