The Global Parliament of Mayors is proud to welcome five new GPM Mayors: Beira, Dakar, Freetown, Nijmegen and Rotterdam. GPM mayors will cooperate on critical issues such as migration, refugee protection, health, pandemic disease, social inclusion and urban security, and will connect with experts in relevant fields and expert organisations around the world. We believe mayors represent the true voices on behalf of their cities. All GPM Mayors receive access to the Mayors group at the  exclusive Virtual Platform. The GPM developed this virtual platform, to enable decision making, networking and exchanging practical solutions among member cities without costly travel.

Mayor Daviz Simango 
Beira, Mozambique

Mayor Daviz Simango of the city Beira, Mozambique joins the GPM as new member. Through the Mozambique Cities and Climate Change Project, Mayor Simango has been a supported of transforming Beira into green infrastructure. The city has strengthened its resilience to weather-related hazards. This project, funded by IDA (World Bank) has resulted in a 70% reduction in the risk of flooding. Mayor Simango is also the winner of the Dr Benjamin Barber Global Cities Award and received the award at the GPM Summit in Bristol 2018 for his action oriented policy against corruption and for governmental transparancy. Mayor Simango, dedicated the Benjamin Barber award to all young leaders, believing that is it the youth that can change the world.

Mayor Soham El Wardini 
Dakar, Senegal

Mayor Soham El Wardini joins the GPM as the first female Mayor of Dakar, the Senegalese capital. Mayor El Wardini is member of the Board of Directors of Metropolis and has joined the C40 Cities Finance Facility. Mayor El Wardini is a supporter of sustainable food systems by connecting the capital to peripheries and rural areas. Senegal is the next host city of the Youth Olympics, which makes the first African city to host an olympic event. Last year Mayor El Wardini accepted the Olympic flag from IOC President and will host the event in 2022.

Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr
Freetown, Sierra Leone

Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr became Freetown’s first female mayor in three decades. At the GPM Summit in Bristol she participated as panelist for the Migration session. More recently, Mayor Aki-Sawyerr launched the Mayors Migration Council MCC, together with fellow GPM Mayors of Amman and Bristol. She also participated in the session Woman in Leadership, a debate with female global Mayors. Further, Mayor Aki-Sawyerr has contributed on health advocacy, as she received a presidential medal for her commitment on sensitization on the deadly Ebola virus. This was after the campaign which was led by her in the UK to increase international awareness of the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone and to advocate for volunteers to work in the Ebola Treatment Centers.

Mayor Hubert Bruls
Nijmegen, the Netherlands

Hubert Bruls is Mayor of the city Nijmegen in the Netherlands which won the prestigious title of European Green Capital of the year 2018. Mayor Bruls is chair of the Economic Board. As head responsible for security in the city Nijmegen, Mayor Bruls participated as panelist at the session on strengthening urban security through city leadership at the GPM Summit in Bristol, 2018. This session focused on the physical, digital and political components of urban security, and the priorities city leaders have for collective action.

Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb
Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Ahmed Aboutaleb is Mayor of the Rotterdam, the Netherlands participated at the GPM Inaugural Convening 2016 where the governance legitimacy of the GPM was established together with the launch of the Hague Declaration. Mayor Aboutaleb is a strong defender of freedom of expression, freedom of religion and the principle of non-discrimination. Mayor Aboutaleb is also member of the Executive Committee of EUROCITIES.