world habitat day · world habitat day 2005 1 the united nations has designated the first monday in...

World Habitat Day3 O C T O B E R 2 0 0 5

Contents

Introduction 1Raise awareness in your city 2Previous World Habitat Day observances 3Scroll of Honour Award winners 4World Habitat Day 2004 Report 5

Global observance in Nairobi, Kenya 6Secretary-General's message 7Executive Director's message 8Habitat Scroll of Honour winners in 2004 9World Habitat Day 2004 around the world 10

Call for nominations for 2005 Habitat Scroll of Honour Award

The Millennium Development Goals and the City

• “Achieve significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by the year 2020”

• “Reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water”

2020

WORLD HABITAT DAY

Keep the promise!

The Millennium DevelopmentGoals and the City

3 OCTOBER 2005

“Slums represent the worst of urban poverty and inequality.Yet the world has the resources, know-how and power to reach

the target established in the Millennium Declaration.”

– UN Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan.

Cover pictures from left to right: Slums in India, Topfoto/UNEP/Gautam Banerjee • Slums in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Topfoto• Residents work on building barriers to prevent a large pool of raw sewage from entering their homes in the Baseco slum, Manila,

Philippines. Topfoto/Image Works • Slums near downtown area of Jakarta, Indonesia. Topfoto/Image Works

World Habitat Day 2005 1

The United Nations has designated the first Monday in October every year as World Habitat Day to reflect onthe state of human settlements and the basic right to adequate shelter for all. It is also intended to remind theworld of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.

This year, the World Habitat Day will be held on Monday, 3 October 2005. The theme of this year’scelebrations is the Millennium Development Goals and the City. This theme, chosen by the United Nations, isto remind all of us that in the year 2000, world leaders meeting at the dawn of the new Millennium,committed themselves to launch a concerted attack on poverty, illiteracy, hunger, unsafe water, disease andurban and environmental degradation by adopting a set of eight goals. In September this year, the UNGeneral Assembly will hold a five-year review meeting to weigh progress on the eight goals.

UN-HABITAT is working with a number of international and civil society organizations, cities and governmentsto realize Target 11 of Millennium Development Goal 7 – improving the living conditions of at least 100million slum dwellers by the year 2020. We are also working together on Target 10 of MDG 7 – reducing byhalf the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water. Our Global Campaign onUrban Governance and our Global Campaign for Secure Tenure enhance this work through a series of UN-HABITAT programmes, mainly in developing countries, that shoulder the heaviest poverty burdens.

This year, the global observance will be spearheaded from the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and its outskirtsBanten. We chose Indonesia for this year’s celebration to highlight the country’s drive to keep the millenniumpromise on slum upgrading and the major relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts that have beenunderway in the wake of widespread coastal devastation caused by the recent tsunami disaster.

Our quest for a better urban world is by no means an easy task, as demonstrated by the fact that since theMillennium Declaration, the global slum population has already risen by more than 75 million. Already, halfof humankind lives in cities. By the middle of this century, two-thirds of the global population will be living intowns and cities.

Yet, nearly 32 per cent of the world’s urban population – roughly 1 billion people – lives in slums, mostly inor on the edges of cities across the developing world. In process, we at UN-HABITAT, the UN humansettlements agency, call the urbanization of poverty, the locus of global poverty is moving into towns andcities.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest proportion of its urban population resident in slums – nearly 72 per centin the year 2001. But our agency’s research for that year shows, the figure for South-Central Asia was 58 percent, followed by 36 per cent for East Asia, 33 pe rcent for West Asia, 32 per cent for Latin America and theCaribbean, 28 per cent for North Africa, 28 per cent for Southeast Asia, and 24 per cent in Oceania.

In absolute numbers of slum dwellers, Asia as a whole has by far the largest number at 554 million makingup 60 per cent of the world’s total slum populations, followed by Africa with 187 million (20 per cent of theglobal figure), and Latin America and the Caribbean with 128 million slum dwellers (14 per cent of theglobal figure). Compare that to the slum population of 54 million in the developed countries making up just6 per cent of the global slum population.

It is not an exaggeration, therefore, to state that we are sitting on a social time bomb, that this is ascandalous situation in our modern world. The goals are also intended at making us think harder andworking better to make our towns and cities inclusive, acceptable places of abode. Otherwise the urban timebomb will start ticking faster than ever.

Let us make no mistake: Cities are much more than national engines of economic growth. They are thecrucibles of cultural fusion. Standing astride every intersection on the global network of trade and migration,the world’s cities must become shining examples of inclusiveness and equity as called for in the MillenniumDeclaration. Otherwise, they will remain potential flashpoints of conflict and reservoirs of poverty – barriers tohumanity’s further development. We must at least try to keep the promise for the Millennium DevelopmentGoals and the City.

Introduction

2 World Habitat Day 2005

World Habitat Day provides an excellent opportunity to highlight key human settlements issues. Wewould like to thank all our partners around the world who have commemorated World Habitat Day inrecent years and reported back to us about their 2004 activities for this report.

This year, we call again on our partners in central government, local government, civil society and theprivate sector to take part in organizing activities to raise awareness and stimulate debate on theimportant theme of The Millennium Development Goals and the City.

GuidelinesAs a guide, here are some of the activities that you can help organize:1. Use the mass media, particularly newspapers, radio and television, to draw attention to World

Habitat Day celebrations. If possible, issue press releases, display posters, organize pressconferences, and broadcast video and audio spots.

2. Draw attention to the challenges of the MDGs, particularly the targets on slums and access towater and sanitation through press articles, radio and television documentaries and panelprogrammes with policy makers, government officials, academics, journalists, other professionals,and community representatives. Public information campaigns, and use of popular theatre canalso help to create awareness of the problems and issues.

3. Use the occasion to publicize, reward and demonstrate tangible improvements in the lives of slumdwellers and the level of access to water and sanitation facilities.

4. Organize competitions, such as essays and paintings, in schools and other places of learning tocreate awareness of and help find solutions to human settlements and urban problems.

5. Organize fund raising, recreational or entertainment activities like football matches, concerts, etc.,and use the proceeds to upgrade and extend services for the poor communities.

6. Work with postal authorities to issue special stamps and raise global awareness.7. Educational authorities could, in collaboration with appropriate ministries, introduce the MDGs

into school curricula.

UN-HABITAT supportTo support city and country-level activities, UN-HABITAT is developing information and promotionalmaterials on the theme and will provide an information kit including a poster, and a short video on thetheme for use by any partner that wishes to plan an event to commemorate World Habitat Day.Information kits will be mailed to partners including Embassies and High Commissions, Inter-governmental Organizations, United Nations Information Centre offices, UNDP country offices andother UN agencies.

We will also keep the UN-HABITAT website www.unhabitat.org/whd updated for information and tips onorganizing local World Habitat Day events.

Keep us informedPlease let us know if you wish to organize a local awareness-raising event by sending an e-mail [email protected]. We would greatly appreciate it, if you could include in your e-mail, as manydetails as possible about your planned event. Also, when World Habitat Day is over, please send us areport on your event, with details of media coverage and photographs if possible. We will post theseon the World Habitat Day page of our website and in the report that is distributed to all our partnersand the public. Thank you for your continued support.

Raise awareness in your city -organize a World Habitat 2005 event


Year Themes WHD Venue Chief guest

1986 Shelter is my Right Nairobi USG, UN-HABITAT

1987 Shelter for the Homeless New York SG, UN

1988 Shelter and Community London Archbishop ofCanterbury

1989 Shelter, Health and the Jakarta President of IndonesiaFamily

1990 Shelter and Urbanization London Hon. Sir Geoffrey

1991 Shelter and the Living Hiroshima Mayor of HiroshimaEnvironment

1992 Shelter and Sustainable UN, New York SG, UNDevelopment

1993 Women and Shelter UN, New York SG, UNDevelopment

1994 Home and the Family Dakar President of Senegal

1995 Our Neighbourhood Curitiba Mayor of Curitiba

1996 Urbanization, Citizenship Budapest Minister of the Interior,and Human Solidarity Hungary

1997 Future Cities Bonn Federal Minister forRegional Planning,Building and UrbanDevelopment, Germany

1998 Safer Cities Dubai Director General DubaiMunicipality, UAE

1999 Cities for All Dalian Minister of Construction, China

2000 Women in Urban Jamaica Deputy Prime Minister andGovernance Minister of Land and

Environment

2001 Cities without Slums Fukuoka Governor of FukuokaPrefecture

2002 City-to-City Cooperation Brussels H.R.H. Prince Philippe

2003 Water and Sanitation for Rio De Janeiro Mayor of Rio De Janeiro,Cities Brazil

2004 Cities – Engines of Rural Nairobi President Mwai Kibaki ofDevelopment Kenya

World Habitat DayGlobal Observances from 1986 to 2004


2004Xiamen Municipal People’s Government, ChinaCentre for Development Communication (CDC),IndiaPresident Joaquim Chissano, MozambiqueThe Big Issue magazine, United KingdomPrime Minister Rafic Hariri (Special Citation),Lebanon

2003Mrs. Margaret Catley-Carlson, CanadaWeihai Municipal Government, ChinaMr. German Garcia Duran, ColombiaDr. Bindeshwar Pathak, IndiaMs. Nasreen Mustafa Sideek, IraqPamoja Trust, KenyaMrs. Sankie D. Mthembi-Mahanyele, SouthAfricaWater Supply and Sanitation Collaborative,Council (WASH), SwitzerlandMs. Zena Daysh, Commonwealth HumanEcology Council (CHEC), U.K.Ms. Teolinda Bolivar, VenezuelaHis Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej, the King ofThailand

2002C2C between Nakuru and Leuven, BelgiumBrazilian Institute of Municipal, Administration(IBAM), BrazilBaotou Municipal Government, ChinaCITYNET based in Yokohama, JapanDutch Habitat Platform, NetherlandsMayor Joan Clos, SpainENDA Tiers Monde Dakar, SénégalRené Frank, USAJohn Hodges (Special Citation), United Kingdom

2001Hangzhou Municipal Government, ChinaMs. Pastora Nuñez Gonzalez, CubaBremer Beginenhof Modell, GermanyFukuoka City, JapanFather Pedro Opeka, MadagascarCentre on Housing Rights and Eviction,SwitzerlandTelevision Trust for The Environment (TVE), U.K.Asiaweek, Hong KongChairperson and The Cooperating Committeefor Japan Habitat Fukuoka Office (SpecialCitation), Japan

2000Ms. Ana Vasilache, RomaniaMs. Caroline Pezzullo, U.S.A.Mrs. Jacqueline da Costa, JamaicaWomen and Peace Network, Costa RicaMs. Mary Jane Ortega, PhilippinesInternational Union of Local Authorities, based inthe NetherlandsMs. Sheela Patel, IndiaMr. Charles Keenja, TanzaniaMs. Mmatshilo Motsei, South Africa

1999Ms. Habiba Eid, EgyptMr. Bo Xilai – Mayor of Dalian, ChinaNational Slum Dwellers Federation, IndiaMr. Alvaro Villota Bernal, ColombiaPresident Rudolf Schuster, Slovak RepublicMr. Pierre Laconte, BelgiumMr. Millard Fuller, U.S.A.Hon. Kwamena Ahwoi, GhanaOperation Firimbi, Kenya

1998Programa de Mobilizacão de Comunidades, BrazilFu-Nan River Comprehensive Revitalization ProjectChendu, ChinaMayor Mu Suixin, Mayor of Shenyang, ChinaForum Européen pour la Sécurité Urbaine, FranceProf. Akin L. Mabogunje, NigeriaVladimir A. Kudryavtsev, RussiaAssociation des Habitants d’el Mourouj 2, Tunisia

1997Sen. Oscar López Velarde Vega, MexicoMother Center Stuttgart, West GermanySouth African Homeless People’s Federation, SouthAfricaMayor Huang Ziqiang, ChinaReinhard Goethert and Nabeel Hamdi, U.S.A./United KingdomFederation of Canadian Municipalities, CanadaMr. Peter Elderfield (Special Citation), UnitedKingdomMr. Radinal Moochtar, Minister of PublicWorks (Special Citation)Indonesia

1996Hou Jie, Minister of Construction (SpecialCitation), ChinaPeter Kimm (Special Citation)

UN-HABITAT Scroll of Honour Award -Previous Winners 1996 to 2004


Cities – engines of rural development

Report on World Habitat Day 2004


Thousands of people gathered on the outskirts of Nairobi on Monday, 4 October 2004 in Kibera,Africa’s biggest informal settlement, for the global celebration of World Habitat Day in a festiveatmosphere punctuated by calls on policy makers around the world to make cities engines of ruraldevelopment.

The idea, Cities – engines of rural development, as the 2004 theme was to remind policy makers atevery level not to think of “urban” and “rural” areas as separate entities, but rather as parts of aneconomic and social whole.

“In the next 25 years, virtually all population growth will take place in the world’s cities, most of it in thecities of developing countries,” said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in a message read on his behalfby Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT.

“The fastest growing cities will be secondary and market towns, which are especially close to ruralareas. This growth can help to improve rural life and ease the problems associated with mega-cities. Butto do so, it will need to be well-managed, with significant investments in communication, transportchannels and other infrastructure, and with concerted efforts to ensure that all people have access toadequate services,” Mr. Annan said.

Kenyan President, Mr. Mwai Kibaki; Roads and Public Works Minister, Mr. Raila Odinga; Lands andHousing Minister, Mr. Amos Kimunya; Mrs. Tibaijuka, and other speakers drew frequent applause fromthe crowd as they spelled out new thinking on ways to alleviate urban poverty.

“We needed to be dramatic in the wording of the theme this year,” said Mrs. Tibaijuka, “to remindpolicy makers around the world that sustainable development can only be achieved if rural and urbanareas are considered part of an interdependent, mutually reinforcing economic and social order. This isalso the essence of the recommendations that have emerged from the Inter-Regional Conference onUrban-Rural Development Linkages we hosted in the days just prior to World Habitat Day.”

President Kibaki said that only a proper balance between urban and rural areas would serve to improveliving conditions in both areas: “In a developing country like Kenya, rural poverty is a cause of informalsettlements and massive migration into urban centres and it has overwhelmed the capacity of theauthorities to provide basic services for all.”

The choice of Nairobi, Kenya, for the global celebration in 2004 was to highlight the phenomenal rateof urbanization in the developing world, which Kenya symbolises. Other celebrations were held inscores of cites in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Pacific, Europe and North America.

Mrs. Tibaijuka used the occasion to present the 2004 Habitat Scroll of Honour Awards to a group ofselected individuals and organizations for their commitment to the cause of human settlementsdevelopment. The Building and Social Housing Foundation, an independent research organizationbased in the United Kingdom, also presented its two annual World Habitat Awards for programmesshowing their exemplary commitment to improving human settlements. The foundation also sponsored astudents’ competition whose winners received their prizes from the President of Kenya.

Global Observance of World Habitat Day2004 in Nairobi


The Secretary-General, Kofi Annan’s message onWorld Habitat Day 2004Cities – engines of rural development

The theme of World Habitat Day this year, Cities – engines of rural development, was chosen to reminddevelopment policy makers at every level not to think of “urban” and “rural” areas as separate entities,but rather as parts of an economic and social whole.

Cities interact with rural areas in many ways. Migrants living and working in cities send money tofamilies in rural areas. Cities absorb excess rural populations, and offer markets for farm produce andother rural products. They provide services and amenities – such as universities and hospitals – that maynot be available or feasible in rural areas. Cities are also the locus of most global investment, raisingdemand for goods, labour and other inputs from rural areas.

In the next 25 years, virtually all population growth will take place in the world’s cities, most of it in thecities of developing countries. The fastest growing cities will be secondary and market towns, which areespecially close to rural areas. This growth can help to improve rural life and ease the problemsassociated with mega-cities. But to do so, it will need to be well managed, with significant investmentsin communication, transport channels and other infrastructure, and with concerted efforts to ensure thatall people have access to adequate services.

While there are obvious differences between urban and rural development that require differentinterventions, ultimately sustainable development cannot and should not focus exclusively on one or theother. On this World Habitat Day, let us recognize that cities have a crucial contribution to make to ruraldevelopment, and let us pursue development in a comprehensive way that reflects that understanding.


UN-HABITAT Executive Director, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka’smessage on World Habitat Day 2004

The United Nations has designated the first Monday of October each year as World Habitat Day. It is anoccasion to reflect on the state of human settlements and the basic right to adequate shelter for all.

The theme of World Habitat Day on Monday 4 October this year is, Cities – Engines of RuralDevelopment. We chose this theme to underline the economic, social and environmental interdependencebetween urban and rural areas. Sustainable development can only be achieved in both areas if they areconsidered holistically as part of the same, integrated system.

The links between cities and the countryside depend on the infrastructure connecting them. Improve theinfrastructure network, and rural production increases, giving people in the countryside better access tomarkets, information and jobs. Cities are magnets for rural trade, and the gateway to national andinternational markets. They benefit from rural demand for their output.

The better the links between cities and their hinterlands, the easier it is for rural people to get jobs in cities,and thus ease the problem of rural unemployment. It is important that cities absorb excess rural labour. Butin the developing world, poor development in urban areas has restricted the options that would normallybe open to rural people.

A major hurdle to be overcome in developing countries is the fact that secondary and tertiary towns areunder-supplied and under-developed. This can be remedied by improving the road, rail and other vitalcommunications networks between them. Economic development in small towns can have a positiveimpact on the surrounding rural economies through a greater demand for rural produce from urbanresidents who normally have a higher purchasing power.

Intermediate towns provide natural destinations for rural migrants seeking better opportunities. They alsohelp cushion the impact of major migration flows towards large cities.

In many poor countries, the scattered nature of rural settlements renders the provision of infrastructure andservices to rural areas extremely costly. There is no doubt that a major cause of rural under-development ispoor access to basic infrastructure and services such as roads, telecommunication, health care, education,credit, markets and information. Many of these can only be supplied and supported from within the morepopulous urban areas.

It is imperative, therefore, that if we are to achieve sustainable economic and social developmentnationwide Governments must integrate their country’s urban and rural areas as a matter of policy.Stimulating balanced development between urban and rural constituencies means strengthening national,regional and local planning bodies.

On this World Habitat Day, we call upon all those concerned about rural growth to integrate urbandevelopment fully into their plans and to bring a more holistic perspective to our common future: Cities canbe the engines of rural development.


Habitat Scroll of HonourWinners for 2004

President Joachim Chissano, MozambiqueJohn William Kachamila, Mozambique’s Minister for Coordination ofEnvironmental Affairs, received the award on behalf of President JoachimChissano for his tireless efforts to uplift the lot the urban and rural poorand bring their plight to the world stage as Chairman of the AfricanUnion. He was instrumental in lending political support to the drive byAfrican mayors to devolve authority to local governments so that basicservices such as water, sanitation, electricity and shelter could be ensured.

Zhang Changping, Mayor of Xiamen MunicipalGovernment, ChinaFor the way the Municipal Government has worked tirelessly to ensurethat everyone has adequate shelter. The concept began in 1980 when thecity fathers launched the Economy Housing Project which raised fundsamounting to US$8.66 billion. The sums were used to build 16.17million square metres of residential houses boosting the municipality’smain goal of “a decent roof over everybody’s head.”

Big Issue Foundation, United KingdomJohn Bird, Editor-in-Chief and Founder of the Big Issue Foundation receivesthe award on behalf of the foundation for giving homeless people a voiceand for helping them to take control of their lives. The Big Issue, a currentaffairs and entertainment magazine is sold on the streets by homeless andvulnerably housed individuals as an alternative to begging. The ethos behindThe Big Issue is that of “A Hand Up Not A Hand Out”. In 1994, The BigIssue founded The International Network of Street Papers (INSP), a globalnetwork of over 55 street papers in 28 countries.

Center for Development Communication (CDC), IndiaMr. Vivek Agarwal, Director of Centre for Development Communication,receives the award on behalf of CDC for working with the poorest tocreate a cleaner environment in India’s Pink City. CDC improved thehygienic living conditions of slum dwellers in Jaipur and provides city-wide garbage collection, achieving success in street sweeping andtransportation of waste for disposal and recycling.

SPECIAL CITATIONLebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri was awarded a Special Citation ofthe UN-HABITAT Scroll of Honour for his work in the post-conflictreconstruction of his country. He achieved impressive results in therestoration of the country’s infrastructure including the electric powersystem, a new telephone network, new roads, hospitals and clinics andhelped rebuild peace in his country after a devastating 16-year civil war.Mr. Hariri was brutally murdered in a Beirut car bomb blast in January2005.


Celebrations of World Habitat Day 2004around the world

AfghanistanWorld Habitat Day in Afghanistan was markedby two events at which UN-HABITAT handedover a rehabilitated green park and an office tothe Mayor of Kabul. The rehabilitated park isinside the Municipality compound in the north ofGulestan Sarai. The park was inaugurated byDr. Ghulam Sakhi Noorzad, Mayor of Kabul.He thanked UN-HABITAT for its assistance toKabul Municipality over many years. MayorNoorzad and Mr. Lalith Lankatilleke, ChiefTechnical Adviser of UN-HABITAT in urbanAfghanistan, planted two trees in the green parkto represent the partnership and long-standingcooperation of their organizations. On the sameday, a district office building for District 16reconstructed and rehabilitated by UN-HABITATin 2004 was handed over. UN-HABITAT hasbeen providing a range of support to all the keymunicipalities in Afghanistan in their effort toserve the growing urban population. KabulMunicipality has been a principal recipient ofsuch support. In the past, UN-HABITATreconstructed and renovated a number ofmunicipal premises and offices.

ArgentinaThe Autonomous City of Buenos Aires held aworkshop in Palermo on Integral Solutions to theHousing Problem. Participants included theMunicipal Commission of Housing, El CeiboHousing Cooperative, ArcaGrup (EcologicalHouse), Center of Management andParticipation, the Network of CommunityResources.

BangladeshThe Ministry of Works and Housing held anexhibition at the Institute of Engineers, of amodel community. A cultural troupe presentedsongs and a small play at the opening andclosing ceremonies. In addition, eleven towns inBangladesh hosted rallies and workshops tocommemorate World Habitat Day.

BelgiumUN-HABITAT’s Liaison Office with the EuropeanUnion, in collaboration with the Regional UnitedNations Information Center (RUNIC),commemorated the event at RUNIC House inBrussels. Participants included European

Commission staff members, members of theEuropean Parliament, diplomats at the EuropeanUnion, international organizations and civilsociety organizations.

BeninThe Ministry of the Environment, Habitat andUrban Affairs, organized its annual WorldHabitat Day celebration this year at a nationallypublicized week-long event that focused ondevelopment and local know-how in the town ofParakou, some 500 km north of the capital. Theevent was well attended with a guest list thatincluded various national partners, UN-HABITATand others.

Burkina FasoThe Prime Minister of Burkina Faso used theoccasion to launch the Global Campaigns onSecure Tenure and Urban Governance inOuagadougou on 12 October 2004. Severalthousand residents of an informal community onthe outskirts of Ouagadougou gathered towitness the signature of a plan of action tolaunch the two campaigns that provides forspending amounting to US$600 million over thenext seven years.

BurundiA special World Habitat Day seminar was heldwith participants from ministries including theMinistries of Public Works and Equipment, RuralDevelopment, Environment, Planning, theMinistry in charge of Refugee Returns andResettlement, Local Authorities and theGeographic Institute of Burundi (IGEBU).Members of Parliament, academics and otherexperts discussed the theme in a nationallybroadcast radio and television debate. Acompetition between the cities and towns wasorganized with a view to selecting a winningtown with the least destruction of houses andinfrastructure in a bid to promote peacefulcoexistence.

CambodiaMessages of the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan; and UN-HABITATExecutive Director, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, wereread out at a ceremony celebrated by senior UNrepresentatives, diplomats, cabinet ministers and


other top government officials. A specialpresentation on Decentralized UrbanGovernance for Cities Development was givenby Ros Sokha, Adviser to Seila Programme ofPhnom Penh. A paper on Policy on Rural-UrbanLinkages was presented by Senior Minister Imhhum Lim, and Miloon Kothari, UN SpecialRapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing atthe UN Commission on Human Rights, Geneva,also addressed the gathering..

ColombiaA conference was held with the participation ofnational authorities, academics, NGOs,municipalities, UNDP and other UN agencies. Theconference provided an opportunity to have apublic dialogue on present housing and humansettlements policies. A UN-HABITAT/UNDPpublication, Habitat and Human Development,on local housing requirements was launched.

Costa RicaCosta Rica dedicated a whole month to WorldHabitat Day celebrations, which is designatedHabitat Month. The Ministry for Housing andHuman Settlements lined up activities to last thewhole month of October and take thecelebrations outside the capital San Jose.Activities included conferences, events andpublic information sessions. The highlight wasan “Open Doors” event, at which ministry staffand the Minister gathered in public places toanswer questions, obtain information onhousing subsidies and other housing problemsof concern to the public.

EcuadorThe Ministry of Housing and UrbanDevelopment and the Ecuadorian Association ofArchitects, with UNDP support, organized atechnical workshop on 4 October on theconstraints of providing adequate housing for alland the current Ecuadorian experience intackling shelter issues.

EgyptThe Urban Training Institute, the Department ofArchitecture and Urban Planning, and AinShams University celebrated World Habitat Dayby conducting an open day of expert meetingson this year’s theme.

EthiopiaEthiopia held various public informationactivities to coincide with World Habitat Day,including a radio programme, posters and T-shirts. Events were held by UNEP, the AddisAbaba Environmental Protection Agency, theAddis Ababa Clean and Green Society, andothers.

FijiA one-day workshop and a symposium were thekey events marking World Habitat Day in Fiji.Organized by the UN-HABITAT Pacific RegionProgramme in collaboration with the Fiji Councilfor Social Services, Habitat for Humanity andthe Fiji Housing Authority, the meetings focussedon the importance of pro-poor social housingand provision of shelter issues related to thetheme, Cities - engines of rural development.The events were preceded by media releases inmain newspapers including a letter from theMinister Local Government, Housing andSquatter Settlements. The Fiji Local GovernmentAssociation also marked the occasion.

GhanaMayors of Accra, Elmina and Tamale discussedon national television the theme of this year’sWorld Habitat Day and its relevance to thecountry, while two directors of the Ministry ofLocal government and Rural Development andMinistry of Environment and Scienceparticipated in a radio talk show in Accra.Listeners phoned in from around the country.The most widely circulated national newspaper,the Daily Graphic, carried a feature article andat least 150 people including members ofparliament, the cabinet, senior governmentofficials, the private sector, academics, civilsociety organizations, members of professionalbodies attended a news conference. This wascarried on the two major television stations inthe country.

HaitiLa Fondation Haïtienne pour l’Habitat etl’Intégration des Sans-Abri marked WorldHabitat Day in 2004 to focus on the plight ofthe homeless at an event to which the mediawere invited to hear experts and first-handaccounts.


HungaryIn Hungary, World Habitat Day coincided withthe World Day of Architecture and an exhibitionwas held at the University of Milkosc with prizesbeing awarded to architects who have beenoutstanding in their work. Some 2,500 copies ofthe professional monthly Falu Varos Regio weredistributed to parliamentary deputies, localgovernment officials and managers of regionaland settlement development.

IndiaThe CUTS Centre for Consumer Action,Research & Training organized celebrations tomark the day in Rajasthan, India, with avariety of seminars, public meetings and anawareness programme. A panel discussion onthe theme Cities – engines of ruraldevelopment marked this year’s WHDcelebrations in Kolkata, India. TheArchitectural Engineering Division of theInstitute of Engineers (India) organized apanel discussion on this year’s World HabitatDay theme at the Institution’s auditorium. Thediscussion was inaugurated by the Minister incharge of the Public Works Department,Government of West Bengal, India. TheShibpur Dinobundhoo Institution and theCentre for Urban Economic Studies, Universityof Calcutta, also observed World HabitatDay. The AP Habitat Society celebratedWorld Habitat Day at a seminar withparticipants from government ministries. InOrissa, the City Managers’ AssociationOrissa (CMAO) observed World Habitat Daywith an awareness raising event for citymanagers on the various techniques and issueof managing and improving the linkagesbetween rural and urban areas for economicdevelopment. The Day was observed inassociation with the Housing and UrbanDevelopment Department of the StateGovernment. CMAO organized a workshop,released a newsletter, showed a videodocumentary and an exhibition on the subject.Participants included officers from urban localbodies, senior government decision makers,citizens, politicians, NGOs, and local urbanexperts.

Krityan and UNESCO Club celebrated WorldHabitat Day by organizing a programme on thetheme Water for Rural and Urban people – savewater for future. Between 15-24 October theclub organized a special field programme tosave Rain water for farming (agriculture) amongRural farmers.

Anna University in Chennai held a one-dayregional seminar to commemorate WorldHabitat Day. The event was organized throughthe university’s Centre for Human Settlements.The objective of the seminar was to consolidatethe policy options and possible strategies forstrengthening the urban-rural linkages forimproving the quality of the life of people livingin the rural areas and to recommend anapproach for demonstration for the HumanDevelopment in the rural areas. The seminardrew participants from the academia, scientistsand government officials in the fields of Planningand Development rural and urban settlements.

The NITK-STEP organization in Karnataka had aprogramme on 4 October 2004 on the role ofvocational education in rural development forteachers.

The National Council for Cement and BuildingMaterials (NCB), an apex body attached to theMinistry of Commerce and Industry, which isdevoted to research, technology developmentand transfer, continuing education and industrialservices for cement building materials andconstruction industries, celebrated World HabitatDay with a poster campaign and talks under thetheme Cities - engines of rural development.

Housing rights groups in India through theNational Forum for Housing Rights organized afour-day campaign from 1-4 October in NewDelhi. It focused on forced evictions of the urbanpoor and on provision and advocacy foradequate housing to poor inhabitants. NationalForum for Housing Rights is a network ofindependent grassroots organizations across thecountry.

The City Managers Association of Tamil Nadu(CMATN) organized a seminal discussioninvolving 102 municipalities and 5 municipalcorporations. The discussions attracted a wide



professionals and city officials and focused onthe right to human habitation and better andaffordable living for all. The celebrations weresupported by the Department of MunicipalAdministration and Water Supply Department,and the Government of Tamilnadu. Two paneldiscussions were also held on Strengtheningtransportation linkages to urban - rural areas toimprove efficient movement, provide a betterrural-urban interface, increase urban amenitiesin rural areas, stop out-migration and make ruralareas vibrant economies. CMATN has membersfrom 710 Urban Local Bodies (Cities) from theSouth Indian State of Tamil Nadu, which is oneof the most urbanized states of India.

The All India Institute of Local Self Government(AIILSG) organized a two-day workshop in Puneto mark this year’s World Habitat Day. AIILSG,an anchor Institution for Urban ManagementProgramme (UN-HABITAT) for South Asia hostedthe workshop in collaboration with its UMPPartner Institution Yeshwantrao Chavan Academyof Development Administration. The RegionalCentre for Urban and Environmental Studies ofAIILSG facilitated the meeting under the themeCities - Engines of Rural Development.

The UN-HABITAT Information Office in Chennaiproduced a compendium of articles to mark theWorld Habitat Day. The publication was as aresult of collaborative efforts with the CitizensAlliance for Sustainable Living, the SouthernIndia Chamber of Commerce and Industry,Adyar Times Charitable Trust and the Institute ofTown Planners, Tamil Nadu Chapter. Among the21 articles featured in the compendium includeGuided Migration to New Cities: Key to PovertyEradication by K.S. Ramakrishnan; Cities asEngines of Rural Development – the ChandigarhExperience by M.G. Devasahayam; and Urban-Rural Interaction - Auroville A Case Study by theAuroville Universal Township.

IndonesiaThe Research Institute for Human Settlementsheld an international seminar on 29 Septemberon promoting rural development equalitythrough secondary city revitalization. Theseminar for local governments was followed bya student workshop on the Design of Urban-Rural Interface Area Facilities. On 1 October

local celebrations on stakeholder cooperationfor better settlements were held with theCipacing community and Sumedan regency. Thenational celebrations on World Habitat Dayculminated in policy discussions and took intoconsideration the recommendations from theseminars leading up to the day.

Other activities included:• An international seminar on Enhancing

Equality Development between Rural-Urban Areas through Secondary CityDevelopment.

• A student workshop on Design of Urbanand Rural Interface Area and Facilities,held at the Bandung Institute ofTechnology.

• Local celebration in Bandung.• National World Habitat Day celebration in

Yogyakarta City, to be inaugurated by thePresident of the Republic of Indonesia.

• Initiation of National Movement onHousing and Human Settlements andCommunity-based Water Provision;National seminar and commencement oflow-cost rental flats (4 October).

Japan“UN-HABITAT’s Regional Office for Asia and thePacific in Fukuoka organised a symposium incollaboration with the Japanese Ministry of Land,Infrastructure and Transport, entitled Rural-UrbanLinkage - Towards a New National and RegionalPlanning of Japan in the context of Asia”. Thesymposium was supported by the JapaneseMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Fukuoka Prefecture,Fukuoka City, Kyushu University and Japan HabitatAssociation. A children’s drawing exhibition on thetheme, Linking Villages and Towns, was also heldfrom 25 September to 3 October 2004 at theKyushu Energy Science Centre.

KenyaThe slums of Kibera on the outskirts of Kenya’scapital Nairobi, was the venue of this year’sGlobal Observance of World Habitat Daycelebrations. The idea of Cities - engines of ruraldevelopment as the theme this year was toremind policy makers at every level not to thinkof “urban” and “rural” areas as separateentities, but rather as parts of an economic andsocial whole.


LithuaniaThe World Health Organisation (WHO) Centerfor Environment and Health, Bonn Office,organized a symposium on housing and healthin Vilnius, Lithuania, from 29 September to 1October. The symposium included plenarysessions both on scientific and applied housingand health issues, a poster exhibition and talkson the best way forward for implementing therecommendations of the Budapest ministerialconference on environment and health of June2004. The symposium reviewed the existingevidence on housing and health relationships,best practice examples of urban planning andhousing provision, and further research needs.Local authorities, politicians, decision makers,housing managers, urban planners and thenational and international scientific communityshared ideas on healthy housing policies.

LuxembourgLuxembourg celebrated World Habitat Day thisyear as part of its National Housing Week withpresentations and discussions on housing andshelter issues.

MexicoSEDESOL, UN-HABITAT’s key partner in Mexico,hosted a nationally televised conference atwhich messages from the cabinet, the ExecutiveDirector Mrs. Tibaijuka, and Secretary-GeneralMr. Annan were discussed by a panel ofspecialists. UN-HABITAT’s Regional Office forLatin America and the Caribbean participated. Apresentation of the Habitat National BestPractices competition also took place at thepresidential palace in a widely publicized eventheaded by President Vicente Fox, and theMinister of SEDESOL, Ms Josefina VasquezMotta. UN-HABITAT’s Mexican HabitatProgramme Manager was part of the organizingcommittee. SEDESOL also hosted aninternational four-country conference, which waspresented in more than 70 locations aroundMexico with live online presentation through theSEDESOL web site. The success of the publicand transparent international high-levelexchange and policy dialogue motivatedSEDESOL to propose a permanent videoconferencing programme among high-leveldecision makers within the sector.

MoroccoMorocco launched UN-HABITAT’s GlobalCampaign for Secure Tenure and the GlobalCampaign on Urban Governance to markWorld Habitat Day. The launch on Monday 4October drew more than 700 delegatesrepresenting the government, civil society, localauthorities, the private sector, UN-HABITAT andUNDP. Held in Ben M’Sik district inCasablanca, home of the country’s largest slum,the occasion was an opportunity to announcethe implementation of the Cities without Slumsprogramme which will enable Morocco, the firstcountry in the Arab region to launch the twocampaigns, to be a slum-free nation by 2010.Representatives of different stakeholders,including a woman, living in a slum of BenM’Sik, signed the i Casablanca Declaration thattranslates the commitment of all parties to theprinciples of the two campaigns

MozambiqueA workshop on the theme, Cities – engines ofrural development, was held at at Maputo CityHall, and opened by the Mayor of Maputo City.The workshop was organized in collaborationwith UNDP, the Maputo City Municipal Council,the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, andthe Ministry of Coordination of EnvironmentalAffairs. Public debates on the theme were alsoorganized on national radio. President JoaquimChissano, who was awarded a Habitat Scroll ofHonour this year, was presented with his awardat a public ceremony on 9 October 2004.

NamibiaA special TV programme to highlight housingissues and rural-urban linkages was aired onNamibian Broadcasting Corporation’s Talk ofthe Nation programme on World Habitat Day.Panelists included the Former Deputy Ministerand the current Deputy Director of the Ministryof Regional, Local Government and Housing.

NepalThe Regional and Urban Planners’ Society ofNepal (RUPSON) celebrated World Habitat Day2004 by organizing various events including aseminar, an exhibition and audio-visualprogrammes. There was collaboration from



various partners from government and the civilsociety.

The NetherlandsThe Dutch Habitat Platform organized, incollaboration with other organizations of Dutchcivil society, a conference on global cooperationfor sustainable cities in The Hague.

New ZealandNew Zealand celebrated World Habitat Day withthe opening of a small rural library which hadbeen built over the previous six months toarchive stories, photographs, records andbooks. Kohukohu is the heart of the Hokianga,and the Hokianga is where the story of NewZealand began. The local newspaper NorthlandAge said it was hoped that “indigenous peopleeverywhere would be inspired by Kohukohu torecognize the importance of their unique habitatin giving form to their stories”. The occasion, itadded, “marked with the showing of archivefilms featuring invaluable footage from theHokianga’s early days”.Niue Island marked World Habitat Day, asurbanization and the linkages between urbanareas and outer villages is a key issue for theisland.

NigeriaThe WHD celebrations in Lagos, Nigeria,generated immense interest as captains ofindustry, government officials, market womenand workers joined together to mark the event.The Deputy State Governor gave the keynoteaddress while the Commissioner of PhysicalPlanning and Urban Development read theSecretary-General’s Message. Prior to the mainday, the event had been given wide mediapublicity, including a dance-drama performanceby the State Cultural troupe and a seasonedfacilitator also delivered a lecture.

PakistanThe Rural Sanitation Programme of the NationalRural Support Programme (NRSP) – the largestNGO in Pakistan sponsored by the Governmentof Pakistan to improve the livelihoods of ruralpeople – marked the day. Among its ruralsupport programmes around the country, NRSP

seeks to develop neat and clean villages andimprove the living standards of village people.

PhilippinesA series of conferences on urban land reformwere held during the month of October, whichhas been designated National Shelter Month inthe Philippines. The Urban Land ReformConference Series was envisioned to helpimprove land transfer mechanisms, broadensupport and acceptance for rights-based securetenure options, and achieve consensus amongthe key shelter stakeholder groups on howsustainable, pro-poor housing can beaccelerated using rights-based security oftenure. The conference, held on 14 and 15October, culminated in a National ShelterConference on 29 October 2004, whererecommendations and action plans fromprevious conferences were presented to thePresident of the Philippines.

RussiaThe Federal Agency for Construction, Housingand Municipal Economy this year spearheadedWorld Habitat Day celebrations with aconference and information campaign on itsofficial website. The conference drewrepresentatives from the Federal Agency,Department for Construction, Housing andMunicipal Economy under the Ministry ofIndustry and Energy of the Russian Federation,the Federal Licensing Centre, the Congress ofMunicipal Associations, City Administrations ofAstrakhan and Pskov, scientific research anddesign institutes, chief city architects, andrepresentatives of non-governmental andwomen’s organizations and foreign investmentcompanies. Messages from Mr. Annan, andMrs. Tibaijuka, were read out. In the run-up toWorld Habitat Day, the UN-HABITAT ExecutiveBureau in Russia disseminated information andstatistics highlighting the interactions betweencities and rural settlements to Russian citiesincluding St.Petersburg, Omsk, NizhnyNovgorod, Surgut, Astrakhan, Pskov, Kostroma,and to CIS countries including Azerbaijan,Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,Uzbekistan, and Ukraine.


RwandaPresident Paul Kagame celebrated WorldHabitat Day in the capital Kigali. The RwandanPrime Minister, Mr. Bernard Makuza; theMinister of Information, Mr. Laurent Nkusi; andthe Minister of Land, Water, Forestry andNatural Resources, Mrs. Drocella Mugorewera,commemorated the day in the city of Butare. Intowns across the country, other members of thecabinet and senior officials hosted meetings onthe theme of the occasion this year, Cities –engines of rural development. The events drewwide coverage in the local media.

SenegalWorld Habitat Day was organized in Senegal bythe Collectif sénégalais des Africaines pour lapromotion de l’éducation relative àl’environnement through a strong campaigninvolving the media, a rap concert, a sportscompetition and a youth play as part of a three-day build-up to the event. On Monday, 4October, a panel discussion was held by theMinistry of Housing and Urban Affairs on thetheme, “Social, economic and cultural solutionsfor the reinforcement of urban-ruralinterdependence to limit the rural exodus intotowns”.

Sierra LeoneThe government of Sierra Leone lined up variousactivities to mark this year’s World Habitat Day.The Ministry of Works, Housing and TechnicalMaintenance had activities including the use ofmass media, including newspapers, radio andtelevision and posters, to draw attention to theday. There was also a one-day symposium todiscuss the problems and issues relating to rural-urban migration, the significance of linkagesbetween urban and rural areas and the state ofhuman settlements and shelter situation in SierraLeone.

SpainThe Spanish Habitat Committee, with supportfrom the Ministry of Housing, held a day ofactivities in Madrid to mark World Habitat Day.The Spanish Minister of Housing, Ms. MariaAntonia Trujillo, met members of the committeeand delivered one of they keynote addresses.Results from the 5th International Dubai Awards

2004 were announced. At a public meeting,primary school pupils made a presentation onthe World Habitat Day theme “Cities – enginesof rural development” and unveiled acommemorative mural. There was also apresentation of the Spanish Good Practice:Recycling of sludge from the Arazuri (Navarra)sewage treatment plant: an interest sharedbetween the city and the country.

Sri LankaPrize-giving for a primary school art and essaycompetition and a voluntary shramadana labourto rehabilitate rural housing schemes were thehighlights of this year’s World Habitat Day. Theorganizers held workshops in all theadministrative districts to generate awareness onthis year’s theme and ceremonies to hand overhouses to poor and destitute families. Twosettlements for farmers involved in the supply ofagro-products of the rural areas to city centerswere also inaugurated and a press supplementwas issued in national newspapers with anexhibition of the winning paintings from the artcontest.

SudanThe National Council for Physical Developmentof Sudan celebrated World Habitat Day with aspeech by the focal minister which was alsocarried by the media. Other activities included aseminar about the role of cities in rural areaswith reference to the war-affected areas whichreceived wide press, radio and televisioncoverage.

SwitzerlandIn a series of events spearheaded by UN-HABITAT, World Habitat Day wascommemorated in Geneva, at the UnitedNations in the Palais des Nations.Representatives of various UN bodies, includingthe Director-General of the UN Office inGeneva (UNOG), Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze,UNEP, UNDP, and ILO, and delegates from civilsociety, held a round-table discussion on thetheme of Cities – engines of rural development.The discussion also drew representatives fromthe public sector, the academia, and farmers’unions to exchange ideas on urban-rurallinkages.



TanzaniaThis year’s World Habitat Day celebrations wereled by the Minister of Lands and HumanSettlements Development, who read a statementon the theme Cities – engines of ruraldevelopment on radio and television. TheNational Housing Corporation organized a fieldvisit to some of their projects while the NationalHousing Building Research Agency produced aspecial supplement in the local media to markthe event.

United StatesThe National Policy and Advocacy Council onHomelessness commemorated the day byhosting a lunch forum as part of the annualFlorida Coalition for the Homeless conference inTampa, Florida. Activities included highlightingnotable global anti-poverty efforts, rural andurban homelessness in the United States, anddiscussion of the International Covenant onEconomic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR),which includes a clearly defined right to housingunder Article 11. This tied in with campaigns byUS housing advocates who are increasinglyseeking to apply international human rights lawto anti-homelessness strategies. In New York, panel discussions arranged bythe UN-HABITAT office looked at ways ofimproving urban-rural infrastructure,transportation, ICTs and communication linkages,and remittances. Micro-credit and micro-financewere some of the issues discussed by a panel ofeminent personalities gathered to mark theoccasion. The panel also discussed capacity-building and empowerment of local authoritieswithin a framework of cooperative governmentas well as the involvement of all stakeholders,including NGOs and the private sector, forsuccessfully achieving rural-urban integration,which will ultimately result in poverty reductionand an equitable and sustainable development.

United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)

P.O. Box 30030, GPO Nairobi 00100, KENYA; Telephone:254-20-623120; Fax:254-20-624266/7 (Central Office)

E-mail:[email protected]; Website:http://www.unhabitat.org/whd

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