The Sixth Session of the World Urban Forum, jointly organised by UN-Habitat, the Italian Government, the Campania Region and the City of Naples, took place in Naples, Italy on 1st – 6th September. It was attended by 8,271 participants from 152 countries, who represented national, regional and local government, parliaments, civil society organisations, academia, private sector, multilateral organisations, financial institutions and United Nations agencies.
The main theme of the Forum was that of “the Urban Future” and it provided a platform where various segments of society could discuss, learn, practice and agree or disagree on different ways to build and sustain a more prosperous urban future for our cities.
The IFRC’s Shelter and Settlements and Community Preparedness and Risk Reduction Departments organised (in partnership with Habitat for Humanity) a networking event entitled “Reduce risk and vulnerabilities in providing equitable reconstruction solutions after urban disasters” at which a number of speakers highlighted the particularities of reducing risks and vulnerability in urban contexts. IFRC also participated in an informal consultation on security of tenure held by the Special Rapporteur of the UN Council on Human Rights on the Right to Housing after the closing of the Forum. Here the IFRC was able to inform a number of different actors about the work that the Disaster Law programme and the Shelter Department are jointly carrying out in relation to regulatory barriers that prevent post disaster shelter needs being met.