Future Cities Go Glocal: Call for Applications 2025/2026
“Future Cities Go Glocal”, an initiative by the Aspen Institute Germany, acknowledges cities as both global and local actors. The project seeks to enhance cities’ ability to address critical issues like climate change, energy security, migration, social justice, and inadequate infrastructure. The aim is to promote exchange between city stakeholders from Berlin, New Delhi, Nairobi, and Mexico City in order to share best practices, create new networks, and develop policy recommendations for sustainable and inclusive urban development in the face of diverse challenges. The project aims to strengthen the role of cities as global actors in shaping the transition to a just and sustainable society and realizing the vision of fair and resilient cities while fostering a shared understanding of the future of urban environments.
You can find impressions from the first cohort that finished this year here.
2025/2026 Focus: Social Justice and Social Participation
We are accepting applications from city stakeholders living or working in Berlin, Nairobi, Mexico City, and New Delhi to apply to be a part of the second cohort in 2025/2026. Five urban decision-makers from each city in politics, city administration, business, civil society, and other fields relevant to urban life will collaborate across borders digitally and in-person in Berlin to bring their experience and expertise to tackle the issues of social justice and social participation.
Social justice and social participation are fundamental building blocks of a sustainable and future-oriented democratic society. However, growing income inequality, lack of integration, discrimination, and low social mobility threaten the foundations of open and inclusive communities. These dynamics erode trust, fuel social polarization, and endanger democratic stability. Issues concerning gender equity, structural inequality, access to education, healthcare, housing, political participation, and meaningful engagement in social life are among the most pressing challenges of our time.
In a rapidly changing world, social issues are increasingly being exacerbated by global crises. Climate change, armed conflicts, international migration movements and far-reaching transformation processes brought about by digitalization and artificial intelligence are challenging social cohesion. Societies are confronted with inequalities that not only test their self-image, but also the resilience of democratic systems.
Digitalization can act as a catalyst for greater justice – for example through better access to information, education, and public services. At the same time, it carries the risk of further exacerbating existing inequalities: The loss of jobs through automation, new forms of discrimination in the digital space and asymmetrical power relations in handling data pose urgent issues. The digital space is not a neutral place: who gets visibility, whose voice is heard, how decisions are made automatically – all of this touches on the fundamental issues of social justice and participation in the 21st century.
Cities are affected differently and must set their own priorities accordingly. Nevertheless, exchanging strategies and instruments for addressing social justice and participation challenges is important, especially since these issues are particularly sensitive in a local and international contexts. As part of this cohort, the following questions will be explored:
- How can cities promote social mobility?
- How can the individual sense of justice be strengthened?
- What responsibility do they have for integration, equal opportunities and shaping the digital transformation in an inclusive way?
- How can acceptance of diversity in society be increased so that the cohesion of everyone is promoted?
Program Outline and Benefits of Participation
To explore these questions, the project will give participants the opportunity to engage with international peers and other leaders in the field and shape the intercontinental dialogue on future cities during in-person and virtual programming, to include:
- interactive virtual meetings between November 2025 and April 2026 (approximately 12 meetings, 1-2 hours per meeting);
- one 3.5-day in-person meeting (not including travel time) in Berlin, Germany in February/March 2026;
- collaboration on a joint publication of recommendations to be released in June 2026; and
- a virtual closing conference.
During the program, participants will learn more about urban practices and policies in each other’s cities, conduct site visits to see best practices and innovative solutions on the ground, and explore opportunities for intercontinental collaboration. Participants are expected to actively and consistently contribute to the development of concrete policy recommendations, which will be published and presented in a final closing event. Costs for participation (travel, accommodation, meals) will be covered by the project.
Eligibility
Applicants for this exchange program must:
- be city stakeholders in business, politics, city administration or planning, culture, arts, sports, media, architecture, academia, or other fields relevant to urban life;
- live or work in New Delhi, Nairobi, Berlin, or Mexico City;
- be able to participate in the development and publication of recommendations in the form of a report and a final event;
- have expertise on city-related topics, social justice, social participation and/or digitalization;
- have sufficient knowledge of English; and
- be interested in international exchange.
If you have any questions, you can contact Tobias Röttger at roettger@aspeninstitute.de
Disclaimer: Program components and schedule might be subject to change.
The project is funded by the Stiftung Deutsche Klassenlotterie Berlin.
