Connecting City Leadership Globally — Bringing Nations Closer Together, Advancing Prosperity and Peace
Vision
The Global Mayors Council is an initiative of United World Leaders (UWL) designed to bring together current and former mayors of cities across the world through an independent, nonpartisan global platform for cooperation, soft diplomacy, preventive diplomacy, leadership development, economic opportunity and lasting community impact.
The Council provides an opportunity for mayors to build relationships across cities, countries and regions; exchange experiences and best practices; develop collaborative initiatives; and utilize the broader UWL ecosystem to advance the socioeconomic well-being of their communities while bringing cities, peoples and nations closer together.
UWL brings together presidents, prime ministers, ministers, consul generals, and other current and former senior government dignitaries, alongside leaders from business, investment, academia, philanthropy, science, technology and civil society. This diverse institutional platform creates opportunities for city leaders to engage across sectors and borders around shared priorities.
The Opportunity
Cities are where many of humanity’s most important challenges and opportunities become immediate and practical: employment, housing, education, public services, infrastructure, technology, public safety, cultural understanding and opportunity for young people.
Mayors bring direct experience in addressing these issues. Former mayors contribute institutional knowledge, relationships and lessons that can continue benefiting communities beyond their time in office.
The Council connects this experience internationally, enabling participating leaders to learn from one another, identify partners and resources, and adapt successful approaches to the needs of their own cities. It complements existing municipal associations and city partnerships through connections with the wider UWL ecosystem.
Soft Diplomacy and Preventive Engagement
A central purpose of the Global Mayors Council is to utilize relationships among mayors as a means of bringing nations closer together through practical cooperation at the city and community levels.
Mayors from countries with different political perspectives may nevertheless share priorities relating to the well-being of their residents. Cooperation around education, youth, culture, economic development and public services can create common ground, strengthen mutual understanding and sustain constructive relationships even when broader relations between countries are difficult.
Through soft diplomacy, participating leaders may build trust through cultural exchanges, educational partnerships, joint community projects and continuing personal and institutional relationships. Through preventive diplomacy, they may encourage early dialogue, help address misunderstandings and strengthen channels of communication before tensions deepen.
UWL’s independent, nonpartisan platform provides a neutral institutional setting for this engagement. Relationships developed among city leaders may extend to universities, businesses, civil society and young people, creating enduring connections between nations and supporting a culture of cooperation and peace.
Participants
Current and former mayors form the Council’s core leadership community. Participating leaders may also invite relevant municipal officials, economic-development agencies, consular representatives, universities, businesses, investors, family offices, development institutions, philanthropists, policy experts, technology innovators, civil-society organizations and young leaders to contribute to specific activities.
Potential Activities
Global Mayors Roundtables
Convene virtual and in-person meetings among current and former mayors to discuss shared priorities, exchange practical experiences and identify opportunities for cooperation. Regional and thematic working groups may address issues of particular relevance to participating cities.
Municipal Best Practices and Policy Exchange
Share successful approaches to city governance, public services, housing, transportation, infrastructure, public safety, resilience, digital government and community engagement. Participating leaders may utilize the UWL Policy Institute as a platform to invite researchers, academics, practitioners and policy organizations to develop comparative studies, perspectives, non-binding policy recommendations and practical frameworks that cities can adapt locally.
Economic Development, Investment and Business Attraction
Create opportunities for mayors to present their cities’ economic priorities and engage investors, family offices, companies, entrepreneurs, development institutions and other potential partners. Activities may include city investment presentations, business dialogues, project discussions and exchanges on attracting companies, expanding trade, supporting local enterprises and creating employment.
Participating leaders may share experiences in financing infrastructure, developing investment opportunities, improving the business environment, building workforces and forming effective partnerships. Connections with relevant UWL investment and industry-focused councils and initiatives may help bring appropriate expertise and prospective partners into these discussions.
Youth Leadership and City Development
Utilize Young United World Leaders to identify, engage, mentor and develop young leaders in participating cities. Mayors may invite schools, universities, businesses and community organizations to help young people build teams, lead local initiatives and contribute to their communities.
Activities may include mentorship, civic leadership, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, STEM and AI education, internships, community service and youth-led policy projects. Connections among young leaders from different cities may support joint projects and exchanges, with opportunities to grow from local leadership into wider regional and international engagement. Youth dialogues and collaborations may also help build understanding among communities and develop relationships that support cooperation between nations for generations.
Education, Innovation and Workforce Development
Engage the Education Diplomacy Council, academic institutions, employers and technology leaders around educational partnerships, skills development, research, entrepreneurship and responsible applications of new technologies. Participating cities may explore approaches that connect education with employment and help residents benefit from changing economies.
City Diplomacy, Dialogue and Conflict Prevention
Develop city-to-city relationships, exchanges and collaborative projects that bring communities and nations closer together. Participating mayors may convene dialogues around shared concerns, build continuing channels of communication and engage counterparts from countries whose broader relationships may be challenging.
Activities may include joint cultural and educational programs, exchanges among municipal teams, youth peace dialogues and collaborative projects that build trust through practical action. Current and former mayors may share experience in community reconciliation, social cohesion and addressing tensions constructively.
Engagement with UWL’s consular-leaders initiative and other relevant diplomacy initiatives may help connect municipal leaders with diplomatic communities, international businesses, educational institutions and cultural partners. These relationships may support preventive engagement, mutual understanding, trade, tourism, investment and diaspora cooperation.
Culture, Tourism and Community Engagement
Explore collaboration with the Global Culture Council and other relevant UWL initiatives around cultural exchanges, peace-related gatherings, creative industries, tourism and community participation. Such activities can serve as instruments of soft diplomacy by connecting residents, artists and institutions across countries. Cities may identify opportunities to host cultural activities, support local artists and entrepreneurs, and develop projects that combine cultural engagement with lasting economic and social value.
Humanitarian Cooperation and Urban Resilience
Share approaches and develop collaborative initiatives addressing disaster preparedness, recovery, community health, social inclusion and support for vulnerable populations. Participating cities may engage relevant experts, humanitarian organizations, businesses and philanthropists around clearly identified local needs.
A Global Leadership Opportunity
The Council offers an opportunity for distinguished individuals or groups of leaders to help shape and lead an international platform for city leadership.
Those taking an active role may identify and invite current and former mayors from cities throughout the world, convene relevant institutions and partners, develop working groups, organize gatherings and build collaborative programs.
Through these efforts, participating leaders may expand their international relationships, visibility and ability to convene others while creating practical value for their communities. The Council’s direction and priorities will be substantially shaped by the experience, ideas, relationships and commitment of those who help build it.
Connections Across the UWL Ecosystem
Young United World Leaders
Provide a platform for participating mayors to develop the next generation of leaders, connect youth across cities and encourage young people to design and lead projects with measurable community impact.
United World Leaders Policy Institute
Provide a platform through which Council leaders may convene experts, develop research and policy perspectives, document municipal experiences and share useful recommendations internationally.
UWL Academy
Create opportunities for participating leaders and experts to develop educational sessions, lectures and practical learning programs for municipal teams, young leaders and other relevant audiences.
Impact & Legacy Review
Offer opportunities to share significant city initiatives, successful practices, participating leadership and measurable results through UWL’s global publication, helping useful experiences reach other communities.
Impact & Legacy Forums and UWL Events
Create opportunities to present city initiatives, convene relevant stakeholders and engage universities, institutions and international audiences through appropriate UWL gatherings and events organized by participating members and partners.
Cross-Council Collaboration and Strategic Relationships
Enable participating leaders to identify complementary expertise across UWL’s education, culture, diplomacy, investment, technology and other initiatives, including opportunities to connect city cooperation with wider peace and preventive diplomacy efforts. Where appropriate, UWL may facilitate relevant introductions and visibility through institutional communications. Such opportunities remain subject to UWL policies, availability and discretion.
Council leaders and participants will develop the outreach, partnerships, programs and resources necessary to advance their priorities, utilizing UWL’s platforms and relationships to strengthen their efforts.
Intended Impact and Lasting Legacy
The Council seeks to translate international relationships into practical improvements for cities: stronger local economies, new employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, more capable young leaders, better-informed municipal policies, improved services, stronger mutual understanding and greater cooperation across communities and nations.
Success will be assessed through useful knowledge shared, partnerships developed, projects implemented, youth leaders engaged, sustained channels of dialogue established and measurable benefits achieved for residents.
The Council’s lasting contribution will be an international community through which current and former mayors continue sharing experience, developing future leaders, strengthening connections between nations and creating opportunities that benefit cities across generations—advancing UWL’s broader mission of socioeconomic prosperity, international cooperation and peace.
The Council’s structure, leadership and activities will be developed with participating leaders in accordance with applicable UWL governance standards, policies and Terms and Conditions.
Vision → Leadership → Alliances → Impact → Prosperity → Legacy