The capital of Latvia, Riga, has become the eighteenth city to join the UNBROKEN Cities network. The initiative was launched two years ago by Lviv, Manchester, and Liverpool to foster cooperation among cities in the field of urban resilience and crisis management.

The memorandum on Riga’s accession was signed in Cannes during one of the world’s argest real estate and investment events — MIPIM, currently taking place in France. There, Lviv is presenting projects related to the UNBROKEN ecosystem, including attracting investment for the construction of a new surgical building next to St. Panteleimon Hospital.

“More and more cities across Europe realize that communities must be prepared to operate under unpredictable conditions. Geopolitical risks, natural and man-made disasters, pandemics — all of these can occur suddenly. Ukrainian cities are gaining very valuable, albeit painful, experience, and we are ready to share it with our partners,” said Andriy Sadovyy, Lviv City Mayor.

“Riga has been actively supporting Ukraine since the very first days. It is an honor for us to join this network and develop cooperation with partner cities in strengthening community resilience,” said Viesturs Kleinbergs.

“The way Ukrainians are enduring these brutal challenges with dignity and courage is an example to all of us. In April, a delegation of Ukrainian cities will visit us. We aim to deepen cooperation and are ready to share our own experience, particularly in the field of counter-terrorism,” said Andy Burnham, one of the network’s co-founders.

As part of the network, training programs on urban resilience and crisis management are regularly held. One such program took place in Lviv in February 2026, bringing together 18 representatives of European municipalities. Participants studied Ukraine’s experience in protecting and diversifying critical infrastructure, maintaining healthcare and education during wartime, communications, cybersecurity, and emergency response operations.

Background

The UNBROKEN Cities network includes the Ukrainian cities of Lviv and Bucha; the UK cities of Liverpool and Manchester; the German cities of Frankfurt am Main and Würzburg; the French cities of Lyon and Cannes; Mechelen (Belgium), Aarhus (Denmark), Oslo (Norway), Rzeszów (Poland), Timișoara (Romania), Sofia (Bulgaria), Trento (Italy), Kaohsiung (Taiwan), Cleveland (USA), and Riga (Latvia).

The network is operated by the School of Municipal Governance at the UNBROKEN University.