The main area for discussion will be sustainable development (Prosperous Cities: how to combine ecology, economy and equity). The 6th World Urban Forum, organised by the United Nations through UN-HABITAT, will be held at the Mostra d’Oltremare in Naples from 1 to 7 September 2012. The Italian Ambassador in Kenya, Paola Imperiale, and the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, Dr. Joan Clos, have signed an agreement on the organisation of the conference.
The Forum, a biannual event, was last held in Rio de Janeiro. The programme for Naples includes 120 networking events, 12 round tables and 20 seminars with leading world experts to discuss the solutions to the problems afflicting the cities of the future.
The Forum will be opened by the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano. Numerous Heads of State and members of government are expected to attend, as well as authorities who include mayors of major cities and administrators and experts from 114 countries: more than 3000 people have registered so far with UN-Habitat.
Italy and UN-Habitat in Kenya
In 2010, in partnership with UN-Habitat, Italian Development Cooperation built bathing and drinking water facilities for 15,000 school pupils in Korogocho shanty town. In 2011, the urban improvement project in Korogocho was completed, under the debt conversion programme.
Italy and UN-Habitat in Somalia
Acting through the Directorate General for Development Cooperation, the Foreign Ministry is funding an important urban regeneration programme, with UN-HABITAT, in Mogadishu, the Somali capital. The programme envisages an integrated reconstruction approach covering sectors crucial to the city’s social and economic development: employment, improved municipal services and infrastructure repairs and up-grades. Read more, in Italian.
