Mayor of Kingston, Andrew Swaby is among 56 mayors from 15 countries who have joined the tenth class of the Bloomberg Harvard city leadership initiative in the United States. 

The programme forms part of work led by Bloomberg Philanthropies, through the government innovation programme, to strengthen mayoral leadership and local government, across the globe.

The nine-month professional management programme officially commenced last week in New York city. 

Mayor Swaby is the only mayor from the Caribbean selected to participate in the 2026 cohort. 

Participants in the programme are exploring strategies for organising teams around outcomes, grounding decisions in evidence, and collaborating across departments and sectors, while examining how these approaches can be applied to challenges such as housing and affordability, economic growth, public safety, and emergency response. 

A statement from the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (K.S.A.M.C) on Friday said through the initiative, the mayor, alongside two senior k.s.a.m.c. officials who will join the programme in August, will strengthen the corporation’s capacity to improve local government, enhance service delivery, and advance the priorities of residents.

Commenting on his involvement in the programme so far, mayor swaby said it has provided an invaluable opportunity to learn from some of the world’s leading practitioners in local government and to exchange ideas with other mayors facing similar challenges. 

Mayor Swaby stressed that one of his biggest takeaways has been the strong emphasis on using data and evidence to better understand problems before developing solutions. 

He expressed confidence that these lessons will help the k.s.a.m.c. make informed decisions, strengthen accountability and deliver more responsive services for citizens.