The 2020 World Cities Day on 31 October, with the global theme ‘Valuing our communities and cities’, will underline the key role of local communities, at the heart of building sustainable and resilient cities, and further advocate for the importance of people-centered approaches for urban development.
In the context of the celebration of the International World Cities Day, UNESCO in the framework of the UNESCO Cites Platform (UCP), will organize an online event under the theme ‘Community-centred urban development: A paradigm of inclusive growth’. The event will illustrate the organization’s full range of activities advocating people-centered approaches to urban development through its city networks and programmes.
By bringing together academia, public and private sectors, as well as civil society, this year’s celebration will spotlight the involvement and participation of communities and individuals in lead roles to develop immediate and local responses to COVID-19, as well as in the broader framework of building sustainable, resilient and future-proof cities.
The event will feature an ‘Urban Dialogue’ moderated by Ms Valeriane Gauthier, journalist at France 24. The panelist will include Professor Carlos Moreno, Scientific Director of the eTi Chair (Entrepreneurship–Territory–Innovation, Panthéon Sorbonne University), Mr Seok-Jin Mun, Mayor of Seodaemun-Gu (Republic of Korea), Professor Adrian Parr, Dean of the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (University of Texas), amongst other high-level speakers. A series of video messages from high level-officials are also foreseen for the event including, Ms Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries London, and Mr Wu Jincheng, Chairman of Shanghai Municipal Government of Economic and Information Commission.
This event aims to illustrate how UNESCO’s intersectoral work with and for cities can support Member States, cities and other stakeholders around the world in furthering sustainable development through community-centered approaches.
UNESCO will also use this celebration as an opportunity to showcase the Organization’s broad range of activities in the urban context, contributing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and notably SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities. Key projects such as the UCP Pilot research study project in Mexico City, amongst others, and flagship publications by UNESCO’s city Networks and Programmes, will also be presented on this occasion.
The event will be broadcasted live on YouTube, in both English and French.
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