Cities Can: accelerating progress towards the SDGs

The Geneva Cities Hub, UN-Habitat and City Cancer Challenge Foundation (C/Can) are pleased to invite you to join the second in a series of “Geneva Urban Debates” to launch the findings of a new report highlighting the role of cities in accelerating progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Cities are granular enough to coordinate people and resources, but also big enough to generate systemic, long lasting change, and institutions often have core competencies in policy areas that underpin SDGs related to housing, climate change, transport, health, and more.

But what makes city-led initiatives successful? What are the key challenges, and how are cities and their counterparts in the health and development community working to address these bottlenecks?

Speakers from the cities of Freetown, Sierra Leone and Porto Alegre, Brazil and from across sectors will join to reflect on these questions with a particular focus on:

• Quality data to inform solutions that respond to local needs
• Engaging the right stakeholders for “smarter” and more sustainable solutions
• Sharing knowledge and skills to boost local capacity

The event is supported by Devex and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG).

Opening remarks & moderation

• M Sami Kanaan, Vice-Mayor of Geneva, President of Geneva Cities Hub (by video-message)
• Ms Paola Deda, Director, Forest, Land and Housing division, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

Speakers

• Dr Susan Henshall, CEO, City Cancer Challenge Foundation
• Dr Onyeka Erobu, Senior Health Adviser, Office of the Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone
• Ms Ana Carolina Alencastro dal Ben, Deputy Secretary for Health, Porto Alegre, Brazil
• Ms Shalini Singaravelu, Programme Manager, Health Initiatives, IBM
• Representative (tbc), United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG)
• Mr Graham Alabaster, Chief, UN-Habitat office in Geneva

Registration

Our event will be held online. Please register here.