Addis Ababa, September 3, 2024 (FBC) – Anacláudia Rossbach, the Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), has arrived in Addis Ababa ahead of the first-ever ‘Africa Urban Forum 2024’ which will be held in the Ethiopian capital.
The UN-Habitat chief was greeted upon her arrival in Addis Ababa by the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Dr. Ramiz Alakhbarov, and his staff.
In their discussion, the two UN officials highlighted strategic engagement to support Ethiopia’s development priorities in building inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and communities, the Resident & Humanitarian Coordinator confirmed in a post published on his social media page published on Tuesday.
The inaugural Africa Urban Forum 2024 will be convened on the 4-6 September 2024 at the Adwa Victory Memorial Museum under the theme “Sustainable Urbanization for Africa’s Transformation: Agenda 2063”.
The Forum is a continental platform that promotes sustainable development in African human settlements. It is a platform through which governments collaborate to enhance African cities, enabling them to fulfill their potential as centers of hope, growth, and prosperity. The African Union Commission and its member-states established the Africa Urban Forum in 2022 in response to the rising consciousness of the rapid urbanization in Africa, its opportunities, & challenges, and the need to create a continental scale forum to support an inclusive and holistic approach to unlocking the potential of urbanization in the continent.
The Harmonized Regional Framework for Implementing the New Urban Agenda in Africa, developed by the African Union Commission, jointly with UN-Habitat and UNECA serves as the main guiding framework for the deliberations of the Africa Urban Forum. The framework aligns with the transformative vision of Africa’s Agenda 2063 and serves as a pivot for addressing urban related issues in Africa, according to the African Union.
The format of the African Urban Forum will include round-tables, plenary sessions/ panel discussions, dialogues, side events, assemblies, and exhibitions.