📅 4 – 8 November 2024
Cairo, Egypt
WUF12 will focus on localizing the Sustainable Development Goals, shedding light on the local actions and initiatives required to curb the current global challenges affecting the daily life of people, including unaffordable housing, rising living costs, climate change, the lack of basic services, and ongoing conflicts.
The concept of localization recognizes the role of subnational governments and calls for a whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach, empowering local stakeholders and fostering citizen engagement. It requires aligning actions with community priorities and recognizing the unique conditions of each locality.
WUF12 will take place as calls are made to collectively address global challenges such as rising poverty and inequality, climate change, armed conflict, and the digital divide. The forum will take place shortly after the UN Summit of the Future in September 2024, roughly five years before the deadline to deliver on the SDGs, highlighting the transformative role of sustainable cities and communities within the 2030 Global Sustainable Agenda.
Dialogues are high-profile events, which will take place at WUF and which set the agenda for policy and action. They provide a platform for global thinkers, practitioners, and decision-makers to share insights and solutions on themes of global importance and include active discussion with the audience. Discussions collect key reflections on the status of and way forward for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Each dialogue serves as a crucial lens through which to view connections between the concept of “home” and the multifaceted challenges and opportunities entailed in localization. WUF12 will foster conversations in multiple formats, such as roundtables, assemblies, special sessions, etc., which will create diverse entry points for considering the role of all urban actors, including grassroots, civil society, private sector, academia, all levels of government and international organizations, among many more.
