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Africa | Country | Event | Chad | The government of Chad has planned a series of events to mark World Habitat Day 2006 both in the capital, N’djamena, and the three secondary cities of Abéché, Doba and Sarh. The highlight will be a nationwide television speech 1 October by the Minister of Regional Planning on this year’s theme, Cities – magnets of hope. Various visits to specially selected districts in each city have been planned, and a national conference will be held in N’djamena on cities and the role they can play in providing young people, especially women, with better employment prospects. |
Botswana |
WHD in Botswana was celebrated in the town of Maun on the 6th of November 2006. Prior to the celebration, a public lecture on “Cities magnets of hope: constraints and opportunities in Botswana” was held as well as an essay competition on the topic “To what extent have cities met the housing needs of the low income households in Botswana?” The competition, organized for students in secondary and higher learning institutions awarded prizes to the three best entries. The Minister of Lands and Housing Hon. Dikgakgamatso Seretse graced the occasion and delivered a key note address. The Highlight was the handing over of a house constructed by the community and the local authority to a disadvantaged member of society. The commemoration was marked with colourful performances by local drama groups, music choirs, poets and guitarists. |
Burkina Faso | The Ministry for Housing and Urban Development in Bukina Faso held activities for eight days to celebrate the World Habitat Day. Starting on 30 September the ministry had television spots highlighting the WHD theme, Cities-magnets of hope. On 2 October there was a special publication of the minister’s message in the local dailies allowing readers to interact by writing about why they were drawn to the city. On 6 October there was a press conference on the WHD theme and on 7 October a sanitation campaign on selected neighborhoods in Ouagadougou | Cameroon | The local NGO, Kids4Peace Cameroon, is planning a children’s art competition in Yaounde. The participants, mainly street children and orphans, will be asked to paint their dream cities. The idea is that it will help show was most migrants want when they leave rural districts for the city. | Democratic Republic of Congo | In South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, World Habitat Day celebrations be held in Baraka/Fizi districts led by the local NGO, EMO-BARAKA (Union pour la Promotion du Paysan). A football tournament, a conference on this years theme, documentary screening and a social reception are among the organized activities. Click here for programme | Ethiopia | In Ethiopia the WHD event organized by UN-HABITAT included the production of a special magazine for the occasion which focused on messages from the Ministry Of Works and Urban Development, Kofi Annan's and ED's Messages; articles based on interviews linked to the WHD theme – Cities, magnets of hope - by officials, youth representatives, and professionals, and random vox pops on the streets of Addis Ababa. Click here for Report | Ghana
| World Habitat Day celebrations in Ghana involved seven days of activities starting on 2 to 8 October. A planning committee made up of various ministries together with UN-HABITAT planned and budgeted for the celebrations. On 2 October, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment featured in a nationally televised programme discussing the theme, Cities, magnets of hope. On 3 October, the ministry hosted a mega news conference attended by 120 people from different organizations. At this function the speeches of the UN Secretary General and the UN-HABITAT executive director were read. On 4 October, a round-table discussion was held where various papers were presented by representatives from human settlements and urban development fields. On 8 October, another discussion involving various stakeholders was televised nationally, their topic being provision of basic services to urban populations. On October 9, there were various interactive radio talk shows using the local languages and discussing the theme of the WHD. | Ghana marked World Habitat Day 2006 with a series of events including a ceremony at which the messages of the UN Secretary-General, the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT and the Government were read. There was a press briefing as well as seminars involving civil society, NGOs, the Government, municipal officials and others working to improve the urban living environment.
| Kenya | Nairobi In Nairobi, more than 300 young people marked World Habitat Day at the One Stop Youth Centre. Managed by the Nairobi City Council it is a “magnet of hope” for the young men and women, many of whom were invited on Monday to share their stories, exchange views on matters of concern to them.
A UN HABITAT official read out the agency’s World Habitat Day messages. Mr. Rob Sinclair, Director of the Nottawasaga Institute, cited past successes of the centre and its promising future in relation to the Global Partnership Initiative on Urban Youth Development in Africa.
The One Stop Youth Centre is a pilot action research project of UN-HABITAT. Initially supported by The Netherlands, it is currently supported by Norway. The global partnership was established to learn from best practices in Africa and further afield. The occasion also marked the signing of a new partnership between UN-HABITAT and the NGO NetCorps Kenya to help young people learn computer skills at the centre. | Nairobi A community group, Action for Life Kibera, held an urban cafe involving representatives from more than 20 groups in their network. They discussed how best to involve the community and especially the youth in improving their environment. They also held a clean up in Kibera and had a theatre performance highlighting environmental sanitation and management issues.
| Eldoret In Eldoret, neither the heat nor the dust could dampen the spirits as school children, their parents and the general public mingled freely with cabinet ministers, top civil servants to commemorate the occasion. Skits, dances, poems and plays marked the colourful event presided over by Housing Minister, Mr. Soita Shitanda. Eldoret was the venue of this year’s national celebrations and the organisers held nothing back as they laid out one of the best events ever seen here in a long time, all choreographed around this year’s theme, Cities, magnets of Hope. “We must strive to make our towns and urban centres habitable both for the residents and the thousands who are lured into them each year, “ was the refrain of the Moi Univesity Choir. Pupils from local primary schools also ran with the theme in the verses and songs they performed. However, the biggest applause went to a seven-year-old girl, Patience Olwenya, whose renditions of poems saw everybody from the VIP dais to those standing in the scorching sun asking for more. The master of ceremonies relented and finally, Patience was called to perform once more to wild applause from the audience. | Poverty Reduction Network(POREN-KENYA) a community based organization working in Nairobi as well as in rural areas are planning a visit Kiambiu slums in the city to educate the residents on the need of improving sanitation, income generating projects, housing among others. | The national WHD celebrations in Kenya will take place in Eldoret and series of events have been planned to mark the occasion. In the build-up to World Habitat Day there will be a nationwide television and radio programmes on cities as magnets of hope. The Ministry of Lands and Housing will lead the national celebrations of the World Habitat Day at Huruma Grounds in Eldoret. Planned activities include a procession by the police band, comedy and drama, a caravan around Eldoret town, traditional dancers and choirs among others. This will be followed by speeches from the United Nation’s Secretary General, Koffi Anan, and Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, Dr Anna K. Tibaijuka, Minister for Lands and Housing, the Minister for Local Government and the Minister for Planning and National Development. Other speeches will come from representative of the Government of Kenya to UN-HABITAT and the Mayor of Eldoret. National awards for best practices in Human Settlements will be awarded during the celebrations. The minister of Lands and Housing is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for a Training Centre for Appropriate Building Materials. Also lined up are a number of pre-activities such as tree planting, clean-up and secondary school’s athletic competitions. A seminar has been organized in Kisumu on 28 and 29 September 2006 as part of the WHD celebrations to discuss key issues on Human Settlements in cities and urban centers. Click here for programme | A youth organization - Nyeri Municipality Youth Initiative-Kenya, intends to enlighten people living in the local slum areas about the World Habitat Day. The youth will hold seminars, road shows, drama skits and cultural dances as a way to educate the masses on enhancing, maintaining and sustaining the environment. They will also facilitate speeches and discussions around the theme, Cities – magnets of hope. | The Uranga Entity Institute in Nairobi plans a series of events to mark the WHD. First off is a visit to Kayole, a residential area housing over 100,000 people. Subsequent to the visit, will be a pictorial collection highlighting the problems faced by people living in such low-income areas. The Institute will publish and distribute stickers bearing UN-HABITAT slogans; a special edition of the Institute’s newsletter; and a press release highlighting the need for people to engage in small-scale urban agriculture to fight against poverty and hunger in cities. Also planned is the launch of a football tournament “Score a Goal for Your City” with the aim of sensitizing residents of Kayole and the nearby estates on the Millennium Development Goals. | The Kamukunji Riverside Tailoring and Ironing Society in Nairobi has lined up several activities to mark this year’s WHD slated to run over five days. The organizers plan visits and seminars in informal settlements to raise awareness and stimulate debate on the theme, “Cities, Magnets of Hope.” The objectives are to create awareness of water and sanitation problems; to bring to highlight the right to housing, and the violation of these rights through eviction and a video show on the WHD theme of 2006. Also planned are a marathon race, tree planting and speeches from government and community officials. | To commemorate this year's World Habitat Day, the Kariobangi South Welfare and Slums Housing Association (KASWESHA) in Nairobi, organized a series of activities starting September 25. These included tree planting, and a massive clean-up in different areas of the Kariobangi South Location. The association managed to interest several private and public sector who contributed in kind and in cash to the mentioned activities, notably the Nairobi Hospital who facilitated free medical camp to over 600 members of the community. Other contributors where the Kenya mission to UN-HABITAT, Chandaria Industries, House of Manji and local authorities and religious congregations.
| The Shihome Women’s Society, an organisation under Quaker Friends Church based in Western Kenya is planning an interdenominational football match, awards for the best women in self employment and a clean up of the locality. | The Siaya Youth Groups Organization (SIYO), a rural-based umbrella Youth group from Siaya District in Nyanza Province, will start creating World Habitat Day awareness during the International Youth Day on August 12. SIYO is determined to try and achieve the Millenium Development Goals despite many shortfalls. Global events such as WHD are ideal vehicles for raising awareness and mobilization campaigns.
Edu Africa Theatre Initiative (EATI) a volunteer, non-profit community-based youth organisation, will mark World Habitat Day by performing a puppet play in Nairobi. The play itself will attempt to raise awareness and discussions around this year's theme. | Lesotho | This year’s WHD coincided with the 40th independence anniversary celebrations and in consultation with local UN officials, it was agreed that the messages on WHD for 2006 to be disseminated through a press release to the local media. Consequently, the WHD will be celebrated at a date convenient to the Ministry of Local Government. | Liberia | The local Habitat Programme Manager organized an awareness building workshop; radio talk shows; community awareness and the official National Observance during which the President's message was read. | Madagascar | The Ministry of Decentralization and Territory Management will lead the national celebration of the World Habitat Day in Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo on 2nd October. The ministry is organizing an event called “Open Doors” where the private sector, NGOs, professional associations and other stakeholders will discuss issues on human settlements with the concerned authorities, the community, students and media. The highlight will be speeches of the Minister of Decentralization and Territory Management, United Nation’s Secretary General, Koffi Anan, and Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, Dr Anna K. Tibaijuka. Other activities lined up include short projections about the national policy on territory management and habitat, which will be followed by a show with folk singers. The objectives are to create awareness of sanitation problems and the urban violence. | Malawi | World Habitat Day events in Malawi this year will be spearheaded from the country's economic capital, Blantyre with two high profile events - the official opening of a new housing complex for the urban poor with 450 homes for 85 percent of the beneficiaries are women; and the presentation of the first ever Malawi Award for Human Settlements. It will go to and initiative that has demonstrated tangible improvements in the lives of slum dwellers. A number of other activities aimed at raising awareness include a news conference, a radio phone-in, and a school essay competition. The Concerned Youth Organisation (CYO) in Blantyre, Malawi is planning activities to commemorate this year’s World Habitat Day celebrations under the theme ‘Cities, Magnets of Hope’.For details see: Report The World Habitat Day commemoration main event in Malawi is being organized by the Ministry of Lands and Housing, City Assemblies, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), UN-HABITAT and other stakeholders. This year’s national event will take place in the city of Blantyre on 2nd October.
| Mauritius | The Republic of Mauritius through the Ministry of Housing and Lands has planned a series of activities to mark World Habitat Day 2006. On 2 October the Minister of Housing and Lands will open an exhibition in Port Louis, the Capital City, on the evolution of settlement in cities and its peripheries. The exhibition will then move on to the four main towns namely Beau Bassin / Rose Hill, Quatre Bornes, Vacoas / Phoenix and Curepipe on a rotational basis. The minister will make a televised speech based in this year’s theme, Cities – Magnets of Hope (Les Villes, catalyseurs d’espoirs). Other activities lined up include television and radio programmes based on the theme. For more details: Click here | Mozambique | The main official WHD event took place in the town of Inhambane, some 500 km North of Maputo where the messages from the UN Secretary-General as well as UN-HABITAT's Executive Director were read to a gathering of mayors and secondary students. | Namibia | The Khomas Regional Council was the principal host of the main WHD event, which was held at a private farm called Naos (about 80 km west of Windhoek). The Governor of the Khomas Region delivered the keynote speech. The HPM, on behalf of the Resident Representative delivered speeches of the UN Secretary General and the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT. In attendance were farm workers, teachers and school children accommodated on this farm since 1979. On 2 October, representatives of the City of Windhoek, Ondangwa Town Council, Walvis Bay Municipality, and Swakopmund Municipality appeared on the national television program called ‘Talk of the Nation’ to mark the WHD. The representatives spoke about urbanization in their respective local authorities. WHD was observed country wide with the Ministry of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development advancing funds to all 13 Regional Councils for the events. | Nigeria | To celebrate this year's World Habitat Day, Development Initiatives Network, an independent NGO based in Lagos held an educational programme at the Aunty Ayo Girls' Senior Secondary School in Lagos. The event included a film presentation and panel discussions involving representatives of the municipal and State authorities, teachers and environmental activists. The aim was to encourage youths to think about the challenges of city living and to initiate and support activities that will bring about environmental improvements. | The Women Environmental Programme (WEP), an NGO in Abuja, organized a One-day Round Table discussion titled “Mega Cities Planning – Any Hope for the Poor” on 3rd October to mark 2006 World Habitat Day. In attendance at the Roundtable were representatives of UN-HABITAT, CSOs and NGOs. The Round Table generated a lively discussion on how to solve the various problems facing the poor and in the end a think tank was set-up to come-up with a position paper which will be submitted to government. | The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, in collaboration with UN-HABITAT, will celebrate this year’s World Habitat Day on 16 October, 2006 instead of 2 October 2006 when Nigeria will be celebrating Independence Day. The WHD event will involve stakeholders in the building environment, representatives of UN agencies and bi-lateral donor agencies and will be held at the International Conference Centre in Abuja. Activities lined up for the celebrations include: keynote speeches by high level government officials; reading of the WHD messages of UN Secretary General Kofi Anan and the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT Anna Tibaijuka. Other activities include school arts competition, drama, exhibitions and national best practice awards to the top three states in Nigeria in urban management. | The National Union of Tenants of Nigeria is planning a major series of events to mark World Habitat Day this year starting a week before the event and culminating with a glittering closing ceremony in Rivers State at which four prizes will be awarded for outstanding work in promoting sustainable human settlements in Nigeria. For details, see: Attached Document | World Habitat Day will be a major radio event in Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos, aimed at appraising listeners in a series of local radio programmes of human settlements issues and the intractable problem of environmental sanitation. | The Global Grassroot Youth Forum is marking this year’s WHD in a unique way by hosting the habitat night. The event slated for September 22 has been set aside to officially use in discussing and planning for the world habitat day celebration. For the event proper, GGYF has chosen Cross River State as the location for the celebration, and events lined up include a live broadcast of the event, a city walk and assessment/tea break and a press conference. Among those expected to attend are state governors, the press and the general public. | Papua New Guinea | In Papua New Guinea , the national television broadcasted the speech of UN-HABITAT's Executive Director, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka on the occasion of World Habitat Day.
| Sierra Leone | UN-HABITAT will coordinate the World Habitat Day celebrations in Sierra Leone. These include a symposium on the role of UN-HABITAT in Sierra Leone and the relevance of World Urban Forum III to Sierra Leone and particularly to urbanization and the environment. Drama and press conference will also be used to raise awareness of human settlements issues in the country. Click here for programme | South Africa | The Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality hosted the main local event of the WHD on 2 October. Three other events in three different provinces were also held. | Students of Howard College of the University of KwaZulu Natal are planning a WHD awareness campaign among fellow students. The Bachelor of Science (Housing) students have planned a short movie on slum dwellings and urbanisation in South Africa as well as tell their fellow students what WHD is all about. | The Development Action Group (DAG)'s commemoration of World Habitat Day will focus on women’s rights. DAG will organize a seminar and panel discussion that will share success stories and highlight the obstacles that women still face with regard to realising their housing rights in South Africa. The event seeks to translate the hope which cities offer into real benefits. See More | Tanzania | World Habitat Day (WHD) in Tanzania focused on two high-profile media-focused events which were aimed at maximizing dissemination of information about the day and its theme of “Cities as Magnets of Hope” to the general public, as well as reach specifically targeted senior stakeholders. The first of these events was a television statement by the Minister for Lands, Housing, and Human Settlements Development, broadcast by TVT, Channel 10, Star TV and ITV. The second event was a press conference, where the WHD press packs were distributed, which garnered significant media interest and coverage. On the day proper a press conference was organized in the office of the Minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development. It was attended by the minister himself, The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, the Commissioner of Lands, the Director of Human Settlements Development and the Director General of the National Housing Corporation among others. | Foundation HELP, a community-based NGO in Tanzania, will be organizing a number of events to commemorate the WHD in Musoma Township. Scheduled for 2nd October is a 30 minutes radio program to discuss shelter issues and governance. Other activities lined up involve primary and secondary school pupils, who will be encouraged to participate in a drawing and essay competition depicting in pictures and words what they would like their municipality to look like in future with a focus on town plans and the environment. | Zambia | In Zambia the UN-HABITAT office is coordinating this year’s World Habitat Day observance in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, National Housing Authority, Habitat for Humanity, Zambia Low-Cost Housing Development Fund and Lusaka City Council. The occasion will be celebrated at a newly developed low cost housing estate in the city and is expected to be attended by members of the community and stakeholders involved in the implementation of the LA21 as well as the public and private sectors in Lusaka. It will focus on advocacy for MDG 7, especially Target 11, through speeches, drama performances and highlighting of good practices and will be covered by the media. For details see: Report |
Arab States | Country | Event | Occupied Palestinian Territories | To mark WHD in the occupied Palestinian Territories various activities took place. UN-HABITAT’s Ramallah office in the West Bank, published a Fact Sheet with inputs from all UN agencies operating in the occupied territories. The focus of the fact sheet was "the situation of Palestinian cities including East Jerusalem". The WHD messages of the UN-HABITAT Executive Director and the UN Secretary General were disseminated through local newspapers. A television round table session organized with the Ministry of Public Works and Housing discussed the messages, the problems of occupied territories and possibilities to overcome these problems, and explored options towards development and sustainability. |
Asia and the Pacific | Country | Event | Australia | The convenor of a global project - Global Studio- has organized talks around the world that will address this year’s World Habitat Day theme - Cities, magnets of hope. The talks began in August and will end in mid November. | Cambodia | In Phnom Penh, the WHD will be marked by a presentation of the messages of the Secretary General of the United Nations Mr. Kofi Annan as well as the UN-HABITAT Executive Director, Anna Tibaijuka which will be disseminated through the local TV, radio, and newspapers. The event will be led by the municipal government, cabinet ministers and other top government officials, international/local NGOs, and community members. Other events will be: the issuance of a certificate of a land title to 140 families in a slum community; an exhibition of community products - One Product for One Community; visits to sites of good practices in some communities; and to provide loans for small businesses and housing in six communities. The speech by the Governor of Phnom Penh Municipality will be disseminated to all the local authorities to address the government policy, which is to improve 100 slums every year over a five-year period as announced by the Prime Minister in May 2003. | Fiji | The Fiji Association of Architects has planned a series of activities to mark the World Habitat Day. They start with a forum at which local and overseas architects will make presentations to the public and government ministries on the subject of urban sustainability. This will be supplemented by presentations from various NGO's on poverty alleviation and will be followed by public discussions on ways in which to best address the side effects of cities being 'Magnets of Hope'. | India | Trust for Regeneration of Environment and Economy(TREE) in collaboration with Regional Science Centre(RSC) will be celebrating World Habitat Day on the 2nd October,2006 at the RSC, Bhubaneswar with the following events: open house quiz and a film show. | The Centre for Urban Studies of the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) jointly with Centre for Human Settlements (International) Northern India Chapter, and Association of British Scholars in India are organizing a panel discussion on this year’s WHD theme on October 3, 2006 at IIPA, New Delhi. There will be various speakers. | The Osmania Medical College Doctors' Forum in India is organizing an awareness programme to mark World Habitat Day 2006 at Hyderabad, capital of the Andhra Pradesh province of India. A media briefing focused on the theme, Cities - magnets of hope, will be held. | In Orissa, City Managers’ Association Orissa (CMAO) will observe World Habitat Day in association with the state government’s department of Housing and Urban Development. The main objective of the observation is to raise the awareness of City Managers of the essence of World Habitat Day. CMAO will release a special edition of a newsletter focusing on Best Practices in the urban sector and award city managers for their contribution to the sector. There are also plans to host a workshop and exhibition on the subject. Participants will include city managers, officials from local urban bodies, senior government decision makers, politicians, NGOs, urban experts and the general public. See Newsletter | The Institute for Regional Development Studies in Kanpur will host a panel discussion with speakers drawn from different professions to celebrate the World Habitat Day. The basic deliberations of the panel will centre on the problems of urban sprawl, slums, urban water supply and solid waste disposal. Panelists will also put forward recommendations for improving the quality of urban environments so as to realize the potential of urban areas as magnets of modern life. | The Thiruvananthapuram, India, based Habitat Technology Group (HTG) is planning a rally campaigning against use of child labour in the construction sector. Target participants include school children, politicians, architects, urban planners and the general public. To involve slum children in the festivities, a painting competition has been organized where they will define "good life". Also in the works is a seminar on the theme Cities, the magnet of hope which will be followed by a short movie on habitat awareness. | Krityanand UNESCO Club, Jamshedpur is organising a one day conference in Jamshedpur to mark this year’s World Habitat Day. Target participants at the event under the theme “Join Hands To Work Towards the Millennium Development Goals” include the community, students and the media. The organizers say particular attention will be on the population without clean drinking water, clean water for good health and educate people to save water for our future". Krityanand UNESCO Club is an NGO working for the aims and purpose of the UNITED NATIONS and its system for our community development. | Indonesia | WHD in Indonesia will be marked by a series of workshops which kick off on 22 August 2006 with a workshop on lessons learned from Aceh and Nias Reconstruction, following the tsunami in 2004, conducted by UN-HABITAT and the Ministry of Housing. At the end of August in Jakarta there will be a seminar and workshop on post disaster reconstruction conducted by the East Asia Regional Organisation for Planning and Housing (EAROP) and Golkar Party. In September, there will be a workshop on the roadmap to slum upgrading, conducted by UN-HABITAT, the Ministry of Housing and the Ministry of Public Works, in Jakarta. A final workshop on tropical eco-settlements will be conducted by the Human Settlements Research Center and the Ministry of Public Works from 14-16 November 2006 in Bali. The observance of WHD on 2 October 2006 will be held in Solo, a city in Central Java, which has a pro poor policy and action oriented programme on local economic and slum upgrading.
| Japan | UN-HABITAT Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, supported by Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka City, Cooperating Committee of Habitat Fukuoka Office, UN Association of Japan Fukuoka Head Office and the Japan Habitat Association, organized a symposium on the main theme of WHD. It focused on what will make cities attractive to serve as “Magnets of Hope”. Mayor of Sorsogon City of the Philippines; an Associate Professor, Department of Urban Engineering, University of Tokyo; and two other experts, participated in the Symposium as panellists. The Executive Committee for WHD 2006 in Fukuoka and ROAP conducted a press tour for 10 foreign press stationed in Tokyo, Japan. The purpose of the tour was to explore Fukuoka which was listed as one of “The World’s 10 Hottest Cities” in a recent Newsweek Magazine and to find out its “Magnets”. The sixth World Habitat Day Children’s Drawing Contest, targeting fourth, fifth and sixth grade pupils in Asia and the Pacific was organized with support from various local partners including Educational Boards. The theme for this year was “Our City: What We Wish to Leave for the Future”. Selected drawings will be exhibited at the Fukuoka Public Library from 17 to 29 October. Winning drawings will be used for the production of the 2007 UN-HABITAT Calendar. In addition to the above events, ROAP organized a series of exhibitions throughout Japan with collaboration of its supporting organizations. | Moldova | Moldova celebrated World Habitat Day with a conference at which the main stakeholders in urban development attended. The conference was linked with the launch of a project financed by "Cities Alliance" for Chisinau Municipality which was covered by the local media. Chisinau Municipality officially launched the first post-Soviet City General Urban Plan (also within the Conference).
| Philippines | The Philippines celebrated WHD with a country-wide information and advocacy campaign using the national print media network. City information offices were mobilized to field news articles and press statements in their respective local media on the gains of UN-HABITAT assistance in their cities particularly in localizing the MDGs. Twenty-nine cities carried the WHD theme in the traditional flag raising ceremonies. The messages of the UN Secretary General and UN-HABITAT Executive Director were read by the city mayors. The Home Development Fund (Pag-IBIG) of North Luzon conducted an essay writing competition and photography contest on this year's theme. | Sri Lanka | Celebrations in Sri Lanka will have an emphasis on slums and various programmes have been planned with the Government to launch the construction phase of the Slum Upgrading Facility (SUF) Moratuwa project. The celebrations will include the participation of donors, partners, government and the community. Also planned will be a documentary programme in the media on slum dwellers highlighting the SUF programme. From the month of September, there will be press releases on various themes in preparation for the WHD as well as a series of nationwide art competitions and social awareness events. For details see: Report
| Celebrations to mark WHD in Sri Lanka have been planned with the participation of the Housing Ministry, Urban Development Ministry & Education Ministry, Lions Club & Private Sector.
The highlights will include art competition, awareness programme in the settlements, construction work in the Slum Upgrading Facility as well as a Programme to promote MDG’S with governance in the cities | Vietnam | "Localizing the MDGs for Vietnamese Cities" is a dynamic slogan that the Association of Cities of Vietnam (ACVN) conveyed to all city members on the occasion of the WHD 2006. This message is also the theme of a national conference which will be organized by ACVN at the end of October. More than 80 delegates representing local and national governments, civil society organizations, research institutions and donor agencies are expected to attend the national event. They will discuss and develop concrete urban development strategies and exchange good practices to meet the future challenges for achieving MDGs in urban areas. Main issues to be debated include the current state of rapid urbanization in Vietnam, city strategic management, infrastructure financing, and local economic.
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Europe | Italy | Naples The global observances for World Habitat Day in the Italian city of Naples began on Sunday 1 October 2006 with the opening of an exhibition that contextualized the development plans of the city within the larger context of urbanization all over the world. The exhibition was held in the 13th Century Castel del’Ovo. Early on Monday 2 October 2006, Mrs. Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, joined Mayor Rosa Iervolino Russo on a visit to a school in an underprivileged area that had recently been burnt and vandalised. On meeting the school children, Mrs. Tibaijuka expressed her solidarity with the people of Naples, pointing out that the UN stood for peace and security, and that on this particular day it was important for people everywhere to learn to live in harmony. The World Habitat Day celebrations included seminars and debates on the theme, Cities, Magnets of Hope, that drew more than 300 particpants. At the opening ceremony, Mayor Russo welcomed the delegates, pointing out how Naples shared many of the problems of cities all over the world which needed innovative inclusive social and economic strategies. The President of the Province of Naples, Riccardo di Palma pointed out that the population of greater Naples had almost reached 4 million people. He therefore welcomed the catalytic role of the UN in raising the awareness of these local issues so that long term solutions could be found for the good of the people of Naples. The relationship of the Italian Government with UN-HABITAT was highlighted by Vittorio Craxi, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of Multi-lateral affairs. He emphasized that social equity was one of the fundamental premises of local democracy and inclusive cities. It was the only way to avoid any prospect of future social conflict in urban areas. Each year, in order to encourage best practices on how to manage the urban environment, UN-HABITAT awards the Habitat Scroll of Honour during the World Habitat Day celebrations. This year, amongst the award winners who attended the Naples event, was Cardinal Renato Martino, who was recognized for his commitment to improving the plight of slum dwellers; the National Cities Conference Programme of Brazil, who won the award for promoting the participation of the poor in urban policy-making. The French firm Veolia Environnement and the Governorate of Alexandria, Egypt, received an award for their notable public-private sector collaboration to deliver solid waste management for the city of Alexandria. In keeping with tradition, at the same ceremony, the Building and Social Housing Foundation presented its World Habitat Awards to the Johannesburg Housing Company for enabling the building of housing and the Aga Khan Foundation’s Building and Construction Improvement Programme in Pakistan. | London | A week-end of events is taking place in London to commemorate World Habitat Day. On 30 September, London Tenants' Federation has organized a conference, with the theme “Tenants’ Vision for Housing in London”. On 1 October there will be an Open Forum on Speculation, Housing, Land and Civil/Social Rights organized by the London Social Forum. To mark the actual WHD on 2 October will be activities directed towards the theme “Day of Direct Action on Housing and Land rights in London”. The week-end events will spot open discussions, workshops and debates with speakers drawn from the academia, civil society, international development organizations and other interest groups. Click here for programme | Malta | The Chamber of Architects and Civil Engineers of Malta will combine this year’s World Habitat Day celebrations with the World Architecture Day, celebrated on the same day. Dubbed ‘Time for Architecture’, the theme of the event will centre on the element of the city as a focal point of society, and will aim to delve into aspects of architectural quality in the development of a better quality of life for the inhabitants of the city. It will also focus on the role of the media in the public’s perception of quality in architecture and our built environment. Lined up are film nights, a day trip to the Venice Biennale, architectural tours, debates, seminars, exhibitions, a workshop for children and social events. | Romania | The "Waste Management Information and Education Center", an institution under the auspices of the Tulcea City Hall is planning a walk for all the schools in the city. | Serbia | In Serbia UN-HABITAT SIRP Programme together with its local partners plans a series of events to mark the World Habitat Day. The month-long activities began on 15 September and will end on 10 October. The activities include drawing competitions for school children, architecture workshops and city walks all focused on the theme, Cities – magnets of hope. Also planned is a conference on social housing in Serbia, exhibitions and award ceremonies for winners of the various drawing competitions. Click here for programme | Sweden | World Habitat Day will be celebrated in Stockholm with a lecture and seminar on Sustainable Urban Development in the Swedish Parliament. The lecture will be given by UN-Habitat's Director for the Global Division, Mr. Lars Reutersward. World Habitat Day this year coincides with the opening of the new Swedish Parliament after the September general elections. | The Netherlands | The Dutch Habitat Platform will celebrate World Habitat Day 2006 by holding a series of workshops in the Concordia theatre and conference centre in The Hague that will deal this year with every aspect of financing human settlements. The organisers said they will seek to address and explain and exhange with experts and all-comers alike, the finer points of participatory budgeting, micro-finance, and partnerships to help uplift the urban poor at home and abroad. The meetings, open to the public, are expected to draw experts from local administrations, housing corporations, advice bureaus and various non-governmental organizations. Contact info@habitatplatform.nl for detailed information on the Dutch programme. | Ukraine
| The Municipal Management Centre in Kyiv in conjunction with Civil Initiative Development Organization - OGI International – organized a conference to mark WHD. The conference whose slogan was “UN to the Communities of Ukraine” had the objective of spreading experience of cooperation between Local Authorities of Ukraine, NGO's and organizations of UN System in Ukraine and international organizations. It was also aimed at poverty eradication, solving major local problems and ensuring sustainable development of human settlements in Ukraine. |
Latin America and the Caribbean | Argentina | To celebrate World Habitat Day, the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Buenos Aires, organized a workshop titled, “Integrated Response to the Housing Problem in Argentina”. The main themes discussed were the urban land reform; the right to the city; human settlements; social, economic and environmental sustainability; the housing shortage and the current housing laws in Argentina. Among the participants, were the Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Argentina, the dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Buenos Aires and a representative from the International Alliance of Inhabitants.
| Brazil | The Brazilian Institute of Architects (Instituto de Arquitetos do Brasil - IAB), a Habitat Agenda Partner, will hold a round-table session about the Architecture of the City, in celebration of the World Habitat Day on 2 October. | Cuba | Several activities took place in Cuba on the occasion of World Habitat Day. The main activity was organized by the National Institute for Housing where WHD speeches of the United Nations Secretary-General and UN-HABITAT's Executive Director were read. Other interventions were from UNDP's Deputy Resident Representative and the director of urbanisation from the Institute for Physical Planning. The highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of the National Habitat Awards. The event was widely covered by local television and radio.
In the city of Santa Clara, a conference was held at the Centre for Capacity Building Agenda21. Local academics and other officials discussed human settlement subjects such as urban sprawl, migration, environment and water. | | As in the previous years, the World Day of Habitat in Cuba will be celebrated by a central activity that consists of a special meeting of the National Committee of Habitat. The preliminary program of this meeting includes: reading of the Message of the ED of UN-Habitat; speech from the Resident Coordinator of United Nations; information on the Campaigns of UN- Habitat in Cuba; information of the Programs of UN- Habitat in Cuba and awarding of the National Distinction Habitat.
| Costa Rica | Forums and roundtables were organized in Costa Rica on the occasion of World Habitat Day. Among the main themes discussed were the need for action to attain the Millennium Development Goals at city level; urban viability; sanitation and slum upgrading.
| Colombia | In Bogotá, a workshop on this year's theme, "Cities, Magnets of Hope" was organized to mark World Habitat Day. The focus of the workshop was the analysis of the current status of Social Housing in Colombia by several of its actors and stakeholders including the government, academia and developers. Among the speakers, were the Vice Minister for Housing, representatives of local Universities and other institutions involved in social housing promotion, financing and development as well as the UN-HABITAT Programme Manager.
| Ecuador | In Quito, the inhabitants of the Vista Hermosa neighbourhood with the help of the NGO Quito para Todos (Quito for all) and UN-HABITAT, used the opportunity of World Habitat Day to strengthen their campaign to claim back public space by organizing a cultural event. Activities included tree planting in the park, local artists teaching children, flea market and a musical and puppet show. The event was attended by the neighbours of Vista Hermosa, local authorities and was covered by national media. The event was also an opportunity to publicize one of the campaign's recent successes, the rehabilitation of a local street as a public space. The street was being used as a parking lot. Future projects include road safety improvements by reorganizing current traffic patterns. See Press Article | In coordination with UN-HABITAT's Programme Manager, activities lined up to celebrate this year’s WHD in Ecuador include movies highlighting urban issues as well as artists’ impressions in the informal settlements aimed at sensitizing the local population about the value of public space and the need to act as a community in order to improve. The works are also intended to stimulate authorities’ assistance to neighbourhoods through a demonstration of people can do. There will also be a Cooperation agreement between the cities of Esmeraldas and Cuenca. The objective is to promote cultural and commercial exchange between a city with mostly "amerindian" population (Cuenca) and a city with mostly "afro-ecuadorian" population (Esmeraldas). Expected participants include association of migrant populations. | Guatemala | In Guatemala, more than 3,000 people demonstrated in the streets of Guatemala City. The demonstrators chanted slogans against forced evictions and advocated for the formalization of "illegal" settlements. The march arrived at the "Palace of Justice" where a delegation of the protesters entered the National Congress Premises and delivered a proposed housing and land reform bill. The proposal includes the creation of a Ministry of Housing financed by 5 per cent of the national budget. If the bill is implemented it is expected that the housing deficit gap can be closed in 20 years.
| Mexico | The President of Mexico has been lined up to award a Habitat Prize as part of the celebrations marking this year’s WHD in Mexico City. Also to give out a prize is the minister for social development who will hand the Habitat University award. In the works is a proposed publication on Local Economic Development as well as a videoconference with Ministers of Latin America to discuss gender and habitat. The celebration in Mexico is coordinated by our Habitat Programme Manager. |
North America | Country | Event | Canada | A coalition of housing organizations and tenants advocacy groups under the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations in Canada are launching a campaign on World Habitat Day to draw attention to the inadequate supply of affordable housing. | Haiti | The official theme for this year’s WHD celebration, "Cities, Magnets of Hope" took on a local flavour in Haiti, dubbed "information for better human settlements planning". The official ceremony, composed of an exhibition and a conference, was organized by the Ministry for Planning and International Cooperation and UN-HABITAT. In his welcoming remarks, the Minister for Planning and International Cooperation pointed out the need to "reflect on the human habitat in general and in particular on the effects of migration in cities". UN-HABITAT's officer in Haiti, focused on the agency’s theme saying that it was important to obtain information from the grassroots in order for planners to efficiently and effectively tackle the issues of growing cities. | USA | New York UN-HABITAT in partnership with NGO Committee on Human Settlements hosted roundtable and panel discussions in observance of the WHD in New York City. Representatives from State, Local government and civil society gathered at the Dag Hammarskjold Library Auditorium to respond to the 2006 Day's theme - “Cities, Magnets of Hope”. A representative from Battery Park City Authority in Lower Manhattan, presented the unique urban design and vision of Battery Park City, and its pioneering “green” development. Battery Park City is home to America’s first green residential high-rise – the Solaire – and all development on its 92-acre downtown property must adhere to strict environmental guidelines to maximize energy efficiency and minimize water usage, among other provisions. Following the Roundtable discussion, presentations continued from Civil Society organizations on issues of migration and settlements, one of the unique historical features of New York City. | The George Washington Law School, Washington DC, USA, is organizing a National Forum on the Human Right to Housing on 21 September. The forum targets homeless and housing rights activists, advocates, litigators and service providers to enable them to learn more about international right to housing and how it applies to the United States. For more information and registration, visit http://nlchp.org/FA_HUMANRIGHTS/forum.cfm |
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