The State of Social Cohesion – Social justice and social participation in Berlin, Mexico City, Nairobi & New Delhi
Digital Global Townhall Conference
What can Berlin learn from Nairobi about participation in rapidly growing cities? How does Mexico City approach questions of housing and public space differently from New Delhi? And what happens when urban practitioners, policy makers, and civil society actors from four global cities come together to rethink social justice beyond national borders?
Cities are increasingly at the forefront of addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our time: inequality, housing affordability, access to infrastructure and public services, political participation, climate resilience, migration, and social cohesion. While these challenges emerge in very different local contexts, cities across the world are often grappling with strikingly similar questions.
This virtual event brings together perspectives from Berlin, Mexico City, Nairobi, and New Delhi in a unique intercontinental dialogue on just, inclusive and participatory cities, fostering practical exchange across regions and highlighting the growing importance of cities as global actors and laboratories for democratic innovation.
The conference concludes the Future Cities Go Glocal project by the Aspen Institute Germany, which brought together practitioners from Germany, Kenya, India, and Mexico through workshops, policy exchanges, and a delegation trip to Berlin. Policy recommendations developed within the project will be published here shortly.
The event is jointly organised with Aspen Institute México, Aspen Initiative Nairobi, and Ananta Aspen Centre.
The Future Cities Go Glocal project is supported by the Stiftung Deutsche Klassenlotterie Berlin.
Speakers & Moderators
- Daniel Ayelabola
- Programs Lead, Aspen Initiative Nairobi
- Diana Botescu
- Head of the Migration and Refugee Policies Unit, Berlin Commissioners Office for Integration and Migration
- Miguel Limón García
- Programmes Director, Aspen Institute México
- Richa Kumaria
- Programme Lead, Ananta Aspen Centre
- Nikita Mandhani
- Journalist, Documentary Filmmaker and Digital Strategist
- Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner
- Executive Director, Aspen Institute Germany
- Vidal Llerenas Morales
- General Director of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property, former undersecretary of Industry and Commerce at the Ministry of Economy. and former mayor of Azcapotzalco in Mexico City
- Judith Owigar
- Smart and Electric Mobility Consultant at UN-Habitat, CoFounder AkiraChix,AcumenFellow
- Taranjit Singh Sandhu
- Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Former Ambassador of India to the United States, Former High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka
- Deen Sharp
- PhD, consultant with the United Nations, Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi on water responsive urbanism in Africa
- Julian Schwarze
- Member of the Berlin House of Representatives (Bündnis90/Die Grünen)
- George Robert Wasonga
- Chief Executive Officer at the Civil Society Urban Development Platform (CSUDP)
- Salomon Chertorivski Woldenberg
- President of the National Consultative Council of Movimiento Ciudadano, former Federal Health Minister and Secretary of Economic Development of Mexico City
Agenda
These are the speakers confirmed for our conference so far. More will follow shortly and will be added on an ongoing basis.
| 4:00 – 4:10 pm CEST | Opening Remarks – Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Germany – Miguel Limón García, Programmes Director, Aspen Institute México – Daniel Ayelabola, Programs Lead, Aspen Initiative Nairobi – Richa Kumaria, Programme Lead, Ananta Aspen Centre |
| 4:10 – 4:15 pm CEST | Future Cities Go Glocal: Project Video Screening |
| 4:15 – 4:55 pm CEST | “The Just City”: Lessons and Recommendations for Social Justice and Social Participation |
| 4:55 – 5:35 pm CEST | From Mexico City to Nairobi to New Delhi to Berlin: Policy Challenges and Chances in International City-to-City Collaboration |
| 5:35 – 5:40 pm CEST | Closing Remarks – Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Germany |
| 5:40 pm CEST | End |
