BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20. The fourth day of the
13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), hosted in Baku, has
concluded, marking another series of significant international
events and high-level agreements at one of the world's most
prestigious urban planning platforms, which registered over 40,000
participants from 182 countries, Trend reports.
The day featured a specialized training session titled
"Policies, Papers, and Bricks Capacity Building for Crisis
Preparedness and Response." The session combined brief expert
recommendations with a scenario-based simulation exercise. Five
invited specialists representing local government bodies, academia,
humanitarian agencies, and NGOs shared field-tested methodologies
for disaster readiness and immediate response coordination.
On the sidelines of the forum, a memorandum of understanding was
signed between Azerbaijan and Kenya. The document was inked by Anar
Guliyev, Chairman of the State Committee on Urban Planning and
Architecture of the Republic of Azerbaijan and National Coordinator
for WUF13, and Alice Wahome, Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public
Works, Housing and Urban Development of the Republic of Kenya.
Concurrently, a high-level session titled "Transforming Informal
Settlements and Slums for Housing" took place. Addressing the
event, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economy Mikayıl Jabbarov noted that
while informal housing settlements existed to a certain extent
during the Soviet era, they lacked official state recognition. In a
parallel development, the city of Almaty utilized the fourth day of
WUF13 to formally present its Vision Zero urban safety project.
Furthermore, an international panel discussion titled "Revival
and Urbicide: Sustainable Urban Development and Resilient
Communities" brought together government officials, academics,
public activists, and international experts. The discussions
centered strictly on the systemic destruction and comprehensive
architectural reconstruction of urban environments, highlighting
the sheer scale of devastation encountered across the liberated
territories of Azerbaijan.
A major milestone of the day occurred as the Government of
Azerbaijan and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme
(UN-Habitat) jointly established a new global accolade in the field
of sustainable municipal development, the Baku Urban Award.
The fourth day concluded with a technical conference titled
"Strengthening Urban Earthquake Preparedness ONE UN Solutions for
Safer and More Resilient Cities," where international panelists
focused extensively on mitigating the profound structural and
environmental risks that earthquakes pose to rapidly expanding
urban centers.
The forum, which runs through May 22, is jointly organized by
the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) and the
Government of Azerbaijan. Held under the theme “Housing the World:
Safe and Resilient Cities and Communities,” WUF13 is focusing on
issues including the global housing crisis, sustainable
urbanization, climate resilience, and modern urban governance.
Below are some photos from the third day of WUF13 from the Baku
Olympic Stadium:
Photo - Arif Guluzade
