MAYORS' LEADERSHIP FORUM LAUNCHES THE GOVTECH MANIFESTO - PUTTING PEOPLE AND NATURE IN THE CORE OF THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Date
Thu, 05/21/2026
May 7th, Madrid, Spain — At the Govtech 4 Impact World Congress 2026 the first
Mayors` Leadership Forum took place where governmental leaders from across
Europe and the United States joined forces to define the moonshot for GovTech:
starting with citizens in the center, a coordinated, market-shaping approach that
positions cities and regions as active market shapers in the global GovTech industry.
Together with the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), the
European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC) and the European Commission, the
result is the GovTech Manifesto and action plan — a shared vision to realize the green,
digital and social transformation for cities and regions through GovTech.
The Manifesto focuses on breakthrough interventions to accelerate the GovTech market in
which the Digital Transformations supports the societal challenges of citizens and communities. Grapsing the full potential of emerging technologies, while safeguarding the public interest.
By working on shared solutions for societal challenges and aligning demand through open
standards and building capabilities across governance levels, the coalition aims to unlock
public purchasing power, shared investment and turn governments from buyers into active market shapers — driving economic growth, climate-positive outcomes and meaningful value for citizens. "In times of rapid change and growing societal challenges, cities and regions should serve as trusted anchors for their citizens," says Rian van Dam, one of the leaders behind the Manifesto.
"As soon as you thought you know the answer, they change the question. That is why
cities and regions must step up — as places where people, nature and democratic values
are atthe centre of every decision and define the questions of tomorrow."
The Mayors’ Leadership Forum is intentionally built as a focused leadership coalition,
bringing together Mayors, city leaders and institutional leaders committed to shaping
direction and delivering impact. Rooted in Europe and designed to scale globally, the
initiative connects leading cities and institutions with shared instruments — procurement
frameworks, funding mechanisms and innovation ecosystems such as European Digital
Innovation Hubs and regulatory sandboxes — so that ambition can be translated into
implementation.
"This is about building new, old cities for generations to come,” van Dam adds. “Places
that learn, listen and adapt, and that take responsibility beyond individual mandates."
The Manifesto serves as the foundation for a structured Action Plan, built on
interconnected building blocks that will be put into action over the coming year, with the
first wave of progress to be reported at the next edition of the Forum. Cities, regions and
institutions are invited to join as co-shapers of a new GovTech ecosystem.
"This is courageous leadership in action," van Dam concludes. "This is the future the world
deserves — starting in Europe and scaling globally.”
“This manifesto outlines the principles to enable the use of technological advances to
deliver core services that are both people centred and resource efficient. The outcomes
will deliver a better quality of life for our citizens.”
— Tony Dyer
Leader of Bristol, UK
“Europe doesn’t need more pilots — it needs shared infrastructures to scale innovation.
That’s what Granada is building.”
— Vito Episcopo
Deputy Mayor of Granada, Spain
“In times of rapid change and growing societal challenges, cities should serve as trusted
anchors for their citizens. Smart cities must always serve people first and must be
trusted — using technology not for its own sake, but to help us live better, more
connected and more sustainable lives with fewer resources. That is why I am proud to
contribute to the shaping of this Manifesto.”
— Matjaž Rakovec
Mayor of Kranj, Slovenia
“GovTech 4 Impact demonstrates what is possible when global leaders move beyond
dialogue and focus on execution, partnership, and meaningful public impact.
The U.S. Roundtable is proud to help ensure U.S. Mayors are represented at the global
table, amplifying their voice while connecting transformative innovation, AI and trusted
technology collaboration to the communities and families that need it most.”
— George Burciaga
Managing Partner, The U.S. Roundtable, LLC
“Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard is honored to join global leaders at the GovTech 4
Impact World Congress and contribute to shaping a shared GovTech Manifesto. Mount
Vernon is also advancing this work through Elevate Gov AI with the U.S. Mayors
Roundtable. Across continents and cities of all sizes, we share a common challenge: using technology to make government more efficient, responsive, and impactful. This requires
reducing bureaucracy, accelerating innovation, and strengthening cross-sector
partnerships to deliver real improvements in quality of life for our residents.”
—Shawyn Patterson-Howard
Mayor of Mount Vernon, NY, USA
About the Mayors' Leadership Forum (G4I Madrid 2026)
The Mayors' Leadership Forum
brings together a select group of mayors, city leaders and institutional partners, in
collaboration with European institutions including the European Commission (Joint
Research Centre), CEMR and EDIC. It marks a shift from dialogue to coordinated
execution — aligning demand, capabilities and collaboration across cities and institutions
to move from fragmented efforts to a shared system that delivers real impact.
Chaired by Rian Van Dam, Mayor of Hollands Kroon, the Netherlands, the Forum brought
together:
• Jacek Jaśkowiak, Mayor of Poznań, Poland
• Mario de Mezzo, Mayor of Slatina, Romania
• Predrag Puharić, Deputy Mayor of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Rian Van Dam, Mayor of Hollands Kroon, the Netherlands
• Tony Dyer, Leader of Bristol City Council, UK
• Vito Episcopo, Deputy Mayor of Granada, Spain
• Shawyn Patterson-Howard, Mayor of Mount Vernon, New York, USA
• Matjaž Rakovec, Mayor of Kranj, Slovenia
• Jörk Cardeneo, Councillor of Düsseldorf, Germany
• José de la Uz Pardos, Mayor of Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain
• Angel Niño, Council for Innovation and Entreprenuership, Madrid City Council
• Inmaculada Sanz, Deputy Mayor, Madrid City Council
• Fernando de Pablo, Digital Office Director, City of Madrid, Spain
• Federica Bordelot, Director Impact C Policy CEMR
• Nathan Ducastel, Director VNG, the Netherlands
• Jan Wester, Director LDT C Citiverse EDIC
• George Burciaga, Managing Partner at the U.S. Roundtable, LLC
