REFLECTIONS ON URBAN SOLIDARITY AT THE WUF9

Together with UN Habitat ED Dato Maimunah

By Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria*

The 9^th World Urban Forum (WUF9) which was held from Feb 7 to 13, 2018 in Kuala Lumpur (KL) in Malaysia drew 22,778 participants from 165 countries with 122 high government officials. It was also noted that 49% of the participants were women and about 41% below the age of 32. This was truly ‘a work in solidarity’ as indicated by Dato' Maimunah Mohd Sharif, the UN Habitat, Executive director at the closing ceremony.

There were over 560 official events at WUF9. One could say that so much was taking place at the same time and throughout the day, one could see people in discussions and dialogue in meeting rooms big and small as well as by the coffee tables in networking sessions. From talks, to exhibitions to visits in the city of KL, there was so much of activity and human interaction in terms of knowledge exchange and learning.

Ten key observations from my participation:-

Firstly, throughout WUF9 there was the constant reminder of the role of cities around the world due to urbanisation. This process is unstoppable, the problems cannot be eliminated but can be managed effectively to reduce the negative impact and improve quality of life. There is now an urgent need to strengthen this platform of cities along with nation states in the UN mechanism.

Second, the New Urban Agenda (NUA) document provides a great potential for policy makes to address the new urban challenges in a systematic way along with the Sustainable Development Goals as majority of the 17 goals are applicable to people living in the cities and not just SDG 11. A number of academics have shown through their research that there is very little awareness and compliance to NUA by city officials. Malaysia is a good example where there has been very little publicity on the NUA since Quito 2016.

Third, WUF9 process for participation was very inclusive and accessible as many governments, local councils, academics as well as civil society hosted various events. This openness is very democratic and inclusive. This should be the approach in all future UN events as well as in national and sub regional levels for policy advocacy and bench-marking of best practices.

Fourth, we participated at a KOTA-KITA and the New School event which was a pre event hosted on Feb 6, 2018 where academics and CSO leaders gathered to reflect on Implementing and monitoring the New Urban Agenda. The highlight was the discussion on the Habitat Commitment Project in assessing the past for a better urban future. This is a very useful tool to monitor and assess progress made at the city level. The New School research team led by Prof Michael Cohen hosted another side event on Feb 9, 2018. Here too this tool was introduced.

Fifth, the Malaysian CSOs with the local university (KITA-UKM) hosted a side event on Saturday Feb 10, 2018 where we feature the study of four urban poor or bottom 40 neighbourhoods and how the local leaders were involved in the identification of local issues and their solutions at the local level in cooperation with relevant agencies. We had two speakers who were grassroots urban flat dwellers in our panel. This event was well attended.

At this event Ms Laurence Wark (Global Social Economy Forum, South Korea) highlight the need to empower local communities from a focus on daily issues into social economic activities which can strengthen their socio-economic position. She highlighted the social solidarity initiatives of Seoul city. She also noted that the social network in the communities were strong and this was an asset for community building.

Sixth, both the official opening and closing had many cultural performances to capture the richness of Malaysian cultural diversity and the participation of young people. This was more a show case but the highlight of the closing was the reading of the KL Declaration and the commitment made by the Executive Director of UN Habitat on the implementation of the NUA and the SDGs in the cities.

Seventh, at a more critical note what was not fully discussed was the place of democratic reform and alternative voices at WUF. If I compared this with Rio +20, Earth Summit in 2012 there was a parallel CSO event which was very dynamic as the people’s assembly. Here at WUF most government and city officials were presenting the best cases and little on the everyday struggles of ordinary people in the city. It seemed like a make believe that all is well when in reality there is another side of the city. There was very little highlight on the harsh realities of everyday life in the city especially for the urban poor and B40 communities especially on the rising inequalities in the cities. This critical assessment is needed to ensure no one is left behind in the city.

Eight, my struggle at WUF9 was can one really see effective participation of the grassroots and public accountability without exercising the democratic right to elect the city officials. Two countries which were featured very positively at WUF9 but do not have a democratic platform in electing city officials namely China and Malaysia. Both countries especially Chine were a show case of economic growth and unbelievable advancement in infrastructural development. However there is suppression of fundamental liberties and no rights in a democratic way to choose their leaders or policies of their choice.

These process issues were not the feature of WUF9. Their focus seem to be on how knowledge, technology and innovation can enhance better quality of life for all in the city. However the KL declaration rightly notes the “insufficient protection from human rights violations” which should be discussed and effective ways to mitigate these at the city level.

Ninthly, it was unfortunate that the RIPESS ASIA/ASEC request for social solidarity economy (SSE) side event was not short listed. It could be that the write up did not link it to local councils or two applications were made by the same person although under two different organisations. One is unsure why we were not shortlisted as we had some ASEAN reflections on SDG & SSE from four cities. There was not much thrust on SSE at WUF9 and therefore it did not feature prominently although in para 58 of the NUA, SSE is featured. This could be the focus at the 2020 WUF.

And finally, nonetheless, WUF is a key platform to discuss the issues of cities and ensure that SDGs and the NUA are effectively implemented. Majority of the world’s people will live in cities and therefore localising SDGs and development agenda is most critical. It was a great opportunity to network and learn from others. The UN Habitat team and the Malaysian government did well in hosting this event and giving a high profile to urban related issues and the role of cities in ensuring that ‘no one is left behind’.

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Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria is the Chair of RIPESS Asia/ ASEC and also co-chair of the Malaysian CSO-SDG Alliance.