Climate change, the pandemic, rising populism, the war in Ukraine, social polarisation and economic decline: our world is going through an age of permanent crisis. They can seem too complex to tackle, but it is local communities that are best placed to deal with them.

Municipalities are drivers of innovation. They can identify the needs of the community, experiment with solutions, and respond quickly to unexpected developments. It is at the local level that participatory innovation happens, showing citizens how sustainable, tangible change can improve all of our lives.

This doesn’t happen by itself. It calls for committed individuals to lead the way and take risks for transformative action. Leaders who build broad coalitions and implement smart, sustainable, context-sensitive policies.

The ACT NOW Mayor’s Conference is a place for just such leaders. It offers expertise, new perspectives, and ideas, as well as a supportive community and knowledge transfer to inspire them to make a difference back home.

That is why, the ACT NOW Mayors’ Conference
– connects a unique community of local leaders
– allows for knowledge exchange between metropoles, towns and villages
– focuses on how to bridge the gap between knowing and doing
– engages diverse participants that meet and interact at eye-level
– creates a unique learning journey for local leaders

At ACT NOW we strongly believe that local innovation can only happen together: With the local communities – for the local communities.

MEET OUR TEAM

Find out what excites us most at ACT NOW and why we do what we do.
Any questions? Contact us!

Mathis Dippon
“We all know that transformative action is needed. We aim to bridge the gap between knowing and doing. Collaborative local innovation is the best means to shape this change.”
Claire Clifford
“What’s special about the ACT NOW Mayor’s Conference is that politicians can work together across borders finding solutions to common challenges – it’s better together!”
Marie Wutzler
“We can’t solve worldwide challenges independently. Now is the time for collaboration and bringing people together in a goal-oriented way.”
Martina Fürrutter
“We foster exchange between policy-makers, experts and young people because we believe that only together we can find tangible solutions to pressing problems.”
Laura Giesen
“Dealing with the pandemic and addressing climate change both require us to do things in radically different ways. We believe that local participatory processes are most effective at generating the necessary level of courage and trust.”
Amadea Horvath
“People believe in things they can see, feel and understand. Local politics is the most effective way to make democracy visible, tangible and accessible. So let’s drive forward local action because we really need people to believe in democracy.”