The 12th World Urban Forum, hosted by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the Government of Egypt, was held in Cairo between 4-8 November 2024, to address the challenges of urban development and identify new strategies for sustainable cities. UCLG-MEWA attended the forum with a delegation led by Secretary General Dr. Mehmet Duman.
World Assembly of Local and Regional Authorities
At this event held on November 4, city leaders, officials and representatives discussed efforts to localize sustainable development goals. Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul and President of the Union of Turkish Municipalities (UMT), and Issa Kassis, Mayor of Ramallah and UCLG Ambassador for the Future of Government, shared their views at the meeting. İmamoğlu drew attention to the importance of sustainable projects that increase the resilience of cities.
Arab Mayors Academy
UCLG-MEWA Secretary General Dr. Mehmet Duman was the speaker at the closing session of the Academy. “By bringing together local and regional leaders from Arab cities, we aim to provide peer learning opportunities through the sharing of good practices in peer cities,” Duman said, highlighting the strategies developed by UCLG-MEWA to promote the sharing of knowledge and experience among local governments in Arab cities.
Civitas Novus – Accelerating Urban Innovation
At the Civitas Novus – Accelerating Urban Innovation session held on November 5, Dr. Mehmet Duman explained the functioning of the urban innovation ecosystem and shared his views on how the barriers that hinder innovation can be removed.
Local Action for SDG Achievement and Urban Resilience
In another session focusing on local actions for the localization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Dr. Mehmet Duman drew attention to the strategies that cities can adopt to create resilient structures.
Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience for Cities
In this session held on November 6, UCLG-MEWA International Relations Coordinator Dr. Reem Abusamra emphasized the importance of sharing experiences at global scale, on the way of increasing the resilience of local governments in the face of climate change and natural disasters.
SDG Focused Local Planning Training
In the training held on November 7, the localization of SDGs and the basic principles of local planning were explained to the participants with practical examples.
These events, held within the scope of the World Urban Forum, witnessed an important sharing of knowledge and experience at the international level in order to create sustainable, livable and inclusive cities.