By Cecilia Nasmith
Fresh from Chicago for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway conference, Cobourg Mayor Lucas Cleveland will soon be heading to India.
At Monday's council meeting, Cleveland shared a letter inviting him to the U20 Mayors' Summit July 5 through 8. This event will be held prior to the September G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi. Looking at topics up for discussion – such as encouraging environmentally responsible behaviour and ensuring water accessibility and equality – he called it an exciting line-up.
Cleveland credited Chief Administrative Officer Tracey Vaughan and Municipal Clerk Brent Larmer, citing the contacts they recently made in Sri Lanka on a project co-ordinated in conjunction with the Canadian Federation of Municipalities.
Vaughan said the focus had been women in governance, as well as equity, diversity and inclusion.
“We made some really phenomenal contacts with their umbrella agency, and the CEO of their organization has excellent ties with India,” she said.
Hearing of Cobourg's work in ensuring best practices, the CEO became interested in sponsoring the municipality to attend as a representative of a small North American town – though Vaughan noted that they are inviting representatives of municipalities from around the world (mentioning Los Angeles as an example).
“This opportunity is fully funded by the government of India, so there is no cost to the taxpayers of Cobourg,” Vaughan added.
“It's amazing how quickly things happen when you have the opportunity to build relationships, and we are incredibly blessed to see this invitation come through,” she said.
“It's an opportunity to build relationships and talk about strategic items that are really important to Cobourg.”
