Cities are hubs of innovation often deployed to address a wide range urban challenges— water management, sustainable mobility, security, solid waste management and renewal energy. In the context of urban areas, culture and innovation are inextricably linked and engaged in a continuous process of refining each other. The city with its concentration of people, ideas, and resources serves as a catalyst to initiate and sustain innovation. The rapidly changing urban context provides the opportunity for the intersection of culture and innovation and to address persistent and emerging urban challenges.
It is against this backdrop, that the Tenth Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF) has as its theme: “Cities of Opportunities: Connecting Culture and Innovation”. This will be the first time that an Arab country will host the world’s most important conference on cities and human settlements.
Organized and convened by UN-Habitat, the World Urban Forum has become the foremost international gathering for exchanging views and experiences on sustainable urbanization in all its ramifications. The inclusive nature of the Forum, combined with high-level participation, makes it a unique United Nations conference and the premier international gathering on urban issues.
The World Urban Forum has the following objectives:
- Raising awareness of sustainable urbanization among stakeholders and constituencies, including the general public;
- Improving collective knowledge on sustainable urban development through open and inclusive debate, exchange of best practices and policies, and sharing of lessons learnt.
- Promote collaboration and cooperation between different stakeholders and constituencies engaged in the advancement and implementation of sustainable urbanization.
Thematic Objectives of the Tenth Session of the World Urban Forum
i. To take stock of emerging innovative approaches and practices in harnessing culture and innovation as a driver for sustainable
urbanization;
ii. To provide greater insights into the linkages between urbanization, culture and innovation as a basis for achieving inclusive, safe,
resilient and sustainable cities and human settlements;
iii. To promote synergies between tradition and modernity, creating spaces for convergence in multicultural and multigenerational
communities;
iv. To promote innovative solutions and approaches to urban development, building on the value of cultural diversity to improve
quality of life for all in cities and human settlements;
v. To explore the role of culture and the creative industry in driving prosperity and socioeconomic opportunities for all in cities and
human settlements;
vi. To explore the role of culture and innovation in implementing the New Urban Agenda and achieving urban dimensions of the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;
vii. To build on the lessons learned of previous WUFs, especially with respect to bottom-up approaches to sustainable urbanization
Following the link for more information about WUF10 (2020): https://wuf.unhabitat.org/
