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A CONFERENCE OF 30,000 VOICES HABITAT III - 2016 © 2017 United Nations All rights reserved worldwide The Habitat III Engagement Area was coordinated by the Habitat III Secretariat team. The work was led by the team comprised of Ana B. Moreno, Tobias Kettner, Rosa Suriñach, Sarah (Laney) Stone, Jenina Alli, Xavier Mestres, Alessandra Pirera, Andrea Posada, Francisco Fuenmayor, Julian Valencia and Jessica Bridger. Gratitude should also be expressed to the rest of the Habitat III Secretariat, the interns and volunteers who supported this process. Special mention to Kinza Bajwa, Emerant Barclay, Sophie Chanson, Elena Christy, Magdalena Chudy, Vanesa de la Dueña, Benjamin Dooley, Priscillia Jorge. Tamara Kovazh, Jaina Kulmanbetova, Michele Leray, Haosi Li, Christine Luttmer, Pia Mercado, Wenjun Ouyang, Alice Pontiggia, Nadine Rachid, Shubhank Sahay, Maria Salazar, Carolina Solis, Catrin Wallace, Kristiina Yang, and Maggie Ye. Recognition should also be given to Oscar Alejandro Calderon, Juanita Carrillo, Simone D’Antonio, Lys Mehou-loko, Alejandro Paredes, Alejandro Reinoso, Daniel Rodríguez, Santiago Serrano, Joel Sheakoski, and Franklin Williams, who supported the Conference in Quito. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its officials or Member States. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or regarding its economic system or degree of development. References to names, firms, commercial products, and processes does not imply their endorsement by the United Nations, and a failure to mention a particular firm, commercial product, or process is not a sign of disapproval. Links contained in the present publication are provided for the convenience of the reader and are correct at the time of issue. The United Nations takes no responsibility for the continued accuracy of that information or for the content of any external website. An electronic version of this publication, as well as other documents from the Habitat III preparatory process and the Conference itself, are available for download from the Habitat III website at www.habitat3.org The Habitat III Secretariat gratefully acknowledges the Government of Ecuador for the financial support provided to produce this publication. Photocopies and reproductions of excerpts are allowed with proper credits. This is a United Nations publication issued by the Habitat III Secretariat. Cover: Design by Andrea Posada. ISBN Volume: 978-92-1-132768-7 30,000 VOICES FOREWORD The New Urban Agenda was unanimously adopted at the These high-level meetings included National Urban Forums, United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Thematic Meetings, Regional Meetings, Preparatory Committee Development (Habitat III) in Quito, Ecuador in October 2016. Over Meetings, Informal Hearings, and Informal Intergovernmental 30,000 Conference participants came together to collaborate Meetings. Advocacy activities included Urban Breakfasts, Urban towards this common vision for sustainable urban development. Walks, and Urban Journalism Academies. In December 2016, during the sixty-eighth plenary session of the seventy-first General Assembly, the United Nations Member The Habitat III General Assembly of Partners was mobilized to play States endorsed the New Urban Agenda and committed to work a vital role in the process as an independent multi-stakeholder together towards a paradigm shift in the way that we plan, build, partnership platform to formally facilitate the highest and widest and manage our cities. participation possible of civil society, stakeholders, major groups, and subnational and local governments. The implementation of the New Urban Agenda will be crucial for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, as The Habitat III communication and engagement activities more well as for the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. It is in our importantly ensured that relevant knowledge products resulting cities, towns, and villages where actions must be prioritized and from the Habitat III process—such as Policy Papers, Issue Papers, operationalized. How we envisage and share our urban spaces National Reports, and Declarations from Thematic and Regional ultimately impacts how we address global challenges. Meetings—were circulated for feedback and ultimately published and made accessible to all, serving as a rich source of information During the preparatory process and the Conference itself, and recommendations on relevant urban issues accessible to the Habitat III Secretariat carried out a communications and anyone. engagement strategy designed to raise awareness about Habitat III and the New Urban Agenda, as well as mobilize wide The New Urban Agenda, at different stages of its drafting, was and inclusive participation from United Nations Member States, circulated and published, welcoming input from a wide audience national governments, subnational and local governments, civil and partners in parallel with negotiations on its content taking society organizations, stakeholders, major groups, donors, the place at informal hearings and intergovernmental meetings. United Nations system and other international organizations, the media, a wide diversity of urban actors and experts, and urban This publicacion, A Conference of 30,000 Voices, articulates citizens. the strategy put in place and carried out to facilitate equitable representation of all urban actors and citizens. It reflects on Advocacy and information campaigns and activities were and details the efforts and work done to ensure that everyone undertaken through multiple platforms and tools to promote and could join the crucial global conversation on sustainable urban formalize this engagement and participation, starting with the development and together decide the future of our cities and how dissemination of information at the beginning of the preparatory to make them better for all. process in 2014 about the Conference and what it aimed to achieve through the New Urban Agenda. Information on how to participate in high-level meetings in the lead-up to the Conference and ultimately, in Quito, as well as in activities that advocated Habitat III and the New Urban Agenda Dr. Joan Clos was widely circulated at crucial junctures of the preparatory process. Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) v vi ACNOWLEDGEMENTS The Habitat III Secretariat expresses its deep appreciation to Member States that provided financial support for the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III): the People’s Republic of China, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Ecuador, the Republic of Finland, the French Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Indonesia, the Republic of Kenya, the United Mexican States, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Slovak Republic, the Republic of South Africa, and the Kingdom of Spain. Our gratitude goes out to local and regional governments that financially contributed to the Habitat III preparatory process and the Conference itself, in a pioneering and unique way: the City Council of Barcelona, the Municipal Government of Cuenca, the Government of the Federal District of Mexico, the Government of the State of Mexico, as well as the city of Surabaya. We would like to convey special appreciation for the Rockefeller Foundation and the United Nations Environment Programme for their financial contribution to the Habitat III preparatory process and Conference. The Habitat III Secretariat would also like to express its gratitude to the organizations and institutions which supported the Conference with in-kind funds: the Ford Foundation, the Municipality of Tel-Aviv, the Montreal Metropolitan Community (CMM), and the United Arab Emirates. HABITAT III viii CONTENTS Foreword ......................................................................................................................v Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... vi Contents .....................................................................................................................viii Acronyms/Abbreviations ................................................................................................x I. Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 II. Subnational and local governments...........................................................................10 A. The role of local and regional governments in the Habitat III process .......................12 B. The Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments ......................................13 C. The second World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments ...........................16 III. Stakeholders and major groups ...............................................................................17 A. The role of stakeholders and major groups in the Habitat III process .......................19 B. The General Assembly of Partners........................................................................21 C. Innovative initiatives in the stakeholders’