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Category: Past events

World Cities Day: discussion on the digital transformation in cities to improve adaptation actions to the looming climate and water challenge

To celebrate World Cities Day 2022 and as part of the WSIS&SDG TalkX series, Geneva Cities Hub in cooperation with ITU and UN-Habitat organized on 3 November 2022 a webinar dedicated to supporting cities to use digital transformation to improve adaptation actions to the looming climate and water challenge in urban settlements. Climate change is …

Involve cities in the negotiations on plastic pollution!

Starting discussion on a new international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution (as per resolution 5/14 adopted by the UN Environment Assembly in March 2022) is a very positive step for humanity. But this can only be achieved with the full involvement of all stakeholders, including those at “local level”, as referred to in …

The UN Human Rights Council adopts resolutions that are relevant to the work of local and regional governments

The Geneva Cities Hub organized a briefing on the last session of the UN Human Rights Council (13 September – 7 October) focusing on the newly adopted resolution “Local government and human rights”. This resolution is unique in the whole UN system and paves the way for enhanced participation of local and regional governments in …

Time left to reach SDG11 by 2030 is short

The 5th edition of the event “In Focus SDG11” was co-organized by UNECE and the Geneva Cities Hub and took place on 3rd October 2022, as part of the 83rd session of the UNECE Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management (CUDHLM). This year, the event focused on sustainable and inclusive urban design and …

Urban resilience is essential in the context of armed violence

On 29 June 2022, the city of Rio de Janeiro, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Geneva Cities Hub (GCH) co-organized a “Voices from Cities” event in the framework of the 11th World Urban Forum held in Katowice, Poland (26-30 June 2022). The event focused on the concept of urban resilience …

Tackling urban health challenges in a changing world

Urban health is a multidimensional topic related to air, environment, climate change, prevention, preparedness and response to pandemics, housing, sanitation, the use and control of drugs and many other issues. As the main UN agency dealing with urban sustainable development, UN-Habitat, together with WHO, UNECE, the Drug Policy Commission, selected municipalities and governments, as well …

Responsibly governing data and involving people are key for local and regional governments to make smart cities a success

On 24 June 2022, the GCH, the Geneva Human Rights Platform, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, the University of St. Gallen and Universidad Austral de Chile co-hosted a workshop on “Smart Cities and Human Rights – Pitfalls and Opportunities” with the participation of relevant stakeholders. The New Urban Agenda calls for the adoption …

Cities are actors of solidarity and support in the Ukrainian crisis

On 9 June 2022, the Geneva Cities Hub organized an informal humanitarian briefing on Ukraine for cities, in partnership with Metropolis. Anh Thu Duong Co-Director, GCH, recalled that the objective was to brief municipal authorities willing to provide assistance in Ukraine about the current humanitarian situation and needs and to ensure that their municipal support …

Mayors’ High-Level Dialogue on Smart Cities and SDGs was a highlight of WSIS 2022

The Mayors’ High-Level Dialogue on Smart Cities, Drivers of Innovative Sustainable Development at the WSIS2022 on 30 May 2022 was a great success. Mayors, city network leaders and ICT experts shared their experiences on how to drive smart innovation and build inclusive cities and accelerate digital transformation to improve the lives of citizens. Sustainable Development …

Migration is an international issue, but also a very local phenomenon!

On 14 April 2022, the Geneva Cities Hub and the GFMD Mayors Mechanism co-organized a City Diplomacy event on Migration with the Mayor of Accra (Ghana), the Mayor of Zürich (Switzerland) and a State representative from Canada. As the international community will soon converge in New York for the 1st International Migration Review Forum (17-20 …