NEW ORLEANS – Mayor Mitch Landrieu will address resilience, sustainable development and other issues facing cities across the globe at events this week in Philadelphia and New York City as part of visits by His Holiness Pope Francis.
After Pope Francis' historic address to a joint session of Congress today in Washington, D.C., Landrieu said, “His Holiness seems to know us better than ourselves and he challenges us to be true to who we say we are. He lovingly reminds us of our nation's founding principles and personifies these aspirations through recalling the lives of Abraham Lincoln, Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton and Martin Luther King, Jr. He uses these great leaders as examples of how we should 'set and interpret reality' and use the examples of their lives to inspire us to be better as a nation.
"In a way that only he could, Pope Francis brought leaders of both parties together and challenged us to work together with civility for common good. He calls us to have the courage to be 'the land of the free and home of the brave,' to treat others as we would have them treat us, to love as we wished to be loved, to heal our wounds and bridge the differences that divide us. I pray that we as a nation will heed his call."
Landrieu is scheduled to join world leaders at Pope Francis' address before the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, September 25, 2015, to mark the 70th anniversary of the world body and ahead of a key vote on sustainable development goals. This will be the second visit Landrieu has had with Pope Francis this year. At the request of the pontiff, Landrieu earlier this summer joined a select group of mayors, local governors and representatives of the UN for a historic two-day summit at the Vatican to discuss solutions to global issues such as climate change, human trafficking and sustainable development.
“I am incredibly honored to represent the people of New Orleans at these global meetings and to be a part of this historic visit by Pope Francis,” said Mayor Landrieu. “New Orleans is this nation’s most immediate laboratory for innovation and change, and we have become a global model for resilience and sustainable development. We have important lessons to share with the world, but we also have much more to learn. I am proud that Pope Francis has made climate change, rising inequalities and broad-based economic growth a focus of world leaders, and I will keep working to ensure New Orleans has a seat at the discussion table.”
Yesterday, Mayor Landrieu attended the eighth World Meeting of Families Congress in Philadelphia. Held every three years, it is the world’s largest Catholic gathering of families. At the invitation of Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, Mayor Landrieu participated in the inaugural International Mayors Forum – a new event being added to the World Meeting of Families Congress at La Salle University’s Tom Gola Arena. For the Forum, mayors representing diverse cities around the world came together to discuss the ways in which government at the local level can help strengthen and sustain families through public policy and advocacy. Landrieu was among four mayors asked to serve on a 90-minute panel discussion about how good governance can positively affect families around the globe. Other panelists included Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Mayor Steve Benjamin of Charleston, S.C.
Today, Thursday, September 24, which is the eve of a key United Nations vote on sustainable development goals and a historic visit by Pope Francis, Mayor Landrieu will offer remarks about New Orleans building a resilient and inclusive community and then join more than 30 mayors from around the world to formally endorse the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), creating a “groundbreaking international network of mayors committed to implementing policies in line with sustainable principles.” This work builds on pledges made in July at the Vatican City Mayor’s Conference convened by Pope Francis, which Mayor Landrieu attended, to “work towards the success of the SDGs in our own cities and respective areas of endeavor, and to partner with others across the globe to help all cities to achieve the new SDGs with success.”
The City’s recently-released strategy, Resilient New Orleans, aligns with the UN SDGs.
“This is an historic meeting,” said Special Advisor to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Sustainable Development Solutions Network Director Dr. Jeffrey Sachs. “As was agreed at the Vatican in July, this reunion of mayors, governors, and development leaders launches the new 'Urban Partnership for the Sustainable Development Goals.’ When the 193 member states adopt the SDGs at the UN, they will call for cities and other sub-national governments to take on the challenge of meeting the new goals. The mayors and governors meeting on Thursday are saying loud and clear that they are ready, willing, and able to lead.”
On Friday, September 25, the UN Secretary-General will welcome Pope Francis as the member states consider and adopt the same global SDGs endorsed by Landrieu and other mayors the day before. In addition to bilateral meetings with UN leadership and a town hall gathering with UN staff, Pope Francis will formally address the United Nations General Assembly, where Mayor Landrieu will be in attendance with leaders from across the world.
“For the first time in world history, more people are actually living in cities than outside of them,” said Mayor Landrieu. “That means it is important for mayors around the world to find resources and build coalitions to address our most pressing challenges. And we must do so in a way that doesn’t leave anyone behind. I am honored to help lead these efforts and to embrace the goal of making our cities ‘inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.’”
