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The Local Government Development Foundation (LOGODEF) and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung jointly organised an International Conference on "Federalism and Decentralisation: Perceptions for Political and Institutional Reforms" on the 4th and 5th of September at the H20 Hotel in Manila, Philippines.

Invited speakers from Asia, Australia and Europe shared regional and country perspectives on the topic with over 100 local stakeholders including mayors, academia institutional heads and local governance practitioners. The first day introduced conceptual conundrums and regional comparative experiences from Africa, Asia and Europe, followed by a more focused discussion on Asian cases of decentralisation and deconcentration as well as federalism on the second day, in light of the national discourse in the Philippines.

The conference concluded with a rare opportunity to meet and greet Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III who opened the panel on "Strategic Outlook for the Philippines" with the emphasis on the need to work towards a more inclusive agenda for the Philippines in making the case for a federal system. The conference then concluded with a policy panel on next steps for the Philippines, taking note of presentations heard during the conference and its main takeaways.