International Association of Educating Cities 

2015- 2018 Strategic Plan 

 

 

Aim: 

The present Strategic Plan aims to be an instrument that orders a series of priority 
initiatives and actions of the International Association of Educating Cities for the 
period 2015-2018, with the goal of being a road map that allows us to face the future 
with guarantees and to go further with the advances achieved. 

With this series of strategies the aim is to highlight the role of the local governments as 
educational agents; to increase the recognition of their work in front of the national 
and international organisations; to back up the work that the member cities are 
carrying out, by means of their institutional strengthening; to create spaces and 
materials of exchange and reflection, and to spread their best practices as educating 
cities. 

After a journey of more than 20 years, the International Association of Educating Cities 
(IAEC) has grown, consolidating itself and diversifying its activities and services so as to 
strengthen the commitment of its members with the values of the Educating Cities 
Charter and to make it known to a greater number of cities. The IAEC is also a young 
organisation, open and dynamic and we would like to remain so. With the present 
plan we aim to search for a joint response to the new challenges and to make 
proposals for improvements that strengthen the education in the city for better 
coexistence and greater social cohesion and solidarity. 

Currently, 477 cities from 36 countries form part of the IAEC, which means that the 
improvements introduced in these cities have an impact on the life of a population of 
more than 100 million people. 

Continuing to increase the number of cities in those territories in which the Association 
has a low level of implantation, would allow the presence of the IAEC to be extended, 
providing a greater boost to the movement and gain impact at an international level in 


favour of the right to an Educating City and of the improvement of the quality of the 
life that this implies. 

The work of defining the objectives included in this plan have been carried out, taking 
into account various points of view and taking as a basis the accumulated experience 
and knowledge. The results of the previous Strategic Plan 2011-2014 highlight the 
fulfilment of a series of goals, which is at the same time are a source of stimulus to 
continue working in a rigorous, ordered, planned and agreed way, evaluating the 
actions undertaken. 

With the conviction that the collaboration of all is essential with regard to a document 
that will mark our actions over the next 4 years, the present plan has been elaborated 
in a participatory way. 

An important part of the work of the Association will be to maintain a fluent 
communication with its members and to foster dynamic exchanges between them. 
The difficulties faced by numerous cities to participate in the meetings and to 
physically attend encounters has led us to rethink and introduce changes in some 
aspects of the working methodology. We will have to be creative and to look for new 
ways of attending them, and to relating between us. 

Likewise, we believe that it is important to progress in terms of reaching agreements 
and alliances with other organisations and municipal networks, as well as with 
organisations from the civil society, given that we can confirm that where the best 
conditions have been created for the citizen participation and where educational 
experiences have been developed with organisations form the civil society, these cities 
maintain their commitment to the Charter even when institutional changes are 
produced. For this reason, we believe it is important to include the collaboration of 
the civil society. 

On the other hand, it should be pointed out that, given that the Association is mostly 
funded with public funds, as a manager of these resources it has the obligation to act 
with the required efficacy, efficiency, and transparency. 

The present Strategic Plan lays out the major lines which define the way to be 
followed, which will become more specific and adapted to the new challenges by 
means of the annual action plans. Having clear and achievable goals that will allow us 
to continue being what we want to be: a source of inspiration for the cities that 
already form part of the Association and a pole of attraction for those that are not yet 
members. 

So as to be able to carry out the present Strategic Plan the commitment of all the 
educating cities will be necessary. 


 

1. To increase the political impact 

Overall aim: to boost the impact of the IAEC both inside and outside the network, 
between its members and in other organisations, as well as establishing synergies with 
other organisations that work in line with the Charter. 

Specific goals: 

To strengthen the institutional image of the IAEC. 

To promote and reach national and international organisations with the resolutions 
and statements (declarations) about questions that affect the local governments that 
comprise the Association and to give value to, and to highlight, the importance of 
citizen education. At the same time that we ourselves join declarations, resolutions 
and statements that other organisations with similar interests may make. 

To urge the United Nations and governments to recognise the role played by the local 
governments and to claim for the importance of education for tackling the challenges 
of the 21st century. 

To participate in the government organs and commissions of the UCLG with the aim of 
highlighting the key role that education plays in the achievement of the Millennium 
Goals, in questions such as literacy, sustainability, social justice, and gender equality, 
etc. 

To take advantage of the participation of the Association in activities of other 
organisations and networks so as to make known the IAEC, the principles of the 
Charter, the work of the member cities, etc. 

To promote the policies of the Educating Cities and the commitment to the Charter 
from among other local powers. 

To increase the relations with the media so as to provide visibility to the initiatives of 
the educating city, both from the association and from each of its members. 

To continue participating in events that can make the work of the IAEC known. 

To increase the connection with other networks, such as, for example, UNESCO, ICLEI, 
etc. to work with the aim of generating new synergies. 

To establish priority issues to be worked on (including the theme for the International 
Congresses and other meetings, of publications, etc.). 

To promote the Seal of the Educating Cities in different member cities, so as to 
highlight those initiatives which are in accordance with the Charter. 


To promote a Pact for the Educating City in the different members cities, with the aim 
of joining forces and generating synergies with the civil society. 

To establish the bases of the Educating Cities Award with the aim of encouraging, 
recognising, publicising and holding innovative initiatives and activities carried out by 
local governments that have been demonstrated to have a significant and positive 
impact. This will stimulate other cities to adopt this initiative. 

To secure the financial bases. To carry out initiatives for raising funds in addition to 
the fees of the member cities. To make requests to organisations that grant funds, and 
to promote initiatives that can generate revenues, etc. 

 

2. To improve the capacities of the local governments. 

Overall aim: to strengthen the capacities of the local government members and their 
organisations from the civil society in the defining, implementation and follow up of 
transversal public policies with the aim of advancing in the fulfilment of the Educating 
Cities Charter. 

Specific goals: 

To offer assessment, advice and training for the new municipal teams that result from 
the electoral processes, as well as to other cities that require it, so as to promote the 
application of the principles of the Educating Cities Charter in their municipal policies. 

To foster the interest and political will with regard to the incorporation of education as 
a transversal axis for the political action. 

To encourage the member cities to incorporate the principles of the Educating City in 
their policies, strategic plans and programmes. 

To promote the commitment as an Educating City as a differential factor. 

The foster the exchange of experiences and mutual learning between the cities, by 
means of the creation of physical and virtual spaces that allow the exchange of 
information, knowledge and methodologies. 

To promote the development of joint projects among various member cities. 

To identify and create a model of best practices. To enable the transferability of model 
Educating City experiences and to evaluate their impact, with the aim of showing 
results. 

To promote onsite and online seminars, so as to reach the greatest number of possible 
members. 


To raise the awareness of diverse councillor's offices/departments/secretariats of the 
local governments, beyond those of education, of their educating potential based on 
programmes and initiatives that they are already carrying out; as well as various agents 
from the civil society. 

Designing indicators so as to assess the degree of commitment and progress in relation 
to the Educating Cities Charter (self-assessment). 

 

 

3. To make an in-depth reflection. 

Overall aim: to promote the reflection around the concept of the Educating City and to 
develop its application in various fields. 

Specific goals: 

To produce documents that contribute to the development of the concept of the 
Educating City by means of the reflection, the analysis of the new situations faced by 
the cities as a result of globalisation, and of the best practices of various cities, and to 
spread them inside and outside the network. 

To request articles, documents and collaborations from experts so as to spread the 
concept of Educating City and their position regarding specific topics, incorporating 
territorial sensibilities. 

To encourage faculties and universities from the member cities to promote spaces of 
reflection and training about the city as an educational agent. 

To continue with the current publications for promoting debate and reflection. 

To organise international, regional and national congresses and meetings of cities, with 
the participation of experts from different fields so as to debate and exchange new 
points of view and to learn, based on specific experiences carried out by the cities. 

To provide greater diffusion of the learning generated from the International 
Congresses. 

 

 


 

4. To consolidate the IAEC as a global network. 

Overall aim: to consolidate the IAEC as a global network with the capacity for 
strengthening and providing support for the work carried out by its member cities. 

Specific goals: 

To spread the proposals of educating cities to new territories through the Secretariat 
of the IAEC, the territorial networks, the members of the Executive Committee and 
associations of local governments, with the aim of promoting the incorporation of new 
cities in the Association. 

To promote the translation of publications, articles, declarations and other documents 
and support materials generated by the IAEC, in as many languages as possible so as to 
achieve greater outreach. 

To boost the existing territorial networks and to promote the creation of new 
networks in those territories with a significant number of members. 

To consolidate the governance, the participation of the members and the shared 
responsibility. 

To promote the collective intelligence and the networking between the member cities, 
by means of the use of information and communication technologies. 

To gain visibility and enable access to the information and documentation of the IAEC 
and its members through the permanent updating of the website and opportune 
technological improvements. 

To provide support to the initiatives carried out by the member cities. 

To facilitate access to information about initiatives of member cities that promote the 
fulfilment of the principles of the Charter, included in the databank. 

To produce and publish a world calendar with the aim of giving visibility to the 
educating city activities carried out by the various local governments of the 
Association, highlighting their commitment to the Charter and encouraging other cities 
to join. 

To evaluate in a continual way the services provided by the Association, by its 
members.