Youth

L-R: Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, with Kwesi Quartey, Deputy Chairperson, African Union Commission (AUC)   The sixth session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD 2020) opened on Monday, 24 February at the Elephant Hills Resort, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Pre-event workshops, stakeholder consultations and special sessions took place throughout the day exploring the Forum theme, “2020-2030: A Decade to Deliver a Transformed and Prosperous Africa through the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063.” Highlights included: the 2020 Africa Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Forum; an exchange on country experiences with Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) of the global and regional agendas; and ARFSD 2020 preparatory meetings and capacity development workshops for major groups and other stakeholders. Sharing their experiences with the VNRs, country representatives and technical experts highlighted, among other issues: the need for addressing weak capacity in accessing and using quality and relevant data; better aligning national development efforts with lessons learned from regional workshops; strengthening local action, and transforming it into budget and policy frameworks; and stronger alignment with local, regional and national levels, including through collaboration with city authorities. The second African Regional STI Forum convened under the theme, “2020-2030: A decade to deliver a transformed and prosperous Africa through the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063.” Following a series of high-level dialogues in the morning, parallel discussions took place in the afternoon exploring the five SDG sub-themes of: people, prosperity, planet, peace, and partnerships. A number of special sessions also took place, in the presence of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. They included: A UN Development System (UNDS) mini-retreat that provided African perspectives on the ongoing UN reform process; The second session of the Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) for Africa, which brought together principals from UN and African Union to explore strategies for enhanced collaboration in the framework of the African Union’s 2020 theme of “Silencing the Guns”; Engagement with youth on the theme, “UN@75 - The Future is Now: African Youth Engagement for the Decade of Action”; and An African Union-UN dialogue on “Leveraging the Decade for Action to Realize the SDGs and Agenda 2063.” Diverse side events, exhibitions and networking events took place throughout the day and in the evening to showcase innovative solutions and partnerships to accelerate SDG action in Africa. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports from ARFSD 2020. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary report from the session in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Secretary-General and Director Bureau for Americas, UN Development Programme (UNDP); Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN; and Vera Songwe, Under Secretary-General, and Executive Secretary, Economic Commision for Africa (ECA) Kwesi Quartey, Deputy Chairperson, African Union Commission (AUC) Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, Under Secretary-General, and Special Representative to the African Union (AU) Vera Songwe, Under Secretary-General, and Executive Secretary, ECA Delegates attending the Regional Coordinating Mechanism for Africa pose for a family photo at ARFSD 2020 L-R: Tonya Vaturi, UN Division of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA); Amira El Fadil, Commisioner for Social Affairs, AUC; Oliver Chiganya, ECA; Alessandra Casazza, UNDP; and Juliet Wasswa Mugambwa, OSAA Amira El Fadil, Commisioner for Social Affairs, AUC Delegates following the workshop on VNRs Tapiwa Roy Rupende, Zimbabwe Lee Chileshe, Zambia Sawsan Hassan El Showaya, Sudan Sheila Saldana, Seychelles Amon Murwira, Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, Zimbabwe Imraan Patel, Deputy Director-General, Social Economic Partnerships, Department of Science and Innovation, South Africa Mahama Ouedraogo, AUC Henry Ngale Foretia, Poultry Farmers Management Sytems Platform, Cameroon Karima Bounemra Ben Soltane, ECA Family photo of STI participants at ARFSD 2020  

Participants of the Children and Youth Roundtable pose with Fabrizio Hochschild Drummond, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the UN’s 75th Anniversary. WUF10 continued with two dialogues in the morning, including one on Urban Planning and Heritage Preservation – Regeneration, during which UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif stressed the importance of preserving heritage sites and buildings in cities, saying “once it is lost, it will only be retrieved at great cost.” Another dialogue focused on Partnerships and Initiatives Supporting Culture and Innovation in Cities, during which panelists called for implementing cost-effective mobility solutions for millions of urban dwellers in the global South and promoting social entrepreneur ecosystems and economic development to “uplift people and the planet.”In the afternoon, three roundtables convened, including one for children and youth representatives from different continents to express views on sustainable urban development. They circulated a petition calling for the Executive Director of UN-Habitat and the Deputy Executive Director of UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to declare a climate emergency, and urged the UN to stop organizing “tokenistic” youth summits, and instead ensure youth have a seat at a table. In a roundtable for traditional authorities, panelists underscored that millennia-old, culturally embedded traditional institutions cannot be destroyed by modern legal decisions, and discussed how traditional authorities and governments can have mutually beneficial relationships.Side events and special sessions continued into the evening, including a session on Affordable Housing Innovation to Foster Cities' Culture and Diversity, which heard interventions from a range of governments, international and regional organizations, and private sector representatives on, among others, efforts to reduce the cost of housing through data centralization and reducing delays in housing provision through e-governance and reduced bureaucracy. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports from WUF10. In addition, a summary report has also been produce in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Natalia Mroz For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Dialogue 5: Urban Planning and Heritage Preservation - Regeneration The panel (L-R): Moderator Dena Assaf; Jyoti Hosagrahar, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); Arbjan Mazniku, Deputy Mayor of Tirana, Albania; Shatha Al Mulla, Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, United Arab Emirates (UAE); Cameron Rashti, Aga Khan Trust for Culture; Milena Ivković, International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP); Inés Samudio, Minister of Housing and Land Management, Panama Moderator Dena Assaf Inés Samudio, Minister of Housing and Land Management, Panama Milena Ivković, ISOCARP Shatha Al Mulla, UAE Cameron Rashti, Aga Khan Trust for Culture Arbjan Mazniku, Deputy Mayor of Tirana, Albania Jyoti Hosagrahar, UNESCO Time keeping during the dialogues Alaina Beverly, University of Chicago Ahmed Eiweida, World Bank Dwinita Larasati, Indonesia Creative Cities Network Patrick Domingos Tembwa, REALL Participants pose questions and listen to the discussion. Dialogue 6: Partnerships and Initiatives Supporting Culture and Innovation in Cities Moderator Jason Pomeroy Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General, UN Conference on Trade and Development Maruxa Cardama, Secretary General, Partnership on Sustainable Low Carbon Transport Siraj Sait, Noon Centre for Equality and Diversity Participants listen to the discussion. The second panel (L-R): Tulio Vazquez López, Inter-American Housing Union; Irina Ilina, Higher School of Economics University; Vladimir Bataev, Zaz Ventures; Marcela Villarreal, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO); moderator Jason Pomeroy Irina Ilina, Higher School of Economics University Vladimir Bataev, Zaz Ventures Marcela Villarreal, FAO Tulio Vazquez López, Inter-American Housing Union The third panel with moderator Jason Pomeroy on the dais Mamou Daffe, Arterial Network Bettina Tucci Bartsiotas, UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute Children and Youth Roundtable Fabrizio Hochschild Drummond, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the UN's 75th Anniversary A participant makes a comment. A participant raises his hand to ask a question. Fabrizio Hochschild Drummond takes comments from the floor. Participants of the Children and Youth Roundtable react to the discussion. Traditional Authorities Roundtable Drani Stephen Izakare, Paramount Chief of the Madi people Katepu Laoi, Minister of Local Government and Agriculture, Tuvalu Ana Lucy Bengochea Martínez, Wagucha Community Practitioner Platform El Boukhari Ben Essayouti, Head, Timbuktu Cultural Mission Abdoulaye Makhtar Diop, Chief of the Lebu people Fatima Mohamed El Fadol Adam, Mayor of Nyala Special Session: Affordable Housing Innovation to Foster Cities' Culture and Diversity Doris Andoni, National Housing Agency, Albania Sameh Wahba, World Bank Joaquim Oliveira Martins, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Moderator Patricia Peiró Aso Mourad Limam, McKinsey & Company Christophe Lalande, UN-Habitat Around the Venue Volunteers at the venue Food at the combined Polish and WUF11 booth A participant looks at the photo exhibition. Partcipant at the venue using the translation service.  

The World Urban Forum’s tenth session (WUF10) convened on Saturday, starting with a flag-raising ceremony in the morning. After a joint opening plenary, the Women’s Assembly, Business Assembly, Grassroots Assembly and the Urban Youth Assembly met in parallel throughout the day, while the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments met in the afternoon. Opening the Assemblies, Mohamed Al Khadar Al Ahmed, Abu Dhabi Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport, encouraged the forum to engage in “masterpiecing” through an exchange of views and experiences throughout the week. Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director, UN-Habitat, called for WUF10 to be an action-oriented and inclusive meeting, noting that implementation happens primarily at the local level. The Urban Youth Assembly produced a draft ‘WUF10 Children and Youth DeclarAction’ which calls on governments and local authorities to improve the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Grassroots Assembly's recommendations focused on “the struggle for recognition, acceptance and learning from each other that governments and grassroots groups can do together” and suggested that achieving the SDGs and addressing climate change will require significant learning, to which grassroots groups have a strong potential to make contributions. The World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments considered: how urbanization shapes, and is shaped by, culture and innovation; how cities can maximize tradition and modernity to achieve sustainable outcomes; and the role of technology in shaping a new future for cities to achieve the global goals. The Women’s Assembly analyzed ways to plan gender-responsive cities and identified potential barriers to the effective engagement of women in culture and innovation. The Business Assembly explored four operational areas that enable businesses to contribute more effectively to the achievement of sustainable urbanization at scale, including through investment, co-creation, joint advocacy, and adopting norms and standards.

The World Urban Forum’s tenth session (WUF10) convened on Saturday, starting with a flag-raising ceremony in the morning. After a joint opening plenary, the Women’s Assembly, Business Assembly, Grassroots Assembly and the Urban Youth Assembly met in parallel throughout the day, while the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments met in the afternoon.Opening the Assemblies, Mohamed Al Khadar Al Ahmed, Abu Dhabi Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport, encouraged the forum to engage in “masterpiecing” through an exchange of views and experiences throughout the week. Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director, UN-Habitat, called for WUF10 to be an action-oriented and inclusive meeting, noting that implementation happens primarily at the local level.The Urban Youth Assembly produced a draft ‘WUF10 Children and Youth DeclarAction’ which calls on governments and local authorities to improve the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).The Grassroots Assembly's recommendations focused on “the struggle for recognition, acceptance and learning from each other that governments and grassroots groups can do together” and suggested that achieving the SDGs and addressing climate change will require significant learning, to which grassroots groups have a strong potential to make contributions.The World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments considered: how urbanization shapes, and is shaped by, culture and innovation; how cities can maximize tradition and modernity to achieve sustainable outcomes; and the role of technology in shaping a new future for cities to achieve the global goals.The Women’s Assembly analyzed ways to plan gender-responsive cities and identified potential barriers to the effective engagement of women in culture and innovation.The Business Assembly explored four operational areas that enable businesses to contribute more effectively to the achievement of sustainable urbanization at scale, including through investment, co-creation, joint advocacy, and adopting norms and standards. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports from WUF10. In addition, a summary report has also been produce in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Natalia Mroz For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Falah Al Ahbabi, Abu Dhabi Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport, and Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat, preside over the flag-raising ceremony at the start of WUF10. Flag-bearers for the United Arab Emirates and United Nations flags at the opening of WUF10 Maimunah Mohd Sharif makes her opening remarks Violet Shivutse, Huairou Commission Arsalaan Ahmed, HSBC Amanah Siraj Sait, Co-Chair of the UN-Habitat Stakeholder Advisory Group Enterprise The audience during the opening session A traditional oud player entertains the audience. Participants take notes during the opening session. A member of the media during the opening of the Assemblies Urban Youth Assembly Panelists, moderators and partners pose for a group photo during the opening plenary of the Urban Youth Assembly. A view of the room during the opening plenary Moderator Kehkashan Basu Joyce Msuya, Deputy Executive Director, UNEP Juan Ramón Lazcano De la Concha, Vice Mayor, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands Participants listen to the discussion. Moderator Raphael Obonyo Joyce Msuya, UNEP, and climate activist Vanessa Nakate Christine Knudsen, UN-Habitat Senegalese rapper Didier Awadi Comments from the floor during the second segment of the 'Youth and the Decade of Action' high-level panel Stefan Germann, Botnar Foundation World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments A view of the room Carlos Martínez, Mayor of Soria Bernadia Irawati, United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific A participant takes a photo during the session. Arantza Leturiondo, Basque Country Xolani Sotashe, City of Cape Town Steven Weir, Habitat for Humanity Fréderic Vallier, Council of European Municipalities and Regions Erion Veliaj, Mayor of Tirana Grassroots Assembly A view of the room during a panel discussion Participants confer during the session Zuraida Kamaruddin, Minister for Housing and Local Government, Malaysia Participants convene in breakout sessions to discuss inclusion in development frameworks, meaningful partnerships, and diversity. Sheela Patel, Slum Dwellers International, makes a comment. Ann Wanjiru Mbuthia, Mlahra Community Organisation, Kenya, addresses participants. Moderator Beth Chitekwe-Biti Participants during the assembly Women's Assembly A view of the room Ana Lucy Bengochea Martínez, WAGUCHA and Community Practitioner's Platform, Honduras Moderator Kathryn Travers Around the Venue Delegates from Iran take a selfie.