On 5 October 2020, the Urban Economy Forum (UEF) in collaboration with UN-Habitat organized the "Urban Economy Forum 2020". The event brought together ministers, mayors, representatives of UN agencies, and high-profile experts from the private and public sectors and academia for a conversation on sustainable urban development for achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

UNESCO supports this initiative and welcomes efforts to address the challenge of sustainable urban development, with a view to conserving its heritage and identity while also striving to achieve the targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda. Community-centred approaches to heritage management integrated with policies and actions to further inclusive, sustainable and resilient settlements are at the heart of the UNESCO 2011 Historic Urban Landscape Recommendation and the World Heritage Cities Programme.

Jyoti Hosagrahar, Deputy Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, delivered a keynote speech on the role of culture in sustainable urban development, in which she outlined key tools, case studies and documents prepared by UNESCO (and along with its partners) in this regard, including the Culture | 2030 Indicators in the 2030 Agenda.

For more information on the event and links to the video recordings, please visit: https://www.ueforum.org/uef-2020