The Cities Alliance will have a strong presence at the fifth World Urban Forum (WUF5) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The five-day Forum will take place 2 2-26 March 2010 with the theme “The Right to the City – Bridging the Urban Divide.”
The Cities Alliance will have a large corner booth at WUF 5, No. E129-E132. Participants are encouraged to visit the booth to learn more about our activities, how to access grant funding and obtain copies of our publications. (Download a map of the venue with the Cities Alliance booth highlighted.)
In addition to the booth, the Alliance is co-hosting a number of networking and side events in cooperation with partners. The discussions will focus on issues such as slum upgrading, access to land, local governance, south-south cooperation and city development strategy.Highlights of events co-hosted by the Cities Alliance include:
-- A networking event on Nine Years of the Brazil City Statute, hosted by the Cities Alliance and the Brazilian Ministry of Cities. (Monday, 22 March, 4:30pm-6:30pm, Room W3-19)
-- A networking event on A Protocol for Upgrading of Large Informal Settlements, hosted by Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI), the Brazilian Ministry of Cities and the Cities Alliance. (Monday, 22 March, 4:30pm-6:30pm, Room W2-5)
-- A side event on Land Management in Brazilian Cities and launch of the publication Cities: Steering Towards Sustainability in the A Planet for Life series hosted by the Cities Alliance and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD). (Tuesday, 23 March, noon-1:30pm, Room W3-1.)
-- A side event on City Development–The Role of National Government. Hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Cities Alliance. (Wednesday, 24 March, 12:00-1:30pm, Room W3-2)
-- A side event on Successful Approaches to National Slum Upgrading and Prevention Policies and Programmes—15 Country Case Studies. Hosted by the World Bank Institute, UN-HABITAT, IADB, GTZ and the Cities Alliance. (Wednesday, 24 March, 12:30-1:30pm, Room W3-20.
The Cities Alliance will also launch two new publications in partnership with the Brazilian Ministry of Cities at a 25 March reception. The first publication is The City Statute of Brazil: A Commentary, a collection of essays analysing Brazil’s City Statute, a unique and groundbreaking legal instrument that seeks to overcome urban inequality.
The second is an English translation of Distance Learning Course on Integrated Slum Upgrading Actions: Abridged Version, a comprehensive overview of the key ideas drawn from an award-winning distance learning course on slum upgrading supported by the Alliance.
In addition, the Cities Alliance and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) will preview the publication Lessons Learned in Slum Upgrading, which is expected to launch later this year. (This event will take place in Room W2-14.)
The Cities Alliance delegation to WUF will be led by Programme Manager, William Cobbett. He will be accompanied by Communications Officer Chii Akporji, Senior Urban Specialist Günter Meinert, Urban Specialist Jean-Christophe Adrian, Research Analyst Ricardo Jimenez, Urban Specialist Anaclaudia Rossbach, and Research Analyst Mariana Kara José.
The delegation will participate in a range of discussions, meetings and events in addition to those co-hosted by the Alliance. At a special session on slum upgrading hosted by the Brazilian Ministry of Cities, Mr. Cobbett will provide an international perspective on Brazil’s slum upgrading policies and programmes. (The special session is scheduled for 25 March, 2:00-4:00pm, in Room W3-14.)
Other events that the delegation will attend in Rio include a meeting of the CDS Sub-Group, a platform for Cities Alliance members to increase collective know-how on city development strategies; the World Urban Youth Assembly on 19-20 March; and the Gender Equality Action Assembly, also on 19-20 March.
The Cities Alliance will also participate in a Steering Committee meeting of the World Urban Campaign, a platform for public, private and civil society actors to elevate policies and share practical tools for sustainable urbanisation. The Cities Alliance has provided start-up costs for the campaign, which is being implemented by UN-HABITAT.
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