About the 8th Asia-Pacific Urban Forum (APUF-8)
For the past three decades, the Asia-Pacific Urban Forum has played a pivotal role in convening the region’s premier multi-stakeholder forum on sustainable urban development. The 8th Asia-Pacific Urban Forum (APUF-8) will be held from 23 to 25 October 2023 in Suwon City, Republic of Korea. The Forum brings together the experiences of diverse stakeholders to reflect on the colliding crises faced by cities in Asia and the Pacific, synthesize innovative approaches and actions to support sustainable urban development in the context of the New Urban Agenda and the decade for action for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sessions will draw unique insights from urban thought leaders, government officials and major stakeholder groups, based on real-world experiences of resilience-building and transformation through and beyond the pandemic.
APUF-8 is co-organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and Suwon City, in strategic partnership with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of the Republic of Korea, and in cooperation with UN-Habitat, Habitat for Humanity International and CityNet as well as a range of supporting partner organizations. For more information, visit www.apuf8.org.
Our participation
Given the objectives and focus of the Asia Habitat Dialogues, here’s a tailored program overview for HIC participation in the Asia-Pacific Urban Forum 8 in Suwan:
Focus Areas:
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- Policy Discussions: Given the objectives of understanding strategies and priorities of different organisations, it’s crucial to engage in Urban and Territorial Planning and Urban Climate Action Plenaries. This will provide insights into the political priorities, contextual challenges, and ongoing processes related to habitat rights in Asia. Here is the link to the main Plenaries: https://apuf8.org/sub02/plenary.html
- Partnerships/networking: Cultivating a network and fostering deeper collaborations is a key objective. Engaging in sessions that focus on partnership-building will be beneficial. Some key networks:
- Jonathan Reckford and Patrick Canagasingham from Habitat for Humanity, given their deep involvement in housing and habitat rights.
- Vijay Jagannathan, Secretary General of CityNet, as CityNet focuses on urban development and could provide valuable insights and partnership opportunities.
- Milag San Jose-Ballesteros, Regional Director for C40, given the organisation’s focus on cities and climate change, which intersects with habitat rights.
- Sheela Patel, Director of the Society for the Promotion Resource Centres (SPARC), as SPARC has been actively involved in slum dweller rights and housing.
- Community Engagement: To pinpoint both commonalities and distinct aspects within thematic areas, it’s essential to understand the grassroots challenges and solutions. Engaging in community-focused sessions will provide a ground-level perspective. Please refer to the program and concept of
- Grassroot Stakeholder Assembly here
- Women Assembly here
- Youth Assembly here
- Post-Forum Engagement: Based on the insights gathered and the connections made, we can consider organising follow-up virtual meetings with key stakeholders. This will help in evaluating the need for crafting a regional manifesto and work plan/advocacy plan based on the learnings from the forum.
Program of the event: https://apuf8.org/sub02/program.html
Here are the sessions that we should consider attending and participating in:
22nd October 2023 (Sunday): Registration and Stakeholder Assemblies on Grassroots, Local Government, Women and Youth – it would be beneficial to attend the Stakeholder Assemblies, especially the ones focused on Grassroots and Local Government. These sessions will provide insights into grassroots challenges and local government strategies, aligning with AHD goals to understand strategies and priorities of different organisations.
23 October 2023 (Monday):
- 09:00-10:30 – Opening Session and Launch of Flagship Report: This session will provide an overview of the forum’s objectives and the launch of a significant report, which may align with our interests
- 11:00-12:30 – Plenary High-Level Panel 1 (Urban and Territorial Planning): Given our focus on habitat rights and urban planning, this session will be crucial.
- 13:30-15:00 – Parallel Sessions 1: Information below
24 October 2023 (Tuesday):
- 09:00-10:30 – Plenary High-Level Panel 2 (City Climate Action): Given the intersection of habitat rights and climate action, this session will be of interest.
- 11:00-12:30 – Parallel Sessions 2: Information below
- 13:30-15:00 – Plenary High-Level Panel 3 (Inclusive Urban Digitalization): Understanding the role of digitalization in inclusive urban planning.
- 15:30-17:00 – Parallel Sessions 3: Information below
25 October 2023 (Wednesday):
- 09:00-10:30 – Plenary High-Level Panel 4 (Urban Finance): Understanding the financial aspects of urban development.
- 11:00-12:30 – Parallel Sessions 4: Information below
- 13:30-15:00 – SDG City Awards, Voluntary Commitments, Declaration, and Closing Session: A wrap-up of the forum’s outcomes and a look towards future engagements.
Organisations and Allies:
UCLG Asia-Pacific, Huairou Commission, Slum Dwellers International (SDI), CityNet, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Habitat for Humanity, Society for the Promotion Resource Centres (SPARC), ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, Asia-Pacific Youth Environment Network (APYEN), Lumanti
Parallel Sessions (Link contains detailed information on each session)
Day 1: Monday, 23 October 2023 – Session I (13:30 – 15:00)
| Towards health and wellbeing in cities for people and planet: engaging urban stakeholders
Organized by SEI Asia together with Thammasat University School of Architecture and Planning Room 202 Contact: diane.archer@sei.org |
| Creative Economy and Urban Transformation: Reimagining the Power of Culture for Inclusive Cities
Organized by Jaipur District, Odisha, India Room 203 Contact: dm-jajpur@nic.in and hactjajpur1@gmail.com |
| Unlocking the Potential of VLRs: Building Sustainable Cities through Local Action and Follow-up and Review Processes
Organized by Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) together with Urbanice Malaysia, UCLG ASPAC, and United Nations ESCAP Room 204 Contact: Ortiz-moya@iges.or.jp |
| Building Inclusive Cities: Accelerating Progress for Sustainable Communities in Asia and the Pacific
Organized by UNOPS together with UN-Habitat Room 205 Contact: mohammedameers@unops.org and adishree.panda@un.org |
| Roadmap to a Just & Regenerative Recovery from Covid Climate Change & Conflict
Organized by EAROPH International and UN-Habitat Professionals Forum Room 207 Contact: peterc@sustainasblefutures.com.au and earophsecretariat@gmail.com |
| Road Safety in Asia and the Pacific: providing access to safe transport systems for all
Organized by United Nations ESCAP Transport Division Room 303 Contact: Mr. Ishtiaque Ahmed, E-mail: ahmed200@un.org |
| A planetary approach to resilience, social and natural inclusion in urban revitalization of post-pandemic Southeast Asian cities
Organized by RMIT University Vietnam together with Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), Bangkok; PolyurabanWaters at Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association Room 404 Contact: ductrinh.tran@rmit.edu.vn, hocking@borda-sea.org, catherine.earl@rmit.edu.vn, and waritthaw@adpc.net |
| Learning from Chiang Mai under the topic: Civil Society, the main force to sustain Chiang Mai City
Organized by Chiang Mai Creative City; Chiang Mai Provincial Administrative Organization; Department of Architecture, Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna, Chiang Mai; and Science and Technology Park, Chiang Mai University Room 405 Contact: ajirapapr87@gmail.com |
Day 1: Monday, 23 October 2023 – Session II (15:30 – 17:00)
| Thematic bureaucratic reform related to poverty alleviation in the Balangan district government through the synchronization of rural and urban development planning
Organized by The Regent of Balangan and the state civil apparatus Room 202 Contact: organisasiblg01@gmail.com |
| The Role of People-led Narratives and Hyperlocal Approaches in Sustainable Urban Development: An Emerging Paradigm from the Climate and Housing Space in India
Organized by Purpose together with Waatavaran Room 203 Contact: newdelhi@purpose.com |
| Inclusive and Climate Responsive Land Use Planning for Sustainable Development in the Urban-Rural Continuum in Nepal
Organized by UN-Habitat Regional Office for Asia and the Pacifici (ROAP) together with Korea Land and Geospatial InformatiX Corporation (LX) and Department of Environment and Resources Research, Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI) Room 204 Contact: pragya.pradhan@un.org |
| Bridging the Gap: Strategic Urban Governance Approaches Towards Inclusive and Resilient Cities in South-East Asia
Organized by Habitat Unit, Technical University Berlin, Germany together with Kota Kita, Indonesia Room 205 Contact: t.imsirovic@tu-berlin.de and icha@kotakita.org |
| New Style of Long-Term Strategies for Local Governments – In-depth discussion with reference to the latest VLR of Tokyo
Organized by Tokyo Metropolitan Government together with ICLEI South Asia Room 207 Contact: Tomonori_Hiroike@member.metro.tokyo.jp and Hibiki_Tatesada@member.metro.tokyo.jp |
| Reforming Policies to Improve Informal Settlements in Post COVID-19 Asia Pacific
Organized by Habitat for Humanity International together with United Nations ESCAP Room 303 Contact: juliet@habitatbangladesh.org and EMadarcos@habitat.org |
| Reimagining Mountain Cities: Towards Sustainable, Culturally Sensitive and Inclusive Cities of Eastern South Asia
Organized by UNICITI together with Asian Confluence Room 402 Contact: olga.chepelianskaia@uniciti.org and director@asianconfluence.org |
| Reducing air pollution through science-based interventions
Organized by United Nations ESCAP Room 404 Contact: perkinsm@un.org |
| Strengthening G7 and G20 Urban Groups Partnership on Sustainable Urbanization and Multilevel Climate Action: Lessons and Experience from the Asia Pacific Region
Organized by ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability, South Asia, together with ICLEI Japan Office, ICLEI Indonesia Office, and National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) Room 405 Contact: emani.kumar@iclei.org and emani.kumar-dsg@iclei.org |
Day 2: Tuesday, 24 October 2023 – Morning Session (11:00 – 12:30)
| Urban Climate Resilience through Rainwater Harvesting
Organized by Shehersaaz together with UN-Habitat Pakistan Room 202 Contact: almas@shehersaaz.org.pk |
| Urban Cities Responses to Climate Challenges in Housing and Settlements
Organized by Habitat for Humanity and Catholic Relief Services Room 203 Contact: kdevera@habitat.org, jkendall@habitat.org and minar.thapamagar@crs.org |
| Innovating Urban Resilience in the Era of Climate Change in Southeast Asia: Cases from Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam
Organized by Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) together with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and ICLEI Southeast Asia Room 204 Contact: senaka_basnayake@adpc.net and AlanLuis.SIlayan@crs.org |
| Shaking Things Up with a Regional Climate Justice Charter
Organized by EAROPH International Secretariat Room 205 Contact: earophsecretariat@gmail.com |
| Strategies for Enhancing Climate Resilience in Malaysia Cities: A Focus on City Climate Action Plan
Organized by Urbanice Malaysia together with Mercy Malaysia, UN-Habitat Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific ROAP (Fukuoaka), C40 and Hang Tuah Jaya City Council Room 207 Contact: aliaa@urbanicemalaysia.com |
| Enabling Frameworks to Support Asian Cities’ Ability to Access Climate Finance
Organized by United Nations ESCAP together with GIZ, UCLG ASPAC, Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (CCFLA) Room 301 Contact: Krzysztof.kaczmarski@un.org |
| City-led climate innovations: Driving changes to safeguard our future
Organized by United Nations ESCAP, together with ICLEI East Asia and Institute for Global Decarbonization Progress (iGDP) Room 303 Contact: kim54@un.org and peter.chintsenam@un.org |
| Urban Climate Resilience: A key to sustainable urbanization
Organized by UNDRR, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific together with Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) and Thailand Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund (UCCRTF) administered by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Room 402 Contact: soodrak@un.org, urce@adpc.net, senaka_basnayake@adpc.net, and jbailey.consultant@adb.org |
Day 2: Tuesday, 24 October 2023 – Afternoon Session (15:30 – 17:00)
| PPP innovations on digital transformation for the vulnerable sectors
Organized by CityNet, The Regional Network of Local Authorities for the Management of Human Settlements Room 202 Speakers will include UNIDO and its partners, CityNet and its member city governments in Asia Pacific and CityNet associate members. |
| Disability Inclusion in Urban Infrastructure and Services – Lessons from South Asia
Organized by UN-Habitat together with United Nations ESCAP Room 205 Contact: parul.agarwala@un.org, adishree.panda@un.org, and kangk@un.org |
| Innovate4Cities Marketplace: Accelerating SDG progress through the City Research and Innovation Agenda
Organized by Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (Global Secretariat) together with GCoM Korea, ICLEI Korea, UN-Habitat, Melbourne Centre for Cities Room 206 Contact: Cathy.oke@unimelb.edu.au |
| Emerging technologies and transdisciplinary approach towards strengthening risk-informed urban resilience
Organized by Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Center (DPPC), Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Kuala Lumpur together with National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA); MERCY Malaysia; Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) Research; THINKlab, Salford University / The 21st Technical Committee of ACECC (Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council); and Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatic, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Kuala Lumpur Room 207 Contact: khamarrul.kl@utm.my, khamarrulrazak@gmail.com, yuetmei.siow@gmail.com, hannanisapiee@gmail.com |
| Leveraging digital innovation for sustainable urban development
Organized by 1 Room 301 Contact: sanjeevani.singh@un.org |
Day 3: Wednesday, 25 October 2023 – Morning Session (11:00 – 12:30)
| Building Inclusive Communities: Harnessing Housing Microfinance for Sustainable Urban Development
Organized by Habitat for Humanity International Room 202 Contact: Mr Jitendra Balani, jbalani@habitat.org and Ms Farzana Bijur, farzana@avallark.com |
| Investing in Locally-Led Adaptation (LLA) for bottom-up approach to urban resilience
Organized by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, South Asia Room 203 Contact: shruti.sadhukhan@iclei.org |
| IMAGINE MAE KHA: City Transformation thru Housing Development
Organized by Chiang Mai Provincial Administrative Organization together with Chiang Mai Creative City, Chiang Mai Provincial Office; Community Organization Development Institute; Chiang Mai Community Organization network; and Jai Baan Studio Room 204 Contact: thanawin.net@gmail.com |
| Unlocking Finance for Urban Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience: Bottlenecks and Opportunities
Organized by Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) together with Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund (UCCRTF) and Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) Room 205 Contact: analyn.rubenecia@cdia.asia |
| Private Actors, Partnerships, and Corporate Accountability for Urban Development
Organized by World Benchmarking Alliance Room 206 Contact: t.widjarnarso@worldbenchmarkingalliance.org |
| Gap Fund Training: Enabling Sustainable Urban Solutions
Organized by Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and The City Climate Finance Gap Fund Room 301 Contact: info@gcomprojectsupport.org |
| Multi-Solving for Sustainability: Transforming Urban Planning and Finance
Organized by SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component Room 402 Contact: REmerson@habitat.org and cosima@switch-asia.eu |