The Mayor of Matola and President of the IOPD, Calisto Cossa, chaired last Wednesday, 02 September, the launching ceremony of the 16th International Conference of the Observatory of Participatory Democracy, which will take place next May 2016 in the city of Matola.

Matola will be the first African city to host the IOPD Conference, whose central theme will be "Good Governance and Inclusive Citizen Participation", estimating the participation over 600 cities.