Bridging Cities and Building Partnerships: The LKYWCP Network’s Inaugural Mayoral Fellowship

Beginning the Mayoral Fellowship Journey

The inaugural cohort comprised four Mayoral Fellows: Ms Hemlata Diwakar (Mayor of Agra, India), Mr Ciprian Ciucu (Mayor of Bucharest, Romania), Mr Samuel Dusengiyumva (Mayor of Kigali, Rwanda), and Dr Nasiphi Moya (Mayor of Tshwane, South Africa); alongside two Visiting Fellows – Ms Anne Hidalgo (former Mayor of Paris, France) and Mr Jan Vapaavuori (former Mayor of Helsinki, Finland) – who brought their experience as former city leaders to support peer exchange and mentorship.

Convening in Singapore for the first time, the Fellows embarked on a bespoke programme alongside their participation in the wider WCS. Through leadership dialogues, expert presentations and hosted site visits, they gained first-hand insights into Singapore’s urban development journey while engaging Singapore’s leaders and urban practitioners and connecting with the wider LKYWCP Network.

The programme commenced with an opening session that set the stage for the exchanges, collaboration and relationships that will unfold over the course of the year. This was followed by an introduction to Singapore's urban development journey by Ms Adele Tan, then-Chief Planner at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), who provided the Fellows with an overview of the long-term planning principles that have shaped Singapore's transformation over the decades. Drawing on examples from their own cities, both the Mayoral and Visiting Fellows also shared their perspectives on common urban challenges and reflected on how different planning approaches have shaped the development of their cities.

Mayoral Fellows and Visiting Fellows at the Welcome Session of the bespoke Mayoral Fellowship Programme, with presentation and gallery tour hosted by URA

Experiencing Singapore’s Urban Development in Practice

The Fellows met senior and key urban agency leaders from the Ministry of National Development (MND), Housing & Development Board (HDB), URA, JTC Corporation (JTC) and PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, and Singapore Institute of Technology’s (SIT) Deputy President (Administration) & Chief Financial Officer, Ronnie Tay, over a welcome lunch hosted by Singapore’s Senior Minister of State, Ministry of National Development and Ministry of Transport, Sun Xueling.

This was an opportunity for the cohort to connect and exchange experiences as city leaders. In her opening address, Ms Sun highlighted the value of city-to-city learning and collaboration in addressing shared urban challenges. The Fellows were also introduced to SIT’s role within the Punggol Digital District and its integration of education, industry and community within the wider district.

Welcome Lunch hosted by Senior Minister of State for National Development, Sun Xueling, at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT)

Building on these exchanges, the cohort embarked on a series of site visits to experience how Singapore’s long-term planning approaches have been translated into practice. At Punggol Digital District, hosted by David Tan, JTC’s Assistant Chief Executive Officer, they explored the development of Singapore’s first enterprise district integrating business, academia and the community, and learnt how planning and partnerships are being brought together to support innovation and the future economy. The visit to Punggol also included a presentation and autonomous vehicle (AV) experience hosted by Nicholas Ng, Director for the Centre for Autonomous Mobility, Land Transport Authority (LTA), which provided insights into Singapore’s evolving mobility landscape and the potential role of autonomous vehicles in shaping the future of urban mobility.

Hosted Site Visits by Agencies JTC, HDB and LTA

At Punggol Point Cove, HDB’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Johnny Wong, shared about Singapore’s approach to planning and delivering liveable and inclusive public housing neighbourhoods, including how housing is integrated with amenities and community spaces to meet residents’ everyday needs.

Across the visits, the Fellows engaged directly with Singapore’s planners and practitioners, providing opportunities for the Fellows to relate Singapore’s experience to their own cities and exchange perspectives on how different approaches could be adapted to their respective urban contexts.

Building Connections at the World Cities Summit and with the LKYWCP Network

The Fellowship extended into the wider WCS 2026, where Mayoral Fellows participated in key sessions such as the Mayors Forum and Mayoral Site Visits. These platforms connected them with a broader community of mayors, city leaders and urban experts, expanding opportunities for knowledge exchange and relationship-building. Visiting Fellows also brought their wealth of city leadership experience to the Summit through various plenaries and roundtables, enabling their perspectives and lessons as former city leaders to reach a broader international audience.

At the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize Lunch, both Mayoral and Visiting Fellows joined the wider LKYWCP Network community, where Singapore’s Minister for National Development, Chee Hong Tat, highlighted the Fellowship as a platform for city leaders and Prize awardees to build stronger partnerships. Together with the Research Fellowship and Urban Leaders Fellowship, these exchanges strengthen the LKYWCP Network as a community of practice for cities to learn from one another.

Inaugural Cohort of the Mayoral Fellowship at WCS

Creating Space for Leadership Exchange and Reflection

The programme culminated with a Fireside Chat led by the Visiting Fellows and a Reflections Session with the Mayoral Fellows, held at the Malay Heritage Centre. In an intimate setting, the cohort exchanged perspectives on the realities of city leadership and governance, including implementing a vision for and with its people, balancing trade-offs, and navigating their growth as mayors. The Visiting Fellows offered candid lessons from their leadership journeys, while the Mayoral Fellows shared experiences from their respective cities and reflected on key takeaways from the Fellowship and WCS 2026.

Fireside Chat led by Visiting Fellows and Reflections by Mayoral Fellows

The programme concluded with a Closing Lunch hosted by Singapore’s Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Mayor, South West District, Low Yen Ling.

Reflecting on the preceding days, Ms Low encouraged the Fellows to view their experience not simply as a series of site visits and discussions, but as the beginning of a global community grounded in collaboration, openness and shared learning. The gathering celebrated the relationships forged during this Fellowship journey, setting the stage for continued exchanges throughout the year.

Closing Lunch hosted by Senior Minister of State Low Yen Ling

Looking Ahead

The Fellows’ first convening in Singapore marks the beginning of the inaugural Mayoral Fellowship. The Centre for Liveable Cities looks forward to continuing this journey with the Fellows, deepening the relationships forged and creating further opportunities to learn from one another and the wider knowledge and experiences across the LKYWCP Network.

Contributed by Reanna Francisco, Manager, Research