The Sixth Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF6) will take place in Naples, Italy, from 1 to 7 September 2012. Held every two years, the Forum is an important event on the international calendar bringing together a wide range of participants from around the world to discuss key urban challenges facing the world today.
Discussions during the World Urban Forum in Italy will focus on the main theme: The Urban Future.
The World Urban Youth Assembly, which will be held on 2 September 2012, is a platform for young people to debate matters of concern to them for consideration at the Forum. The idea is to ensure that the views of young people – by far the majority of the global population – are taken into account. This applies especially to their concerns about living in decent equitable, inclusive cities with better employment prospects.
The Gender Equality Action Assembly, taking place in parallel with the Youth Assembly on 2 September 2012, will bring together partners to discuss progress and challenges in the implementation of the UN-Habitat Gender Equality Action Plan (2008 – 2013). Focus will be on the challenges, progress, strategies for action and emerging issues pertinent to promoting gender equality and women's empowerment in sustainable urban development.
The private sector counts as vital partners of UN-HABITAT and many private companies will be playing important roles in Naples. The 3 hour long assembly will be will be held on 4 September and will enable industry captains and business leaders to meet and discuss matters of mutual concern with mayors, law enforcement officers, community representatives, urban planners and all who share the common goal of a better and smarter urban future.
On-line registration is encouraged to expedite provision of the WUF6 photo badge which is a requirement for admission into the venue of the Forum. Upon your successful completion of the registration form, you will receive an auto-generated e-mail confirming your registration.
Online registration will close onFriday, 24 August 2012 (noon, Nairobi time)
The World Urban Forum is a United Nations meeting and no fee is charged. Registration is a free on-line procedure accessible through the Forum website: www.unhabitat.org/wuf.
The World Urban Forum has different registration forms which should be filled in according to your affiliation at the time of registration. Online registration is on individual basis only. Below please find categories of the forms available and examples of partners groups for each category:
Civil society organizations: representatives of women's organizations, youth organizations, social/peoples movements, indigenous peoples' organizations, trade unions, faith-based organizations, professional associations and foundations.
National governments / Parliamentarians: heads of state, heads of government, representatives of governments, diplomats and parliamentarians.
Private Sector / Media / Others
Regional/ local governments and municipalities: mayors, representatives of local authority associations, city councils, townships, prefectures and provinces.
United Nations and intergovernmental organizations: representatives of UN entities, regional organizations, international financial institutions, cultural, scientific or linguistic international organizations.
Universities and research institutions: academics, researchers, research assistants and librarians.
Please note that these examples do not limit the possibilities but are a guide to facilitate comprehension of the registration process.
WUF6 Secretariat staff, including UN-Habitat and Host Country teams and selected Volunteers will register through dedicated links.
You may contact your nearest Italian embassy or consulate for information on how to obtain a visa.There you may also verify whether you will require a visa to attend WUF6.
Detailed visa requirement information will be provided as soon as it becomes available.
This information may be found in the WUF6 Programme and on this website.
Upon arrival at the venue of the Forum, participants will receive a delegate's bag with a copy of the programme and other WUF6 documents.
Attendance at the Forum itself is free of charge, but participants are expected to cover the cost of their travel, accommodation and all other expenses related to their stay in Naples.
The Forum is an open meeting and everyone is free to attend. All are welcome to take part in the World Urban Forum and actively exchange ideas and best practices. Naturally, the main theme of the Forum, The Urban Future, will guide discussion in all events.
Events will include dialogues sessions, peer roundtables, networking events, training events, special sessions and side events, in addition to exhibitions by cities, organisations, national and international institutions among others.
Participation in the World Urban Forum is open to representatives of national governments, local authorities and other Habitat Agenda partners from all over the world. The latter mainly include the Global Parliamentarians on Habitat, non-governmental organizations, community-based organisations, human settlement professionals, research institutions and academies of science, the private, business and non-profit sectors, foundations, relevant UN organizations, multilateral finance institutions and other international agencies.
No invitation letter is necessary. UN-Habitat does not issue invitations to participants to attend the World Urban Forum. However, all participants are required to register for the Forum to access the venue and attend its meetings.
Generally, all events are open, but where an event is closed it will be reflected in the conference programme. The only restriction applies to certain high-level round tables involving peers alone, which are not open to the general public.
The working language of the World Urban Forum is English. Subject to availability of funds, translation/ interpretation may be made for the major events of WUF6 in three other languages: Italian, Spanish and French.
As soon as booking for exhibition opens on this website, you will be able to reserve exhibition space on a first-come first-serve basis. Upon payment, reservation for your space will be confirmed. Note that you need to register on-line as an exhibitor. An exhibition guide will soon be made available on this website.
If you wish to visit the Exhibition only you do not need to register. There will be a provision for the general public to visit the WUF6 exhibition without registration, and this will be free of charge.
Online registration will close on Friday, 24 August 2012, 12:00 noon (GMT +3, Nairobi time).
Accreditation with WUF6 photo badge will commence at the WUF6 venue on 30 August 2012, daily from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. All arriving participants are urged to make use of this early accreditation service in order to avoid long queues during the official opening day of the Forum on Monday, 3 September 2012, which could cause delays and even result in missing the crucial Opening Ceremony of the Forum.
To register as a member of the media, go through the regular registration process and select "Media" under type of participation. You will then receive a notification on the extra documentation required for media accreditation. You need to email scanned copies of the following items to wuf@unhabitat.org
Passport
International or national press card
If you do not have a press card please forward a letter from your employer clearly stating your role at the company or news agency and 2 recent articles or items showing your name as the author or producer for consideration.
