On October 2, 2023, a series of events dedicated to World Habitat Day will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, Azernews reports, citing Executive Director of the United Nations (UN) Programme for the Promotion of Sustainable Human Settlements Development (UN-Habitat) Maimuna Moht Sharif telling at a press conference in New York.
Delivering a speech at a joint press conference with Turkiye's Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change Mehmet Ozhaseki on the sidelines of the UN Sustainable Development Summit, Sharif said that 70 percent of the world's population lives in cities, so it is cities that are the future of humanity.
World Habitat Day is an annual event held on the first Monday of October to recognize the basic right of all to adequate shelter and to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat. The theme for this year's World Habitat Day is Accelerating Urban Action for a Carbon-Free World, which focuses on the need for cities to reduce their carbon emissions in order to protect the planet.
The events in Baku will include the Global Observance of World Habitat Day, the Second National Urban Planning Forum, and other events attended by officials and experts from dozens of countries. These events will provide an opportunity for representatives of international and non-governmental organizations to exchange experiences on topics related to sustainable urban economies and the role of cities as centers of development.
The UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour Award was also launched in 1989 to recognize individuals and institutions that have made outstanding contributions to urban development. The award aims to acknowledge initiatives that have made outstanding contributions in various fields such as shelter provision, highlighting the plight of the homeless, leadership in post-conflict reconstruction, and developing and improving the human settlements and the quality of urban life.
