BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. Participation of
young people at the 13th World Urban Forum (WUF13) is opening new
opportunities for them and inspiring career choices in the field of
urban planning, Samer Bagaeen, Vice President of the UK Royal Town
Planning Institute, said, Trend reports.
Bagaeen made the remarks during his speech organized at the
“White City” pavilion at WUF13 in Baku.
“Seeing so many young people interested in healthy urban
environments is a huge boost for our industry. In some parts of the
Middle East and Europe, youth do not always see the construction
and urban planning sector as a career path. Participation in the
forum opens new opportunities and inspires them to pursue a
profession in this field,” Bagaeen said.
He added that engaging young people today can shape the future
professionals who will work in urban development over the next
10–20 years: “I believe one of our main goals is to attract young
people, and Azerbaijan has done an excellent job engaging them in
urban planning and city development processes. Hopefully, this will
translate into a growing number of specialists choosing careers in
this area.”
Bagaeen emphasized that such initiatives contribute to the
long-term development of cities and the creation of sustainable and
comfortable urban environments for future generations.
In the mean time the third day of the 13th session of the World
Urban Forum (WUF13) is underway in Baku.
On the first day, a ministerial meeting dedicated to the New
Urban Agenda, a roundtable of ministers, assemblies of women and
civil society, business sessions, and discussions on urban
well-being were held. A ceremony for raising the flags of the
United Nations and Azerbaijan also took place within the framework
of the forum.
The second day of the forum drew attention with the first-ever
Leaders Summit. High-level discussions on the global housing
crisis, urbanization policy, and urban resilience were held that
day. At the same time, the Mexico City pavilion was inaugurated
within the framework of WUF13. The pavilion was presented as an
important platform for expanding cooperation with the Latin
American region and preparing for WUF14.
WUF13, which has attracted more than 40,000 registered
participants from 182 countries, will continue until May 22. Held
under the theme “Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and
communities,” the forum brings together governments, international
organizations, experts, and representatives of civil society to
strengthen global cooperation in the field of sustainable urban
development.