News / Politics
Rees: ‘Bristol must think globally and act locally’
Marvin Rees has reiterated the need for his role as city mayor to encompass international as well as local issues as he revealed more about his latest visit to the USA.
Rees met the mayor of New York, Eric Adams, in September, as well as attending Global Goals Week which took place alongside the United Nations General Assembly.
Rees’ latest register of interests (published on September 26, four days after the photo below) reveals that he is paid an “honorarium” from 17 Rooms, an initiative from the Brookings Institution and The Rockefeller Foundation described as “an experiment to stimulate new forms of action” for the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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“Working for the interests of Bristol means being committed to getting stuff done within the city’s boundaries,” Rees wrote in his latest mayoral blog.
“But it also means shaping the national and international context in which we work. Simply, we must think globally and act locally.
“National and international policy and global events directly affect Bristol’s residents every day, and we are a globally connected city.
“Bristol has a leadership responsibility not just to work for our own good, but for that of our country and our planet.”
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Read more: YTL have paid for flights, a hotel and meals for Rees in last seven months
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Rees said that alongside attending the Global Goals Week, he was in New York “to represent Bristol”.
“The wider trip further supported the Council’s international strategy: promoting trade; continuing working with other cities ahead of COP27; and supporting Bristol organisations’ international ambitions.”
He added that Bristol has been “on the forefront of the SDG movement among cities” with its “international reputation… one of the reasons I was invited to New York.”
“We have led on the argument that delivery of the SDGs will not succeed if left to national governments alone, but must be driven through cities. I spoke at the 17 Rooms… flagship summit and attended the UN General Assembly ‘Business as Usual’ discussion.”
Rees also attended the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Goalkeepers event alongside Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, the mayor of Freetown in Sierra Leone; and was the local government spokesperson at the Emmerson Collective’s launch of the Climate Migration Council.
At his meeting with Adams, he wrote that they “talked about the standing that he has, as the Mayor of New York, one of the world’s most prominent cities, to advance the voice and influence of the world’s cities at COP27 next month”.
“We also discussed further strengthening Bristol’s ties with New York, one of the world’s biggest city economies, and work that we can both do as Mayors of African heritage to reach out to Mayors on the African continent and around the world to support just and sustainable development.”
Rees said that “thanks to our strong international relationships and growing reputation as a global city, partner organisations kindly covered the costs of my outbound and return travel and accommodation”.
His register of interests says that return travel to New York was paid for by the Mayors Migration Council; and his accommodation from New York University, and Terry and Lesley Kahn.
Terry and Lesley Kahn appear to be a married couple who reside in New York City. According to a blog published on Lesley, she is a philanthropist and has an honorary doctorate from the University of Bristol.
The couple also appear to be supporters of Bristol’s Watershed. In 2016, the multi-arts venue thanked Terry and Lesley for their gifting a ‘Watershed Jukebox’, an arcade-style story booth which celebrated and showcased the people and stories of Watershed.
In a 2019 blog, Terry was described as an author, journalist and a communications consultant. He wrote ‘Net Results’ alongside psychologist Jim Loehr, a book focused on junior tennis parenting and coaching, and co-authored the award-winning autobiography of New York police officer Steven MacDonald.
Main photo: Eric Adams
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