DIABP Takes Part in the World Urban Forum 4



A delegation from Dubai Municipality participated in the 4th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF4) which was held from 3 – 6 November, 2008 in Nanjing, China. The WUF was established by the UN-HBITAT to examine pressing issues facing the world today including rapid urbanization and its impact on communities, cities, economies and policies.

The main issues addressed by this session of the Forum involved harmonious urbanization and included new ways of building cities at home and abroad.

The first WUF was held in Nairobi in 2002, the second in Barcelona in 2004 and the third session took place in Vancouver in 2006. This year, the fourth session of the WUF4 was hosted by the Government of China in Nanjing.

The WUF is a biennial gathering that is attended by a wide range of partners, from non-governmental organizations, community-based organizations, urban professionals, academics, to governments, local authorities and national and international associations of local governments. It gives all these actors a common platform to discuss urban issues in formal and informal ways and come up with action-oriented proposals to create sustainable cities.

        

The DIABP, which is jointly managed by Dubai Municipality and UN-Habitat, participated in the exhibition which accompanied this four day event.

Mr. Obaid Salem Al Shamsi, Assistant Director General of Dubai Municipality, headed the delegation from Dubai. In his statement to the press, Mr. Al Shamsi emphasized the importance of Arab presence in global forums such as this. He mentioned that the Forum was largely attended by a wide range of representatives from political, cultural and local authorities across the world. Furthermore, he pointed out that the city of Dubai, represented by Dubai Municipality, is always keen to participate in such forums and meetings to promote its views on worldly issues and work to meet the challenges of urbanization.