United Nations-Habitat hosts online press conference ahead of twelfth session of the World Urban Forum in Cairo

UN-Habitat (www.UNHabitat.org) held an online press conference to outline the key themes and objectives of the upcoming twelfth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF12), taking place from 4 to 8 November 2024 in Cairo, Egypt. This year’s forum will focus on the theme “It all starts at home: Local actions for sustainable cities and communities”, emphasizing the importance of localized solutions to address global urban challenges.

The press conference set the stage for WUF12, which marks a significant milestone as the forum returns to Africa for the first time since 2001. The vibrant city of Cairo, known for its historical significance and rapid urbanization, is set to welcome over 20,000 participants from more than 179 countries, including government officials, urban planners, community leaders, and representatives from the private sector and civil society.

Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, emphasized the importance of the Forum to address global challenges: “It is a critical moment to illustrate solutions and alternatives on how to overcome global challenges, but also to identify trends. It is also a great moment to promote the exchange of experiences and build critical mass as well as a common understanding of the challenges we face, and to understand what the role of cities and UN-Habitat is in addressing these global challenges.”

Abdelkhalek Ibrahim, Assistant Minister of Housing for Technical Affairs, provided an overview of the importance of WUF12 and collaboration for Egypt and Cairo: “Cairo faces a number of urban development challenges affecting the sustainability of the city. […] We need to have a vision. That vision is putting people at the centre and improving the quality of life and built environment. […] Collaboration with international stakeholders for integrated knowledge transfer is vital, and involvement by the local community is important to raise awareness of challenges.”

The conference also spotlighted the upcoming Cairo Urban Week, an initiative designed to engage local communities ahead of WUF12. Ahmed Rezk, Director of the UN-Habitat Egypt Office, remarked: “Cairo Urban Week has been planned and designed to build momentum for the World Urban Forum, and in a way that can help us leverage the experience of the city. […] It’s a very rich week of activities […] that will be bringing different stakeholders, experts, policymakers and local communities and will help us showcase and discuss matters related to innovative urban solutions.”

Discussions at WUF12 will centre around crucial topics such as the global housing crisis, climate resilience, financing sustainable development, partnerships, people and technology, and the loss of home, notably through high-level discussions that will include ministers, mayors, and experts focusing on local solutions that can drive global change.

As the countdown to WUF12 begins, media representatives are encouraged to stay engaged for further updates and to cover this global event.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN-Habitat.

Contact information:
Ekaterina Bezgachina 
Chief of Communications
WhatsApp: +421 911 045838
Email: ekaterina.bezgachina@un.org
Website: www.UNHabitat.org

About the World Urban Forum:
Established in 2001 by the United Nations, the World Urban Forum is the premier global conference on sustainable urbanization, designed to examine the impacts of rapid urbanization on cities, communities, economies, and climate change. Since its inception, WUF has been hosted in cities across the world, with the first session held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2002.

About UN-Habitat:
UN-Habitat is the United Nations entity responsible for sustainable urbanization. It has programmes in over 90 countries supporting policymakers and communities to create socially and environmentally sustainable cities and towns. UN-Habitat promotes transformative change in cities through knowledge, policy advice, technical assistance, and collaborative action. To know more, visit UNHabitat.org.