URBACT to take part in the 9th session of the World Urban Forum
Edited on
24 June 2019The Ninth Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF9), which will be taking place in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) from 7 to 13 February, will be the first session to focus on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda adopted in Habitat III. WUF9 will be instrumental to substantively feed into the inputs for the first report of the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.
The World Urban Forum is a non-legislative technical forum convened by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) held since 2002.
The Forum gathers a wide range of experts from every walk of life. Participants of the Forum include, but are not limited to, national, regional and local governments, non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, professionals, research institutions and academies, professionals, private sector, development finance institutions, foundations, media and United Nations organizations and other international agencies.
It is recognized as the foremost global arena for interaction among policymakers, local government leaders, non-governmental organizations and expert practitioners in the field of sustainable urban development and human settlements.
The Theme of WUF9 “Cities 2030, Cities for All: Implementing the New Urban Agenda” – places the Forum’s focus on the New Urban Agenda as a tool and accelerator for achieving Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The New Urban Agenda was adopted in October 2016 at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development – Habitat III in Quito (Ecuador), an event in which URBACT participated. It is a result of a unique consensus among all participating states. The document sets out a common vision and global standards for urban development in the coming decades.
The New Urban Agenda comes in at a critical moment, when the first time in history over half of the world’s population is residing in cities. Cities, if planned and managed well, will become the main tool for sustainable development and has a potential to be a solution to many of the challenges our planet is facing today. The New Urban Agenda lays out the vision for future cities based on the science of urban development providing tools in crucial areas.
WUF9 therefore provides a great opportunity to garner the efforts of all relevant actors to deliberate on, identify and commit to implementation of concrete solutions for the transformative commitments made in the New Urban Agenda (which are also fully aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals):
- sustainable urban development for social inclusion and ending poverty
- sustainable and inclusive urban prosperity and opportunities for all
- environmentally sustainable and resilient urban development.
URBACT will be represented at WUF9 by its director, Emmanuel Moulin, who will be speaking at the following sessions:
- "Cities contributing to the New Urban Agenda implementation through the International Urban Cooperation programme", Thursday 8 February, 5:30-7:00 PM, Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, AFINUA room.
- "Addressing socio-spatial fragmentation in Latin America and the Caribbean and Europe: shared challenges, shared views", Friday 9 February, 2:00-3:00 PM, Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, room 408.
- "Participatory approach for sustainable urban development: how Italian cities are implementing the New Urban Agenda through URBACT", Monday 12 February, 6.00-7.00 PM, Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, Listen to the cities room.
- "Metropolitan and Territorial Agencies mobilized for climate planning", Tuesday 13 February, 9-11 AM, Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, room 408.
Submitted by URBACT on
