Poland in Indonesia

WUF11 will be held in Central and Eastern Europe, for the first time in the 20-year history of this event. The history of the World Urban Forum dates back to 2002. At that time, its host was Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Next, the hosts of the World Urban Forum were, in turn, Barcelona, Vancouver, Nanjing, Rio de Janeiro, Naples, Medellin and Kuala Lumpur. The previous session was organized by Abu Dhabi. The event usually gathers several thousand people from all over the world. Now it is time for Katowice.

Katowice, by hosting the World Urban Forum next year, will become the urban capital of the world for five days. The city is located in south-west Poland. Katowice is the capital of the Silesian Voivodeship and the central hub of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Area.

Until recently, Katowice was perceived as a place of heavy industry, coal and steel. In recent years, Katowice has undergone a significant socio-economic transformation. Today, the city is a dynamically developing modern capital of a metropolitan area with a population of two million, with a high-tech industry, and strong academic and cultural functions.

This transformation fits perfectly with the motto of the WUF11 organized in Katowice: "Transforming our cities for a better urban future ". During the Forum, we want to discuss key trends and challenges for the development of cities in an international group. We hope that the Forum will be conducive to: raising awareness of sustainable urbanization, exchange of knowledge and experience, as well as building global and regional cooperation networks. Every voice in this discussion is important, therefore, we count on your participation in WUF!

Together with UN-Habitat, we are working on the programme of the World Urban Forum in Katowice. We plan the discussion at the Forum to focus on the following topics:

• a fair future for cities,
• a greener future for cities,
• innovations and technology,
• building resilience of cities,
• town planning and management,
• economy and urban finance in the future.

What will make WUF11 special:

• involvement of young people – both in participation and preparation of the event. For this purpose, the WUF Youth Council has been established, which promotes the idea of sustainable urbanization among the young generation and makes them sensitive to problems and challenges that exist in our metropolises, and encourages participation in the 11^th session of the World Urban Forum.
• accessibility – we want WUF11 in Katowice to be the most accessible edition of this event. Therefore, we are working on ensuring the accessibility of the WUF conference facility for people with disabilities, as well as on the inclusion of the subject of accessibility in the WUF agenda and numerous sessions during this event.

We hope that the World Urban Forum in Katowice will bring valuable and lasting impulses for further actions for sustainable urbanization. We are planning at least two projects which will become the legacy of WUF:

• World Cities Report 2022 –  a flagship publication developed by UN-Habitat;
• Action Plan for Cities, i.e. a catalogue of activities aimed at making cities more green and friendly to everyone.

Both documents will contain recommendations for urban and regional development for governments, regions and cities.

Finally, we would like to encourage everyone to get involved in WUF. It is possible to actively participate in the World Urban Forum in Katowice by organizing a session or a panel during this event. An invitation to participate in these side events will be announced by the end of the year. There will also be an opportunity to present your achievements at the WUF EXPO by organizing an exhibition or your own stand.