Fifth World Forum of Cities and Local Governments in Montevideo

On May 2nd, Mayor of The Hague and UCLG president Jan van Zanen travelled to Montevideo, Uruguay, to take part in the Fifth World Forum of Cities and Local Governments for Peace. During the official opening of the Forum, Van Zanen launched the new edition of the UCLG Peace Prize which celebrates good work by local governments that help bring peace and development. It also helps people around the world see how important local governments are for a better and safer future. With this launch, the application period for the prize has now started. For more information on the UCLG Peace Prize and the application process, please visit the website.

Local governments from all over the world are invited to apply for the UCLG Peace Prize. Applications are open until December 2025 on the official website. Out of all applications, a group of finalists will be selected. They will receive support to share their stories on international platforms and will be invited to present their work at the UCLG World Congress in Tangier in 2026, where the winner of the Peace Prize will be announced.

The Forum also included a special session focused on the UCLG Peace Prize. Jan van Zanen opened this session, followed by contributions from the Mayor of Montevideo and the Head of International Affairs of the Province of Barcelona.

The session continued with a presentation about the Peace Prize and a case study from Recife, shared by their representative. After that, there was a panel discussion with participants from Recife, SALGA (South African Local Government Association), the Province of Barcelona, and UCLG.

This event marked an important step in promoting peace and local leadership around the world.