The 12th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF12), the United Nations’ premier conference on sustainable urban development has opened and is expected to run until November 8, Invest-Gate reports.

Hosted in Egypt, the first African country to welcome the event in two decades, WUF12 draws high-level international and UN delegations to spotlight Egypt’s modern development experience and address global urbanization challenges and the housing crisis.

Cairo serves as the gathering place for thousands of delegates from national, regional, and local governments, academia, business, urban planning, and civil society. The forum aims to tackle urgent urban issues and rally the global community around the pivotal role of local initiatives in combating global challenges like housing crises, climate change, and urban conflicts fueled by unprecedented urban migration trends.

WUF12 comprises nearly 600 events geared towards localizing the Sustainable Development Goals, with a strong focus on mitigating the global housing crisis, escalating living costs, and responding to the climate emergency.

Key features include high-level dialogues, a ministerial roundtable on multi-level governance to expedite the implementation of the New Cities Agenda, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and other global initiatives, along with the unveiling of the flagship World Cities Report 2024 on Cities and Climate.

The event, jointly organized by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities and the Ministry of Local Development, has garnered significant international interest, evident in the surge of attendance requests and the presence of leaders and officials at local, regional, and international levels.

With over 30,000 participants from 180 countries worldwide, the forum anticipates the participation of numerous heads of state and international dignitaries, approximately 103 ministers, 36 deputy ministers, and 300 governors, alongside around 900 volunteers engaged in coordinating the forum.