Under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces, the programme for the tenth World Urban Forum (WUF10), under the theme ‘Cities of Opportunities: Connecting Culture and Innovation’, was today unveiled to selected media. WUF10 will take place at ADNEC in Abu Dhabi, 8th-13th February 2020, co-organized by the UN agency focused on sustainable urbanization, UN-Habitat and the Department of Urban Planning and Transport (DMT).
The 92-page programme provided a comprehensive guide to the packed six-day agenda, which will include assemblies, dialogues, roundtables, special sessions, side events, networking events, training events, caucus meetings, urban library, One UN room, voices from cities, SDGs in action, urban cinema, WUF integrated initiatives, sustainable urban development now, press conferences and urban talks.
H.E. Mohamed Al Khadar Al Ahmed, Executive Director of Strategic Affairs at DMT and General Coordinator of the World Urban Forum 10, said: “This programme outlines the multiple sessions and events taking place day-by-day. Its detailed nature demonstrates how this will be the best and most comprehensive World Urban Forum to date. The comprehensive nature of this programme reflects the ambitious nature of WUF10 – we seek not only to drive forward sustainable development but also to shape the nature of urban development for the Arab world as a whole. As the first Arab city to host a WUF, efforts are being made to raise the profile of urban stakeholders from the region.”
Held in partnership with UN-Habitat, the six-day meeting is the world’s most important conference on cities. As a non-legislative Forum open to all, WUF10 presents the opportunity for the thousands of participants involved in all aspects of urbanization, to share best practices and knowledge on how cities are built, planned and managed. The forum provides a platform for decision-makers, businesses, urban experts and academics to share their expertise and create sustainable urban development and smart cities of the future.
The Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Ms Maimunah Mohd Sharif, said: “We are delighted that Abu Dhabi is hosting this Tenth Session of the World Urban Forum which is the largest global meeting on urbanization. We thank them for all their excellent preparations and warm welcome of nearly the thousands of international participants who will be arriving in the coming days. The Forum is bringing together a wide range of compelling speakers including global thought leaders, investors, experts, governments and key influencers to discuss how to shape a better urban future. It promises to be a truly extraordinary meeting.”
Khalifa Al Qubaisi, Chief Commercial Officer of ADNEC said “The World Urban Forum further showcases ADNEC’s expertise in business tourism and highlights our capabilities to attract and successfully host leading international exhibitions and conferences and our diligent teams have been working to finalise preparations. This important global gathering is a significant opportunity for ADNEC to highlight our position as one of the leading regional venues for such high-profile international events and we are looking forward to welcoming thousands of participants from 168 countries, and over 450 speakers.”
DMT also, announced the provision of free transportation services in support of WUF10. The centre allocated 35 Volvo buses each with 49 seats from 7th to 14th February 2020, to transport visitors to and from the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), the forum venue. These buses will also serve the visitors and foreign participants of the forum by providing trips to the cities of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, featuring notable tourist attractions, historical, archaeological and cultural sites, as well as noteworthy areas that are unique to the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The Tenth World Urban Forum will be themed ‘Cities of Opportunities: Connecting Culture and Innovation’ and will, for the first time, place culture, creativity and innovation at the heart of dialogue about the liveability, vitality and sustainability of cities. WUF10 aims to raise awareness on sustainable urbanisation in cities and liveability across the globe.
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the United Nations agency for human settlements. It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.
As the host city, Abu Dhabi aims to make WUF10 the most attended and diverse World Urban Forum, since it was established in 2001. The DMT is working in close collaboration with UN-Habitat as well as the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, to welcome more than 100 ministers and over 20,000 people from more than 160 countries.
