Toward the achievement of the SDGs, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) has been disseminating Tokyo's initiatives to the world and building networks with international organizations and cities around the world through participation in international conferences hosted by the United Nations and other events.

History of Participation

●World Urban Forum (November 2024 Cairo, Egypt Onsite participation)

The Governor of Tokyo, Koike Yuriko, participated in the high-level special session and the closing ceremony at the World Urban Forum, a conference attended by a wide range of stakeholders including ministers, governors and mayors, UN agencies, academia, and civil society to discuss urban challenges.
In addition, the Director for Planning and Coordination, Office of the Governor for Policy Planning participated in a side event session to discuss how to enhance citizens' awareness of the SDGs.

<Participation in the high-level special session>

The Governor participated in the high-level special session and delivered a speech on Tokyo which is tackling urban challenges while inheriting the wisdom and spirit of predecessors, which have lived in the city's traditions since Edo period. She introduced Tokyo's initiatives for creating a sustainable city, such as "TOKYO Resilience Project" and "SusHi Tech Tokyo".

You can watch the video of this session on UN Web TV（Official video streaming service by　the UN）

<Participation in the closing ceremony>

The Governor participated in the closing ceremony as a speaker, referring to the critical issues cities face today that were discussed at the Forum, including housing crisis and intensification and frequency of disasters caused by climate change and presenting Tokyo's initiatives related to these issues. In her speech, as a female city leader, she also emphasized the importance of women's participation in urban policies as well as the need to include gender perspectives in cross-border collaboration and cooperation.

You can watch the video of the closing ceremony on UN Web TV（Official video streaming service by UN）

<Participation in a session hosted by the Government of Malaysia>

The Director for Planning and Coordination, Office of the Governor for Policy Planning participated in a session held at the Malaysian Government Pavilion and gave a presentation on the Tokyo's long-term strategy and the workshop for Tokyo residents.
Participants experienced the SDGs card game, which is being played at the workshop for Tokyo residents and the game was highly evaluated by participants. Then they discussed how to promote understanding of the SDGs and effective tools for enhancing citizen's awareness.

Tokyo's presentation

Workshop (SDGs card game)

●UN Regional Symposium on Effective Governance and AI (October 2024 Online participation)

TMG gave a presentation on "TOKYO Resilience Project" and introduced the initiatives that incorporate advanced technologies. We discussed utilization of innovative technologies such as AI with representatives of UN organizations and cities from around the world.

Tokyo's presentation

Panel Discussion

●Malaysia Sarawak Urban Forum (October 2024 Online participation)

TMG gave a presentation on the long-term strategy, "Tokyo Green Biz" and "TOKYO Resilience Project" at Malaysia Sarawak Urban Forum first independently organized by Sarawak state which held Malaysia Urban Forum in FY2023.

Tokyo's presentation　

Presentation on Tokyo's long-term strategy

●Malaysia Urban Forum (October 2024 Penang, Malaysia Onsite participation)

TMG participated in the main session and side event sessions at Malaysia Urban Forum which was organized by an organization established by the Malaysian Government. This forum was an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss and present their initiatives about sustainable urban development.
TMG gave a presentation on "Future Tokyo: Tokyo's Long-Term Strategy", the Voluntary Local Review (VLR) workshop for Tokyo municipalities and the SDGs workshop for Tokyo residents, and discussed with stakeholders from UN organizations, Malaysia and other countries.

Main session (Left: Tokyo's presentation Right: Panel discussion)

●UN High-Level Political Forum（July 2024 New York, USA Onsite participation）

TMG hosted a side event session for the first time at UN High-Level Political Forum organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) at UN Headquarters. This forum was an opportunity for stakeholders from around the world including UN member states to follow up and review the SDGs (Our session is the only session hosted by a local government this time).
TMG also participated in other sessions organized by UN and other organizations as a panelist and gave presentations on Tokyo's long-term strategy and Voluntary Local Review (VLR).
Click here for the official website of UN High Level Political Forum 2024

＜Hosting a side event session＞

Under the theme of specific measures to enhance citizens' awareness of SDGs and promote proactive initiatives, TMG discussed with panelists from a UN organization, an NGO and academia.
In addition, all participants, including the audience, experienced SDGs card game being played in the workshop for Tokyo residents, and the game was highly evaluated by them as an effective tool for experiencing viewpoint of mayors and the significance of SDG measures.

Side Event Program (click to view PDF)

Discussion among panelists　

Discussion with audience

Workshop（SDGs card game）

A picture of this session has been posted on the social media of UN organization.

< Participation in a session hosted by UN-DESA as a panelist>

In addition to TMG, the Government of South Africa, the Government of Italy, the City of Bonn (Germany), the City of Buenos Aires (Argentina), and UN organizations participated as panelists to discuss the roles of Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) and Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) for achieving the SDGs.
TMG gave a presentation on the long-term strategy and contents of VLR from the perspective of multilevel dialogue between national and local governments and inclusive governance, which were the subjects of this session.

Tokyo's presentation

From the left of the podium：
Ms. Mareike Eberz (Economic Affairs Officer, Office of the Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean), Director for Planning and Coordination, Office of the Governor for Policy Planning(Tokyo), Ms. Ana Ciuti（Undersecretary of International Relations(City of Buenos Aires)）

You can watch the video of this session on the website of UN-DESA
Click here for the concept note of this session

< Participation in a session hosted by UN-HABITAT and the Government of Tunisia as a panelist >

In addition to TMG, UN organization, the Government of Tunisia, the Kasserine Governorate of Tunisia, and the Association of Finnish Local Authorities participated in the discussion on promotion of the SDGs at local level.
TMG gave a presentation on the long-term strategy and contents of VLR from the perspective of urban resilience and the use of innovation, which were the subjects of this session.

Tokyo's presentation

From the left:
Mr. Ridha Rokbani (Governor of Kasserine, Tunisia), Mr. Martino Miraglia (UN-HABITAT), H.E Mr. Tarek Ladeb (Ambassador at the Tunisian Permanent Representation to the UN), Director for Planning and Coordination, Office of the Governor for Policy Planning (Tokyo)

You can watch the video of this session on UN Web TV（Official video streaming service by UN）
Click here for the concept note of this session

＜Participation in a capacity building program hosted by NGO network group＞

TMG gave a presentation on the long-term strategy and the workshop for Tokyo residents at a capacity building program hosted by Major Group for Children and Youth, an NGO network established by the UN. This program was designed to develop the capacity of young people to play an active role in the international community. The participants enjoyed SDGs card game being played at the workshop for Tokyo residents and the game was highly evaluated.

Tokyo's presentation

Workshop(SDGs card game)

After the program

●UN Online Workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction（July 2024 Online participation）

TMG gave a presentation on "TOKYO Resilience Project" and introduced the initiatives that incorporate advanced technologies. We discussed how we can reduce disaster risk with representatives of UN organizations and cities from around the world.

You can watch the video of this session on YouTube

●8th Asia-Pacific Urban Forum（October 2023 Suwon, South Korea Onsite participation）

TMG participated in the plenary panel of the Asia-Pacific Urban Forum hosted by UN-ESCAP to discuss sustainable urban development and regional planning from a high-level perspective.
TMG also hosted a session on the Voluntary Local Review (VLR) and Tokyo's long-term strategies in Asia-Pacific region, and discussed efforts to realize SDGs and new forms of VLR.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) has been supporting initiatives of Tokyo municipalities by providing capacity building training programs for the SDGs training. In addition to basic trainings, TMG invited instructors from overseas to share advanced SDGs initiatives, and also held a workshop on formulation of Voluntary Local Review (VLR).