Mayor Piia Elo participates in international Bloomberg LSE City Leadership Program
The program is led by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and delivered by LSE Cities and Hertie School University in Berlin.
Turku has been selected to join the first edition of the Bloomberg LSE European City Leadership Program. This professional leadership training program brings together city leaders from across Europe in London, focusing on modern governance and strategic city management.
The Bloomberg LSE European City Leadership Program provides cities with cutting-edge strategies, expertise, and networks to address today’s urban challenges. Turku’s Mayor Piia Elo is among the selected participants, which include 30 mayors and 60 city officials hail from 17 countries, serving over 21 million residents. From Finland, the participating city leaders are Piia Elo (Turku), Daniel Sazonov (Helsinki), and Niko Kyynäräinen (Lahti).
Mayor Elo is currently attending the first in-person session in London, which begins today, October 6. The program lasts for nine months and begins with collaborative sessions alongside international experts and city leaders, including Sadiq Khan (Mayor of London), Michael R. Bloomberg (former Mayor of New York City), and Ricky Burdett (Director of LSE Cities at the London School of Economics).
The European Bloomberg LSE initiative builds on the global Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, in which Turku has also participated. The program is led by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and delivered by LSE Cities and Hertie School University in Berlin.
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The program offers cities pioneering expertise to solve shared urban challenges and modernize public services. It focuses on key areas that matter most to residents, such as housing, transport, and youth engagement, while creating opportunities for collaboration and exchange between cities.
"It’s both a success and an honor for Turku to be part of this program. It recognizes the essential role cities play in solving complex problems, and its priorities align well with Turku’s strategic goals. Our work in the program will focus on preventing segregation and increasing inclusion, especially among young people, which are central to my mayoral agenda," said Mayor Piia Elo.
City Leadership as a Driver of Change
Across Europe, leadership attention is increasingly shifting toward local governance.
"We continue to expand our municipal leadership programs globally because we’ve seen how effectively they work—and we want more cities to benefit. We’re proud to join forces with the London School of Economics and Political Science and the Hertie School in this initiative. Together, we’re equipping city leaders with the tools, training, and peer networks they need to successfully tackle their greatest challenges," said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies, and the 108th Mayor of New York City.
Today, many national and global policy solutions depend increasingly on effective local action. Cities not only manage basic services but must also respond to climate change, address housing needs, control rising costs, and meet growing social service demands.
According to the latest Eurocities survey, 86% of mayors report that their cities must develop innovative approaches to fulfill key responsibilities despite limited resources. Two-thirds identified strong leadership and commitment from top management as critical success factors.
"The most complex and pressing challenges emerge in cities—and so do the keys to solving them. European city leaders want to lead the way, but tackling these unique issues and seizing new opportunities requires sharp leadership, strong teams, and innovation capacity. These are precisely the needs the Bloomberg LSE European City Leadership Program is designed to address," said Larry Kramer, President of the London School of Economics.
The program’s next session will take place in Berlin in December. From Turku, Markus Kalmari (Director of Sports Services) and Pasi Ahola (City Secretary) will participate. They are part of a ten-member Turku team developing new solutions to reduce segregation and strengthen community inclusion with the support of the program. The initiative aims to leverage urban planning, sports, and leisure activities to enhance social cohesion and vitality across Turku.