ACTION PLAN TO IMPLEMENT
THE 1993 FUTURES REPORT
Background
Since 1984, various NLC leadership groups, such as
the International Economic Development Task Force
and its successors, the International Task Force and the
International Municipal Consortium, have focused significant attention on international issues generally, and
on international economic development in particular.
In 1993, the NLC Advisory Council, the International
Municipal Consortium, and the Community and Economic Development (CED) Steering and Policy
Committees included international topics as part of
their working agendas.
Conclusions from the work of these groups point to
the fact that U.S. cities and towns are more closely
linked to the rest of the world than ever before. According to the 1993 Futures Report, Global Dollars, Local
Sense, "America's cities and towns, in order to prosper
in the 21st century, will have to improve their capacity
to deal successfully with new international contexts.
The most successful will be closely connected to the
rest of the world — through trade, transportation, technology, education, arts, and culture." 1
In order to implement the principles identified by
the Advisory Council in their work on cities and towns
in the global economy and to keep these issues at the
forefront of ongoing NLC commitment, action, and
policy and program development, the following action
steps are recommended.
Recommended Action Steps
- The Board of Directors should affirm NLC's
overall priority commitment to enhancing the
capacity of NLC and of U.S. cities and towns to
function successfully in their international contexts, especially the global economy.
- The International Municipal Consortium should
take a lead role in coordinating implementation
of the community globalization strategies, working closely with the Advisory Council.
- The five policy and steering committees, when
planning and implementing their work programs, should consider the impact of global economic competition and increased international connections and exchanges on U.S. cities and
towns. Critical areas of NLC policy that might be
reviewed to consider their international dimension include telecommunications, trade, community economic development, and regional cooperation.
- The NLC Leadership Training Council, as part
of their ongoing mission, should explore the implications of globalization for the leadership
roles of U.S. local elected officials and consider
ways in which municipal officials might ensure
that the international context becomes part of the
way the community thinks, talks, and addresses
issues.
- The Board of Directors should support, actively
promote, and participate in the Symposium on
World Trade Efficiency, planned for October
1994 in Columbus, Ohio, as one way of demonstrating NLC's continuing commitment to and
leadership role on this issue.
- The NLC President should write to the Presidents and Executive Directors of the state municipal leagues to encourage the leagues to determine appropriate ways to incorporate cities and
towns in the global economy as a topic for attention within their states, such as workshops at
annual state conventions or articles in newsletters
and to provide input to NLC about this topic.
- The NLC President should write to the chairs of
NLC's constituency and member groups to encourage each group to provide input to NLC
about the topic of cities and towns in the global
economy and to determine its own appropriate
agenda to address this issue.
- The chair of the International Municipal Consortium and such other knowledgeable persons as
may be appropriate should be invited to join the
Program Committee for the 1994 Congress of
Cities and Exposition to provide input on the
issue of cities and towns in the global economy,
and the general topic of international connec-
May 1994 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 11
tions, for inclusion in the program for the Minneapolis convention.
- The Board should confirm and encourage the
work staff and members are doing to incorporate
the issue of cities and towns in the global economy into the ongoing activities of NLC, and support those projects being carried forward in collaboration with other relevant organizations such
as Sister Cities International, Japan Local Government Center, U.S. Agency for International
Development, International City/County Management Association, and U.S. Information
Agency.
- Staff should review the range of NLC activities
and assess the need for and feasibility of including global economic or other international dimensions in those activities.
- The International Municipal Consortium should
provide regular reports to both the Board and the
Advisory Council, beginning at their December
1994 meetings in Minneapolis, on programs and
projects to ensure that U.S. municipal officials
and NLC are active participants in the globalization process, and that the recommendations contained in this action plan are being implemented.
1. Global Dollars, local Sense: Cities and Towns in the International Economy, National League of Cities, Washington, D.C., page 2.
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