World’s Largest Urban Development Forum Concludes With Cairo Call To Action

8 November 2024

Ahead of the closing ceremony, UN-Habitat Executive Director, Anaclaudia Rossbach, emphasised the Forum’s timely emphasis on local action.

“Over half of the world’s population now resides in urban areas,” she said, as she highlighted the pivotal role of local governments in shaping cities and human settlements.

WUF12 was “a turning point in the journey of the World Urban Forum,” she declared.

Record-breaking Forum

Over the past five days, WUF12, convened biennially by UN-Habitat, explored urbanization through six main dialogues, roundtables, assemblies, and partner-led events.

“We have broken many records and scaled new heights at this World Forum,” Ms. Rossbach stated, citing impressive metrics, including the attendance of over 24,000 participants from 182 countries.

UN-Habitat head Rossbach addressing the closing of WUF12.

In addition, four heads of state, 60 ministers, 45 deputy ministers and 96 mayors, attended more than 700 events from 1,500 organizers.

In all over 63,000 people, in person or online, attended dialogues, sessions and discussions.

Crucial issues tackled

Discussions at WUF12, she said, highlighted key challenges central to promoting sustainable cities. These included the urgency of addressing the global housing crisis, recognizing that adequate housing is a human right and its links to climate and humanitarian crises.

Alongside, finance for urban sustainability must be prioritizing, through tapping into unused financial resources in cities, as needed.

Capturing, sharing, and learning from best practices to accelerate action effectively and at scale, is equally important, she said, as is leveraging the potential of coalitions and partnerships in the face of complex and unprecedented challenges.

The Cairo Call to Action

On the final day, delegations adopted the Cairo Call to Action, pledging to act with urgency to address the global housing crisis as well as leveraging local action to achieving global goals and targets.

The Cairo Call to Action also emphasized, among other points, the need for sustaining a systemic representation of local actors at all levels, sharing urban spaces and opportunities inclusively, urban planning to deliver better local outcomes, and unlocking finance for cities and communities.

Delegations also committed to ensuring equity and justice for sustainable cities, leveraging local and grassroots data for decision-making, harnessing culture and heritage as an asset for sustainability, and building coalitions and alliances to scale local impact.

Ensuring a decent life

Speaking at the closing, Egypt’s Minister of Housing, Sherif El-Sherbiny, reinforced the theme’s importance, stating, “everything starts locally, from where we live.”

He pledged that Egypt's government will continue to work toward providing a “decent life” and sustainable development for all citizens.

“We are able. We can build a better future for us and for the next generation,” he added.

Hard work continues

Several non-governmental organization (NGOs) and civil society organizations emphasized safety and inclusivity, such as the Van Leer Foundation, which supports young children, caregivers and communities worldwide.

Chief Programme Officer Rushda Majeed highlighted the foundation's mission to foster inclusive communities, noting that WUF12 was valuable for showcasing actions from prior Forums.

She highlighted the many conversations and presentations, building upon earlier outcomes.

“We find this of great value in terms of not only meeting people and advocating for particular causes but really learning about what has been done.”

On the closing day, discussions focused on creating safer spaces for future generations.

One roundtable featured Professor Anna Barker from the University of Leeds, in the United Kingdom, who shared her research on women’s and girls’ safety in public parks.

“We spoke to a diverse range of women and girls,” she said, “and used their feedback to create new guidance.”

This guidance has been implemented through the Green Flag Award programme across 17 countries.

Looking ahead

In the coming weeks and months, UN-Habitat will highlight the outcomes of WUF12 at key events, including COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Ms. Rossbach said the outcomes would inform discussions within UN-Habitat and the first open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Adequate Housing for All.

“We are excited about the journey to Baku,” she added, referencing the 2026 WUF13, as the Forum continues to address the challenges of urbanization.

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