The ISOCARP2015 congress comes at a time of unprecedented global urbanization. Voices from the global level down to the ground – in both the public and private sector – are calling for a ‘planning’ approach to address the complex challenges that this brings. The congress is therefore an opportune time to open up to the world, work together and learn from each other. The 51st ISOCARP International Planning Congress “Cities Save the World: Let’s Reinvent Planning” will take place from 19 to 23 October 2015 in the Netherlands where ISOCARP was founded 50 years ago and in Belgium and Germany.
True to its exploratory spirit, ISOCARP is staging a congress with a difference for its 50th anniversary. Cities are increasingly seen as the engines of national economies and the 2015 Dutch hosts are attributing them the driving seat at the congress. Twelve cities in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany will host 2-day interactive workshops on topical themes to them and to planners worldwide. The conclusions and lessons learnt of the workshops will be debated at the plenary in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The Africities 7 Summit, the seventh edition of the Local Governments Pan-African Days, will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 29 November to 3 December 2015. Its central theme will be: “Shaping the future of Africa with the people: The contribution of African local authorities to Agenda 2063 of the African Union”.
Taking its cue from Agenda 2063, The Africities Summit 7 theme is designed to connect a rigorous understanding of likely future trends with a strategic debate about what needs to be done at the local level, with immediate effect to address the emergency of service delivery, shelter, economic opportunities, safe and affordable mobility and more.
The Summit will host over 5000 participants who represent all the stakeholders of African local life as well as their partners of the other regions of the world: ministers in charge of local governments; ministers in charge of housing and urban development and ministers of public service; local authorities and local elected officials; officials of local and central administrations; civil society organizations, associations and trade unions; economic operators of the public and private sectors as well as of the social/ solidarity economy, traditional rulers; researchers and academics; international cooperation agencies. The Africities 7 Exhibition will host between 400 and 500 exhibitors.
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and the Government of India have pledged to make the Bank Group’s 2017 Annual Meetings a resounding success. The Meetings are scheduled to take place in Ahmedabad, the capital of the state of Gujarat, from May 22-26, 2017.
The commitment followed a Memorandum of Understanding endorsed by both parties on Thursday, September 15, 2016, at the end of the Bank’s first Annual Meetings Preparatory mission to assess facilities and logistics for the event in Ahmedabad.
“For us this is a special moment. It officially kick-starts preparations for the 2017 Annual Meetings and underscores the growing cooperation between the Bank and India in particular, and between India and Africa in general,” AfDB Secretary-General, Vincent Nmehielle, said after he signed the MOU on behalf of President Akinwumi Adesina.
The Meetings, taking place on the heels of the India-Africa Summit held in New Delhi last year, would further boost the long-standing economic cooperation between the two sides and open up new avenues for fruitful business engagements between them, he added.
The Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Bandana Preyashi, who signed on behalf of the Finance Secretary, said that the Government and people of India highly appreciate the opportunity they have been given to host the Bank’s most important annual event.