The 11th World Urban Forum (WUF11) started in Katowice. Organised every two years by the UN-Habitat, it is the world’s most important, largest and most prestigious conference concerning municipal policies, transformation and development.
“Last – tenth – edition of the Forum took place in 2020, in Abu Dhabi – the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The previous two meetings were convened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Quito, Ecuador. In November 2018 Katowice was selected as the Polish candidate for the host of the conference scheduled for the year 2022. On 20 May 2019, the UN-Habitat informed that Katowice would hold the status of the host of the eleventh edition,” informs the official website of WUF.
The ceremony of raising the flags of Poland and the UN started the 11th World Urban Forum in Katowice (WUF11) on Sunday. Sunday is treated as “day zero” of this several-day event, the official opening ceremony of WUF11 will take place on Monday morning.
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THE ELEVENTH WORLD URBAN FORUM INAUGURATED IN KATOWICE
“It is a great honour for me to solemnly open the proceedings of this forum, because there is no doubt that we are living in times of transformation. Two years of pandemics have shown that we need to redefine life in large urban centres, and life in many countries. At the dawn of our history, cities provided the main impetus for development,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said during the official opening of WUF11.
PM @MorawieckiM in #Katowice: It is a great honour for me to solemnly open this forum – there is no doubt that we are living in times of transformation. At the dawn of our history, cities provided the main impetus for development. #WUF11 pic.twitter.com/vL3MRDoYUv
— Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland (@PremierRP_en) June 27, 2022
PM @MorawieckiM in #Katowice: I believe this forum will work out many solutions, ideas, thoughts & innovative projects that will contribute to better life in cities, resulting in sustainable development in other areas in countries worldwide. @WUF_UNHabitat @WUF11cotf #WUF11
— Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland (@PremierRP_en) June 27, 2022
“This shows that – despite the changing times – we are dealing today with challenges whose traces we see in the past,” Morawiecki stressed.
“The cruel war in Ukraine, the barbaric Russian onslaught and the completely destroyed cities show that these challenges must also be the subject of our reflection if we want to genuinely respond to the needs and challenges of today,” he pointed out.
This year’s 11th edition of WUF has been divided into 17 thematic areas. These will be:
- No poverty,
- Zero hunger,
- Good health and well-being,
- Quality education,
- Gender equality,
- Clean water and sanitation,
- Affordable and clean energy,
- Decent work and economic growth,
- Industry, innovation and infrastructure,
- Reduced inequalities,
- Sustainable cities and communities,
- Responsible consumption and production,
- Climate action,
- Life below water,
- Life on land,
- Peace, justice and strong institutions,
- Partnerships for the goals.