Dear friends and colleagues,

In its effort to support partners throughout the globe in responding and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, Local2030 is thrilled to announce the launch of the Local2030 Spotlight Series.

Why the Spotlight Series?

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in tragic impacts on all aspects of human life—it is far more than just a health crisis. Livelihoods are under threat, education systems are facing unprecedented upheavals, and stock markets and the global economy are experiencing serious losses.  

While the crisis is global, it is at the local level where its impacts are felt most strongly – and where solutions must be found and implemented. Regions, cities and communities are on the frontline of the fight against the virus, exploring innovative measures and policies, producing knowledge and sharing experiences among peers. Every region, city and community must be prepared to respond to and recover from the crisis.

Local2030 is convinced that local efforts are essential to win the fight against COVID-19 and that the SDGs offer a framework to do so. To support local action, Local2030 supports partners in collaborating and sharing knowledge and expertise to respond to and recover from COVID-19. This Spotlight Series will help to shine a spotlight on the challenges faced, solutions developed, and partnerships enhanced, at the local level, in the fight against COVID-19. Videos can be recorded with a simple smartphone or camera and uploaded to Dropbox or shared via Twitter.

What is the Local2030 Spotlight Series?

The Local2030 Spotlight Series aims to facilitate experience and knowledge sharing among stakeholders involved in the local response to the COVID-19 crisis through short videos. Partners and stakeholders around the world are invited to prepare and share 2-minute video contributions highlighting their perspectives on the main challenges and innovative solutions developed at the local level to fight the outbreak.  

A different topic of particular relevance for regions, cities and communities is addressed every week.

Community groups, governments and public institutions, civil society organisations, business, academia, foundations, international organizations, and all those active in cities and communities, are invited to share a short video (2 minutes maximum) to share their vision, challenges, priorities and solutions in relation to the weekly topic. 

Week 1: Housing and Shelter

For its first week, the Local2030 Spotlight Series is launching a debate on Housing and Shelter.

With a world in lockdown, adequate housing is crucial for adherence to physical distancing and hygiene guidelines. But many people—including slum dwellers, the homeless, and the urban poor—lack reliable access to the safety and protection afforded by adequate housing. A lack of access to private outdoor space and overcrowding can also heighten stress and the risk of depression in coping with a lockdown.

We would like to hear how your community is addressing the issue of housing in the context of Covid-19.

• How is the pandemic affecting people with varying access to adequate housing, in your community? Are specific areas affected more than others?
• What main challenges your community has been facing?
• How can we ensure that all are safe and protected from the spread of Covid-19, including the homeless and those living in overcrowded conditions or poor quality housing without adequate sanitation or open space?
• What are the most promising solutions that have been adopted?
• How are local authorities working hand in hand with communities and their representatives to meet the needs of the most vulnerable?

Share you video and tell us you experience. Start interacting with the Local2030 global community!

Videos will be gathered by the Local2030 Secretariat and shared on the Local2030 online platform and social media. They will feed into the Local2030 partners calls and the global debate on the local response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Click on the video below and listen to what Shipra Narang Suri, Chief of Urban Practices of UN-Habitat has to say on the Local2030 Spotlight Initiative. 

How can you participate?

Participating is easy!

Record your video using your phone or camera and share it directly with us via Twitter or Dropbox!

• Local2030 Dropbox: Record your video and upload it by simply clicking on this link. Videos will be shared on the Local2030 YouTube channel and some also on the Local2030 twitter account.

NB: by uploading your video on Drobpox you are giving us your consent to republish it on our social media channels and use it as part of our advocacy efforts.

• Twitter: Record your video and share it on twitter using our hashtags! For this week’s Spotlight the hashtags are #Local2030 #SpotlightHousing . Local2030 will retweet the most relevant videos and make your voice heard within the global community.

For the first week, the deadline for uploading videos is Tuesday 28 April 2020.

When recording and uploading the video, please bear in mind the following requirements:

• Tell us your name, position and institution (include them in the video title or description if you are uploading the video on Dropbox)
• Length: Videos must be maximum 2 minutes length. 
• Resolution: maximum resolution is 1920 x 1200 or 1200 x 1900 
• Format: MP4 or MOV 
• Size: maximum file size is 512MB  

For any question related to your participation and technical support please contact martino.miraglia@un.org and maritza.formisano@un.org.

Should you want to know more about the work of Local2030 please visit our website and the dedicated page to Local2030 response to COVID-19.

Looking forward to receiving your videos and to your contribution to the Local2030 global debate!

Kind regards

The Local2030 Team