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Cities Alliance at the Africa Urban Forum 2024
The Africa Urban Forum (AUF) promotes sustainable development in African human settlements. It is a platform through which governments collaborate to enhance African cities, enabling them to fulfil their potential as centres of hope, growth, and prosperity.
Ethiopia will host the inaugural AUF convened on the 4-6 September 2024 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Cities Alliance is a partner of the Forum and will engage in various sessions during the event.
The Harmonized Regional Framework for Implementing the New Urban Agenda in Africa, developed by the African Union Commission, jointly with UN-Habitat and UNECA serves as the main guiding framework for the deliberations of the AUF. The framework aligns with the transformative vision of Africa’s Agenda 2063 and serves as a pivot for addressing urban related issues in Africa.
The format of the Forum will include round-tables, plenary sessions/ panel discussions, dialogues, side events, assemblies, and exhibitions.
Urbanization on the African continent represents a megatrend. By 2050, the percentage of people living in urban areas is predicted to rise from 47 per cent in 2000 to around 60 per cent.
Urbanization in Africa varies by region, each area having its own geographic and historical contexts. East Africa has the lowest rate of people living in cities, while South and North Africa lead in urban growth; followed by Central and West Africa who are home to some of the largest megacities in Africa.
African cities and towns will be built one way or another in the next three decades. How they are built will determine the prospects for the continent and the viability of global sustainability efforts for the remainder of the century. It has never been more important for new multi-level governance arrangements and continent-wide programmes to harness the current urbanization phase to ensure economic diversification, reduced cost-of-service delivery and climate resilient development.
The AUF is organized in partnership with UN-Habitat, UNECA, Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development, African Development Bank, Shelter Afrique, African Centre for Cities, UCLG-Africa, Centre for Africa Housing Finance, WRI, FMDV and Cities Alliance.
Source: AUF
