The Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) attended the first World Urban Forum (WUF) Alumni meet to share its experience of hosting the last edition of WUF 10 in 2020.
The WUF Alumni Network Meet was held in Cairo city, Egypt by the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat) to promote cross-learning and best practices sharing among former WUF host countries and cities to create a legacy that extends beyond the Forum itself. The Alumni Network Meet is part of the preparations for WUF 11, which will take place in Katowice, Poland from June 26 to June 30.
DMT delegation led by Hamad Al-Mutawa, Executive Director of the Planning and Infrastructure sector, highlighted the outcomes of the WUF 10 while emphasising culture as an integral part of the solution to the challenges of urbanisation and achieving the New Urban Agenda during their presentation at the meet.
The Abu Dhabi Declared Actions in WUF 10 include commitments from international organisations, national, local, and regional governments, the private sector, civil society, academia, and others to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by all UN Member States in 2015.
Al-Mutawa who explained how Abu Dhabi has pioneered new models for planning and implementing changes towards inclusiveness, sustainability, and shared prosperity, said: “Two years ago, at the World Urban Forum (WUF10) in Abu Dhabi, we all put significant effort into creating a robust and interactive platform for designing and proposing promising solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems.
“The outcomes of WUF 10 have enabled us and other nations around the world to take voluntary actions and commitments that have helped us cope with unprecedented events in 2020 and 2021 and plan for years ahead for the better of generations to come.”
DMT shared the UAE capital's experience of hosting WUF 10 at the three-day Alumni Network meeting with the Polish organising team to help them plan the hosting of the next edition of WUF in Katowice in June this year.