Emilia Saiz is a jurist by profession and has devoted her professional life to promoting the role of local governments in development as well as fostering relations between cities and their associations worldwide. She started her journey as a local government international advocate in the founding organization of UCLG, IULA in 1997. She has led programmes dedicated to institutional capacity building and decentralized cooperation. She has actively promoted women empowerment, social inclusion, and international partnerships.