In this media center you find information on UNITAC’s initiatives, projects, tools and activities at the Twelfth Session of the World Urban Forum in Cairo - Nov 4th to Nov 8th 2024.

UNITAC programme for WUF 12 and the UNITAC post-conference report are now available in the links below:

See below WUF12 daily activities for UNITAC!

Day 1 - Monday, 4th Nov

Visit our booth! We are located next to the Urban Library and WHO (World Health Organization) at the Urban Expo. Digital tools demonstrations will happen twice a day, Tuesday to Thursday!

Day 2 - Tuesday, 5th Nov

9 AM - 12 PM

Jointly building capacity for postwar recovery in Ukraine. Digital tools for informed decision-making under crisis conditions

Training event: Multipurpose room 17

About this session

At this event, participants will learn to operate an innovative digital tool developed by UNITAC Hamburg and applied by Ukrainian local governments for decision-making in crisis-affected areas. Specific skills, approaches, and partnerships needed for sustainable recovery will be critically explored. As It All Starts at Home, the event will shed light on strategies for developing strong local capacity that responds to global challenges.

Why you should attend

  • Learn to apply interactive digital tools for fast and evidence-based decision-making in the crisis affected areas.
  • Explore what skills are essential for sustainable recovery, what educational formats can ensure equal access to these skills, and what cooperations are needed for the larger impact of joint actions.

11 AM - 12:30 PM

Co-designing human-centric digital innovations for improved basic service delivery

OneUN event: OneUN room A

About this session

Digital innovations offer new opportunities to reach the goal by the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda of "ensuring everyone has access to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services by 2030" by facilitating data collection for evidence-based planning of services, by offering simple solutions for accessing services including for disadvantaged groups, or by opening new channels for communication between service providers and users. UNITAC Hamburg is co-designing such digital innovations together with local service providers, communities and NGOs. In this event, we discuss how this co-design process of some of UNITAC’s digital tools can innovate human-centric basic service delivery and showcase how such solutions can contribute to achieving the SDGs. Through an open challenge-driven innovation process, UNITAC has selected innovative projects to be implemented in partnership with the local partners. This event will bring all partners together to discuss the collaborative methodologies, challenges and expected impacts of the three projects.

Why you should attend

  • Learn how digital tools innovate human-centric basic service delivery
  • Discover short-term innovation projects tackling the most pressing urban challenges with data- and technology-driven solutions
  • Engage in discussions on collaborative methodologies, challenges and expected impacts

Day 3 - Wednesday, 6th Nov

3 PM - 4:30 PM

Leveraging digital technologies to solve the last-mile-problems for localizing SDG 11 indicators on housing and informal settlements

SDGs in action event: Room C

About this session

Informal settlements are the primary residential areas for the global majority. Despite their significance, a lack of accurate data and outdated records pose significant challenges for public entities in meeting resident needs. Consequently, our understanding of the spatial distribution, evolving patterns, and social and demographic profiles within these settlements remains limited. However, citizen science and emerging remote sensing technologies offer new opportunities for collecting high-quality data.

This session focuses on using urban data and AI/Machine Learning (ML) mapping technologies to gain deeper insights into the complex realities of informal settlements. With representation from ETH Zürich, the University of Twente, HafenCity University Hamburg, and local government from eThekwini, South Africa and Guatemala, a dynamic team of researchers and city representatives is joining forces and sharing their knowledge to address one of the most pressing urban challenges: the growth of informal settlements.

Why you should attend

  • Learn how to gain deeper insights into the complex realities of informal settlements using urban data and AI/Machine Learning (ML) mapping technologies.
  • Discuss recent developments in combining Earth Observation, Citizen Generated Data and other Geospatial data with Official statistics (e.g., census), in support of the monitoring of housing and environmental conditions and the policy discussions; while considering open data access and ethical questions of not exposing vulnerable groups.

Day 4 - Thursday, 7th Nov

9 AM - 10:30 AM

Empowering cities for the digital age - lessons from a data-driven resilience approach in Southern African cities and towns

Voices from the cities event: Room D

Join our panel at WUF12 to explore how data-driven planning enhances urban resilience in cities like Durban, Cape Town, Rehoboth, and Rundu. We'll showcase & discuss digital tools and strategies for inclusive, sustainable development.

About this session

This panel brings together representatives from South African and Namibian cities, Open Cities Lab, UK Government (FCDO), GIZ, and UNITAC to discuss the successes and challenges of implementing digital solutions and data-driven urban governance. Topics include digital tools for efficient planning and government operations, applying gender and social inclusion principles, and fostering agile governance in rapidly urbanizing areas. Key achievements such as Cape Town's revamped data strategy, eThekwini's Council Resolution App, and the piloting of a digital data management system in Rehoboth and Rundu will be showcased. The session will also address public-private partnerships, community participation, and share scalable models for inclusive urban development.

Objectives

  • Highlight first-year progress in eThekwini, Cape Town, Rehoboth and Rundu, focusing on data collection and management, capacity building, and stakeholder engagement.
  • Explore user-centered design and agile methods that shaped effective, context-specific data strategies and tool development
  • Address challenges like municipal instability and vendor lock-in, offering solutions such as governance restructuring and open-source platforms.
  • Inspire global adaptation of data-driven approaches for human-centric, accessible urban development.

5 PM - 6:30 PM

City Labs bridging to local and global actions for inclusive digital urban transformation

Networking event: Multipurpose room 11

About this session

City Labs around the globe are creating invaluable spaces for exploration, experimentation, and co-creation by combining needs-based and research-driven approaches resulting in quick prototyping and agile tool development. In this session, three City Labs strategically located in Latin America, Africa, and Europe are joining forces, combining their cutting-edge research and tool development with impact-driven local implementation in a global context. The focus of this session lies on both shared innovative practices and their diverse and also different ways of working to meet the massive challenges posed by urban growth in the climate crisis. Tackling innovation through an urban technology acceleration approach is characterized by a commitment to inclusivity, agility, and local collaboration.

By showcasing insights of the different work on digital urban technologies, we aim to demonstrate a range of digital tools, spanning from prototypes to practical applications and seek to share how urban data and digital technology can support and empower communities, fostering sustainable development. At the core of the event, we will have an interactive tool presentation and ideation session where we share hands-on experiences with our digital tools in a playful and participatory manner. During the panel discussion, speakers from the three city labs, along with distinguished representatives from the regions, engage in a critical debate on the impact of their work, with a focus on localization and its effects at the regional level. The ideation session and interactive tool presentation, as well as the panel discussion, are primarily designed as open formats to incorporate questions and perspectives from the audience, with a particular emphasis the voices from the cities.

Why you should attend

  • Gain insights on various digital urban technology projects and explore how urban data and digital technology can support and empower communities, fostering sustainable development.
  • Join our interactive tool presentation and ideation session where we share hands-on experiences with our digital tools.