Lagos, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Cape Town and Paynesville are part of the 37 countries that form the last cohort to join the 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) Network.
Pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation, (100RC) is dedicated to helping cities around the world become more resilient to the physical, social and economic challenges that are a growing part of the 21st century.
Together with a prominent group of mayors from around the world, The Rockefeller Foundation President Dr. Judith Rodin and 100RC President Michael Berkowitz announced the newest cities to join the $164 million (USD) global initiative at joint events in Nairobi, Kenya andWashington, DC.
Through three challenge processes since its inception in 2013, 100RC has received more than 1,000 applications to join its Network, including 325 in this most recent challenge.
As members of the 100RC Network, cities receive grant funding to hire a Chief Resilience Officer (CRO), an innovative new position within municipal government to work directly with city leaders in developing a city Resilience Strategy. The strategy, designed with support from 100RC, helps cities plan for more integrated solutions to the challenges posed from globalization, urbanization, and climate change – including important social and economic impacts.
The 100RC Network provides member cities with greater than $200 million (USD) in direct support from the 100RC Platform of Partners, which provides critical tools, services, and technical assistance from organizations like Swiss Re, Microsoft, the World Bank, and the International Rescue Committee. And cities in the 100RC Network are connected through a peer-to-peer network, leading to groundbreaking cross-city partnerships and solutions. Notably, in the fall of 2015, 100RC hosted a Network Exchange in Rotterdam, the Netherlands – which aggregated challenges from across the 100RC Network on water management issues to learn from leading water experts and bring solutions home to cities as diverse as Berkeley, Calif. and Surat, India.
“The 100 Resilient Cities Network is showing the global community a new way of coping with shared, complex challenges – building urban resilience,” said Dr. Judith Rodin, President of The Rockefeller Foundation. “Incorporating resilience planning and principles not only prepares cities for disasters and long-term threats, but also improves everyday living standards for all members of an urban community. The geographical, political, and cultural diversity in the now-complete 100RC network demonstrates that when it comes to dealing with this century’s toughest challenges, resilience planning is essential.”
“Since 100RC’s founding in 2013, we have seen the resilience movement grow from a bold idea into a burgeoning fixture of local governments all over the world,” said Michael Berkowitz, President of 100 Resilient Cities. “We are proud today to celebrate the fulfillment of our initial commitment to reach 100 cities – but the real work lies ahead. The threshold of success for 100RC will not solely be progress within our network of 100 cities. Instead, it will be the ability for solutions to scale, and for all cities around the world to build off of the innovative work leveraged by these 100 Resilient Cities through implementation of their Resilience Strategies.”
A list of the full 100RC network is available here. Nigeria has two countries in the list – Enugu and Lagos