The Seventh Asia-Pacific Urban Forum, held from 15-17 October 2019 in Penang, Malaysia, aimed to mobilize partners from across the region to focus on accelerating implementation to achieve a sustainable future throughout Asia and the Pacific. APUF-7 is a multi-stakeholder forum for sustainable urban development solutions, co-organized by UNESCAP, UN-Habitat, Urbanice Malaysia, Ministry of Housing and Local Government and the Host City (Penang State Government & City Council of Penang Island).
As a Steering Committee Member of APUF-7, CityNet assisted the strategic orientation of APUF-7 to ensure an impactful, well attended and highly visible event. During the forum, CityNet organized, in collaboration with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), an Urban Innovation Session titled “Meeting the Asian Urban Challenges: Where are we in the realization of localizing SDGs?” The session, which took place on October 15th, helped raise awareness about the overall importance of governments and partners in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also highlighted the challenges, the opportunities, examples and concrete entry points for awareness campaigning to aligning of different goals into local planning processes and strategies.
As part of the session organised by PlanMalaysia, “Smart Cities Holds the Key to Sustainable Urbanisation in Asia Pacific,” CityNet presented on Seoul’s Smart Cities Solution. The presentation helped highlight the importance of smart cities to sustainable development.
During APUF-7, CityNet advised on the Mayors Academy, a network of newly elected mayors from the Asia Pacific region. As part of the introductory modules that were conducted during the Forum, CityNet supported the academy to make the mayors aware of several of the leading networks and technical resources agencies in the region.
Finally, CityNet was invited to by UNESCAP to present during the closing of APUF-7, seizing the occasion to share CityNet’s commitment to the Penang Platform for Sustainable Urbanization (PPSU). This partnership is directly in line with CityNet’s goal to accelerate City Actions for Sustainable Development in Asia-Pacific region.
