REPORT OF THE 4TH UCLG WORLD CONGRESS
speakers
Strategic Plenary
Shaping the Urban Future - Habitat III This strategic plenary was dedicated to the Habitat III process, the 3rd Conference of the United Nations on Infrastructure and Sustainable Urban Development that will take place in 2016. The 4th UCLG Congress in Rabat was a major step towards this largescale urban meeting in 2016. During Habitat II, local governments were recognized as key partners of UN-Habitat in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda. Habitat II was also an important step in the recognition of the network of local authorities. During the General Assembly of Cities and Local Authorities, organized in the framework of Habitat II in 1996, local authorities committed to building a “united voice of local governments and their associations” that led to the creation of United Cities and Local Governments in May 2004. The partnership between local authorities and UN Habitat over the last 20 years was reinforced and extended. Habitat III should be an opportunity to take a measurable step in the relations between the United Nations and local governments through the recognition of a special status including a more direct role and responsibilities vis-à-vis the decision making bodies of UN Habitat. Habitat III will also be a moment to consolidate the international movement of local and regional authorities as true political actors for the international community. As we experience growing urbanization and the emerging phenomena of
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rabat 2013 - the world summit in numbers | www.uclg.org
Augusto Barrera, Mayor of Quito, Equator Chen Jianhua, Mayor of Guangzhou, China Alain Juppé, Mayor of Bordeaux, France, President of the French Association of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (AFCCRE), France Aisa Kacyira Kirabo, Deputy Executive Director of UN Habitat Jeffrey O’Malley, Director of Policy, UNICEF Parks Tau, Mayor of Johannesburg, South Africa Moderator Femi Oke, Journalist, Al Jazeera
megapoles illustrated by Guangzhou, 60 million inhabitants, Johannesburg, 10 million inhabitants and Quito 2.4 million inhabitants, the mayors of these towns, the President of the French Association of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions and representatives from UN Habitat and UNICEF all came together in one panel, moderated by journalist Femi Oke, to sketch the first lines of the agenda for cities from 2016 onwards. Some of questions essential for cities and territories that must be integrated into the Habitat III agenda, are detailed below: The question of housing is central in cities regarding access to housing, given that cities attract, for the most part, people from other areas to find work, there is a growing need for decent housing. Parks