At the ongoing 12th session of the World Urban Forum, also known as WUF12, in Cairo, the simple question “What would you like to see in your city?” is printed on a wall at the Egypt International Exhibition Center. Young delegates have been enthusiastically sharing their responses, with many exclaiming “we have tons of ideas!” Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, emphasized the need for immediate action in building homes for the next generation and avoiding slums as birthplaces for new generations.
This call was made during WUF12’s central dialogue on “Housing our Future,” where participants discussed the definition of adequate housing, barriers to access, and successful solutions to this problem.
Ms. Rossbach stressed the importance of planning cities for the future and understanding how young people live now and in the future. Later in the day, children and young people gathered for a roundtable conversation about their vision for future cities, aiming to challenge and change the current state of urban development.
One of the participants, 19-year-old Lujain Romouzy, is a dentistry student and Vice-chair of the Leaf Coalition. She is also a junior negotiator representing Egypt in UN climate negotiations. She attended WUF12 to advocate for sustainable innovations in urban planning and development and emphasized the importance of youth-led initiatives in reducing emissions and promoting sustainable urban development.
Lujain and other young participants presented a policy declaration gathered from Egyptian governorates, which they plan to bring to the upcoming UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Another youth representative, high school student Quynh Anh Le from Vietnam, hopes to find projects at WUF12 that she can bring back to her hometown and implement in her own city.
UNDP Associate Administrator Haoliang Xu emphasized the importance of young people’s views in creating jobs and fostering innovation. He also highlighted the role of the Pact for the Future in promoting sustainable urbanization and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, stressed the need for inclusion and recognition of housing as a human right. He also highlighted the impact of climate change on cities and the need for inclusive policies to address it.
The Forum also focused on the issue of climate change, with discussions on identifying and scaling up successful, locally-led actions and solutions, and ensuring environmental justice, inclusivity, and equity at the local level.
On Tuesday, UN-Habitat launched the 2024 edition of its flagship World Cities Report in Cairo, warning of the vulnerability of rapidly growing urban populations to climate hazards. The report emphasizes the need for inclusive policies that include all residents, particularly those traditionally excluded, to avoid potentially catastrophic impacts due to climate change.
WUF12 will continue until Friday, 8 November, with UN News covering all the action on location in Cairo.