The President of ISB Professor Antonio Caperna took part at the UN-Habitat Urban Thinkers Campus, last October 15-18.
The Urban Thinkers Campus is an initiative of UN-Habitat in association with the Universal Forum of Cultures of Naples and Campania. It is organized in the city of Caserta, a UNESCO Cultural Heritage site in the region of Campania, 40 km north of Naples.
The Campus is built on the outcomes of the deliberations of the Sixth and Seventh session of the World Urban Forum organized by UN-Habitat in Naples in 2012 and in Medellin, Colombia in April 2014. One month after the first Preparatory Committee for the Habitat III Conference, the Campus aims to gather urban thinkers and stakeholders to debate The City We Need initiated by the World Urban Campaign. This event will involve the global community of urban thinkers in the next step towards shaping the New Urban Agenda and strengthening partnerships towards the Habitat III Conference.
Focused on the theme The City We Need, the Campus aims to gather urban thinkers, philosophers, writers, journalists, bloggers, urban planners and designers, city leaders and decision-makers, industry leaders, urban entrepreneurs, communication and marketing specialists, and all those interested in urban infrastructure, technologies, standards, urban trends, and dynamics.
These participants joined The City We Need debates to take part in global strategic thinking and to contribute to international partners negotiations towards defining the global urban development agenda.
As Urban Stakeholders and partners who are actively engaged in the World Urban Campaign they have been invited to contribute to the debate at this crucial stage of the Habitat III Conference preparation. All partners — local authorities, civil society organizations, parliamentarians, professionals, trade unions, researchers, academia, foundations, business and industries, slum dwellers, women’s groups, children and youth, indigenous people, etc. – will be key players in the Habitat III process and should be able to voice challenges and issues as well as to propose solutions in order to articulate the New Urban Agenda.
As the World Urban Campaign partners have already demonstrated their will to share ideas and build a joint position through The City We Need process, this Campus offered an opportunity to pursue the debate, harmonize and consolidate positions to contribute to the New Urban Agenda. The Campus was articulated around a series of thematic debates, workshops, trainings, labs and dialogue sessions, as well as city wide awareness-raising events and activities. The Campus brought in openness and innovation both in terms of the format and the outcomes.