Forced Displacement and Rapid Urbanisation: Translating Ideas into Action

Cities Alliance, Koboko Municipality, and ACAV are co-organising the peer learning Forced Displacement and Rapid Urbanisation: Moving Towards Inclusive, Resilient Cities, and Translating Ideas into Action, in Koboko, Uganda, on 6-8 June 2023.

This is the final learning event organised under the programme Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF): Inclusive Urban Development and Mobility – Regional Network and Dialogue Action.  Launched in 2021, the initiative fostered policy dialogue among seven cities in the Horn of Africa, to better address the challenges and opportunities of forced displacement in cities. 

The conference will gather representatives from the partner cities, national and regional authorities, refugee organisations, NGOs, and the private sector, to see the impact of the programme in Koboko, one of seven cities participating in the programme.

Through the programme, local authorities in Koboko received technical assistance to improve municipal urban planning and the delivery of services to refugees and host communities. 

The learning session will address the following topics:

• The need for greater investment in refugee-hosting secondary cities; 
• The impact of remittances on economic growth and poverty reduction for refugees, migrants, and  host communities; 
• Urban displacement trends in Sub-Saharan Africa;
• Urban refugees and migration management; 
• Growing the city network established through the programme. 

During the conference, the City and Mobility Award will be presented by Cities Alliance to recognise the city with the most inspiring approach to managing migration and integrating refugees.

The cities participating in the programme are Gabiley and Borama (Somalia), Assosa and Jigjiga (Ethiopia), Arua and Koboko (Uganda), and Kakuma-Kalobeyei (Kenya). The programme was implemented by Cities Alliance and financed by the EU through the European Emergency Trust Fund for Africa.

The previous peer-learning sessions took place in Arua, Uganda and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2021, Kampala, Uganda in 2022, and Lodwar, Kenya, in 2023.