Local and regional governments around the world are at the forefront of the COVID-19 crisis, working together with communities and health authorities to mitigate the outbreak while maintaining an orderly functioning of public services in their cities and territories. 

As local and regional authorities try to address urban issues during and after the crisis, they need to address extremely challenging questions, such as: What are the pressing needs of the most vulnerable communities?; How do we ensure a safe return to social and economic life?; How do we address the increase in unemployment, poverty and inequality?

These questions can’t be answered by a single town, city or region. Now, more than ever, it is time to come together and leverage our collective power to exchange ideas, resources, and knowledge to respond to the immediate needs of urban citizens and also to re-imagine the cities that we want to build after the crisis.

With that purpose in mind, UCLG, Metropolis and UN-Habitat launched, on March 2020, the Live Learning Experiences, a series of 17 sessions covering the different areas in which local and regional governments will have to work to guarantee the safety and well-being of all citizens, during the crisis and in its aftermath.