Prepcomm3

PrepCom3: Getting Closer to Habitat III Conference

THE DEMAND for a better urban future is getting stronger and clearer. The agenda for the next 20 years set to pursue sustainable urban development will be unveiled soon at the Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador. Adhering to the United Nations General Assembly, Resolution 67/216, a preparatory committee is established to carry out the preparations for the conference.

Following the same resolutions, the Preparatory Committee already conducted 3 meetings before the opening of the conference. The last one, Surabaya, the second biggest city in Indonesia, proudly became host of the PrepCom3 event, held from July 25 to 27, 2016.

A strong participation of more than 4,200 delegates and the general public, from 142 countries, supported the PrepCom3. The conference was filled with side/parallel events that emphasized urban improvement related themes and actions to take, such as public participation on city planning and development, housing, empowerment of women and youth, the informal sector, and disaster risk reduction and management, to name a few.

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Taking advantage of the opportunity to raise Asia Pacific local governments’ concerns and contribution for the New Urban Agenda, UCLG ASPAC organized and attended several events during PrepCom3 with the mission to highlight specific urban issues, including women leadership, localizing the SDGs, the promotion of public space and child-friendly cities, and to inspire many.

Global Task Force A delegation of the Global Task Force (GTF) was in Surabaya from 24-27 July to share feedback on the latest draft of the New Urban Agenda and to call for transformative changes to urban governance at Habitat III. Local and regional governments are clearly more visible now in the Habitat III process as a result of years of international advocacy by many networks and champions. Nevertheless, negotiations in Surabaya on the draft New Urban Agenda can be described as having gone down the wire as several contentious topics pushed delegates to stay until early morning. The divisive issues include the reference/acceptance of the “Right to the City,” the role and way forward of UN-Habitat, financing, as well as the follow up and review and role of local governments.

Meanwhile, the Second World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments was acknowledged as an important platform and contribution in the follow up and review of the New Urban Agenda.

The meeting of the GTF’s 3rd Preparatory Committee for Habitat III on 24 July, was chaired by UCLG ASPAC Secretary General Dr. Bernadia I. Tjandradewi.

Dr. Joan Clos, Executive Director of Habitat III, and Carlos Cuenca, head negotiator of the Brazilian delegation shared their valuable insights on the negotiation process and next steps to pursue at the PrepCom3.

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Seminar: Minecraft for Participatory Public Space Design

This seminar was held in relation to the UCLG ASPAC and UN-Habitat’s public space project development in Kedinding, one of the areas chosen by Surabaya City Government, in partnership with local ward office and universities. This project highly involves youth and community living around Kedinding, in the design process to address their interests and needs.

The benefit of using the direct form of engagement in the public space process is two-fold. Firstly, community participants can identify and remedy gaps in services and facilities in their own community, therefore achieving more effective public health and economic outcomes. Secondly, local governments are seen to be more representative, accountable and responsive to community needs – therefore becoming more favorable as their preferred government representative.

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Site Visits

Local government of Surabaya organized site visits for foreign and domestic delegates during the PrepCom3. One of the sites chosen is Keputih, another location of public space project of UCLG ASPAC, UN-Habitat and Surabaya local government. The above photo depicts the participants observed the design of a 4.1 ha land to be transformed into a public space during the visit on 28 July 2016.

Events with Partners UCLG ASPAC also held several events with our partners: Women Mayors Forum (with UN-Habitat and Surabaya City); An Enabling Framework for the Implementation of the New Urban Agenda - Assessing Framework Conditions and Identifying Priority Actions (with Cities Alliance); Inclusive Cities, Leave No Person and No Space Behind (with Oxfam International); Prioritizing Children and Youth Within the New Urban Agenda (National Institute of Urban Affairs of India); Local Government approaches to the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR); Civic and Youth Participation in the Wired Age (Citynet); Multilevel Policy for Stronger Intermediary Cities (UCLG); and Cities and the SDGs- Ensuring That No One is Left Behind (UNDP).

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UCLG ASPAC’s Secretary General, Dr. Bernadia I. Tjandradewi, also spoke at the Urban Speaker Corner’s Session about Culture 21.

Exhibition

UCLG ASPAC participated in the Exhibition and displayed how the organization was involved in and contributed to the processes of the New Urban Agenda’s formulation.