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Concepción del Uruguay, Argentina
Strategically located on the banks of the Uruguay River, Concepción del Uruguay is an important port city at the heart of Mercosur. Its main economic sectors are poultry, industrial forestry, metalwork, chemicals, textiles and tourism. Recently, the software sector has been growing steadily. Five higher education institutions are based in the city, making it a vibrant university city.
groups
City population
82,250
school
Average number of years of schooling
14
person
Member since
2022
Mayor
Mr Martín Oliva
Vision
Through lifelong learning, Concepción del Uruguay aims to: empower individuals to contribute to social cohesion and peacebuilding, and enhance citizens’ economic and cultural development while promoting sustainable development in line with the SDGs and Agenda 2030. The city also seeks to raise awareness among children and adults of the importance of caring for the environment through concrete, permanent learning provision, and by networking with other municipalities to ensure sustainability.
Concepción del Uruguay bets on early childhood, technological development, and environmental care, to promote the growth of an inclusive city committed to sustainability.
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Mr Martín Oliva
Mayor of Concepción del Uruguay
Policies, plan and implementation
Sustainability and health
The Municipal Early Childhood Programme caters to children aged between 45 days and 4 years, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups, to ensure their physical, intellectual and emotional development. To foster sustainability, the city has implemented electronic waste collection campaigns, a solid waste treatment plant and an ecological brickworks.
Equity and inclusion
The municipality promotes a process of inclusion and equity to improve skills and opportunities among those who are disadvantaged due to their social status, age, race/ethnicity, gender, special needs, religion and/or sexual orientation. Of particular note are the city’s gender-aware Municipal Lifelong Training Programme and its partnership with the Argentine Paralympic Committee.
Decent work and entrepreneurship
Multiple initiatives have been implemented to foster entrepreneurship and decent work, such as computer programming courses for young people, zero-interest loans for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the promotion of the Network for Entrepreneurship on the Uruguayan Coast, and training in trades for people who have not completed secondary education.
Good practices
Technology campus initiative, 'The Cloud'
The campus will initially host 12 technology companies and rent out spaces to independent consultants and one-person start-ups. It will also provide spaces to accommodate offices to liaise with universities and other institutions.
Integrating Community Centre (CIC)
The centre provides integral education, health and recreation services, and focuses on early childhood. The facilities are being expanded to include a new kindergarten, an early years activity centre, a multipurpose room, and a micro-cinema. The location of the centre was chosen strategically to ensure the decentralization of services.
Concepcion Programmers
The initiative offers training in computer programming for people over 18 years of age. It is managed in cooperation with the National Technical University (Universidad Tecnológica Nacional) and the software company, Bombieri.