BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 21. Young people must be co-authors of urban transformation, the Executive Director of the Kounkuey Design Initiative from Kenya, Vera Bukachi said, Trend reports.
She made the remark during an event titled “Youth and Civil Society Leadership in Advancing Sustainable and Inclusive Cities” as part of WUF13.
"We are meeting at a moment of particular urgency for our youth. By 2030, just four short years from now, nearly one billion people in Africa will live in cities, and more than half of them will be under 35. “600 millions of them will live in informal settlements, similar to those where we work, and the majority of them will be young people,” she said.
Bukachi noted that these young people are nevertheless cut off from investment, housing, land, opportunities, and often from decisions regarding the development of their own neighborhoods.
“We’ve had years of declarations, years of policy documents, years of talk. What we lack now is consistent practice where youth and civil society are at the center—not as beneficiaries, but as co-authors, co-implementers, rights holders, and joint agents of urban change,” she said.
Today marks the fifth day of WUF13 in Baku.
The first day included a ministerial meeting dedicated to the New Urban Agenda, a ministerial roundtable, assemblies for women and civil society, business sessions, and discussions on urban prosperity. An official ceremony marking the raising of the UN and Azerbaijani flags also took place.
The second day stood out for the inaugural Leaders' Summit, featuring high-level discussions on the global housing crisis, urbanization policy, and urban resilience. Concurrently, the opening of the Mexico City pavilion took place, serving as a significant platform for expanding cooperation with the Latin American region and preparing for WUF14.
The third day of WUF13 featured a comprehensive program of events covering the global housing crisis, the formation of safe and inclusive cities, climate resilience, artificial intelligence and urban governance, green urbanization, social equity, and sustainable transport.
One of the highlights of the third day was the signing of a sister-city memorandum between the Azerbaijani city of Shusha and the Turkish city of Trabzon.
The fourth day of WUF13 featured a broad program of events dedicated to urbanization, climate change, inclusive urban development, housing policy, and sustainable governance.
One of the important events of the UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) Cities Forum, held on the fourth day, was the announcement of Almaty’s official accession to the “Declaration of Intent on the Establishment of the SPECA Smart Climate-Resilient Cities Forum.”
Also, for the first time in WUF history and at Azerbaijan’s initiative, the “WUF13 NGO Forum: Global Partnership and Decision-Making” was held.
WUF13, which has attracted more than 40,000 registered participants from 182 countries, will continue until May 22. Held under the theme “Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities,” the forum brings together governments, international organizations, experts, and representatives of civil society to strengthen global cooperation in the field of sustainable urban development.
