Mayors of Dhaka North and Montevideo Join Mayors Migration Council’s Leadership Board

Today, the Mayors Migration Council (MMC) welcomed two new members to its Leadership Board, the governing body providing strategic direction to the organization committed to accelerating ambitious global action on migration and displacement. The addition of Mayor Md. Atiqul Islam of Dhaka North, Bangladesh, and Mayor Carolina Cosse of Montevideo, Uruguay, brings the Leadership Board’s overall membership from eight to ten mayors and expands its representativeness from four to six regions. 

Md. Atiqul Islam was elected Mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation in 2019. As the Vice-Chair of C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, he has shown leadership as a founding member and Co-lead of the C40-MMC Global Mayors Task Force on Climate and Migration, working to accelerate global responses to the climate crisis and human mobility. 

“I am honored to join the MMC Leadership Board and represent the perspective of a region that is underrepresented in international networks,” said Mayor Islam. “I look forward to keeping raising the profile of the Mayors Migration Council as a thought-leader on climate migration and strengthening the fruitful partnership built with C40 Cities over the past few years.”

Carolina Cosse has served as the Intendant of Montevideo since November 2020. President of the Latin American and Caribbean Coalition of Cities Against Racism, Discrimination, and Xenophobia, Mayor Cosse is a renowed international champion of issues ranging from inclusive pandemic response to gender- and child-sensitive approaches. 

“I am thrilled to become part of this international leadership group of like-minded mayors and increase the voice of non-megacities in the Leadership Board,” said Mayor Cosse. “As the Mayors Migration Council explores new thematic priorities to take on in 2023, I think there is a great potential to increase our focus on migrant and refugee mothers and children, the future of our cities.”

In their new leadership role, Mayor Islam and Mayor Cosse will ensure that the MMC’s mission and mandate are driven by and responsive to the needs of cities. Today, they join an esteemed group of visionary mayors:

• Yousef Shawarbeh, Mayor of Amman, Jordan; 
• Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, United Kingdom; 
• Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone; 
• Erias Lukwago, Mayor of Kampala, Uganda; 
• Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles, United States; 
• Giuseppe Sala, Mayor of Milan, Italy;
• Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montréal, Canada; and 
• Corine Mauch, Mayor of Zürich, Switzerland

“On behalf of the Mayors Migration Council, I am proud to welcome Mayor Islam and Mayor Cosse to our Leadership Board,” said MMC Executive Director Vittoria Zanuso. “I look forward to working closely with these exceptional leaders whose record is a testament to their dedication to migrants and refugees who call Dhaka North and Montevideo home.” 

Mayor Islam and Mayor Cosse were officially appointed for a three-year term during today’s Annual Meeting of the Leadership Board, which took place today on the sidelines of the 2022 United Nations International Migration Review Forum. 

This week, mayors are in New York City to launch a Call to Local Action for Migrants and Refugees and deliver critical momentum to world leaders tasked with the first-ever review of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM). 

About the Mayors Migration Council

The Mayors Migration Council (MMC) is a mayor-led advisory and advocacy organization that aims to accelerate ambitious global action on migration and displacement through city diplomacy and practice, creating the conditions for urban migrants, displaced people, and receiving communities to thrive.

To fulfill our vision, we support mayors to i) access and influence State-led diplomatic processes most relevant to migration and displacement; ii) secure financial and technical resources to implement global migration and displacement goals locally, including through the Global Cities Fund; iii) elevate mayoral leadership on the international stage through global communications; iv) generate and disseminate knowledge grounded in local experiences; and v) build relationships with local and global champions.

Created by mayors for mayors, we are a nimble team of political advisors and urban practitioners led by a Leadership Board of global city leaders, including the mayors of Amman, Bristol, Dhaka North, Freetown, Kampala, Los Angeles, Milan, Montevideo, Montreal, and Zürich. We are managed as a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and operate with the institutional support of the Open Society Foundations, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the Robert Bosch Stiftung, in addition to other project-based donors.

To learn more, please visit our website or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.