ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation Forum, 6-8 October 2021
ASEAN convened the first ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation Forum (ASUF) with the goal of promoting sustainable urbanisation in the region. The online Forum took place on 6 – 8 October 2021 in partnership with UN-HABITAT, through the support of the ASEAN – Australia Development Cooperation Program Phase II (AADCP II).
The ASUF represents a key ASEAN initiative to support the establishment of a multi-stakeholder eco-system for knowledge sharing and policy development. ASUF, which builds on the ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation Strategy (ASUS), aims to encourage a constructive dialogue around the priority areas for sustainable urban development across ASEAN.
The Forum brought together about 1400 participants representing government agencies both from national and local, international organization, private sector, academia, and civil society organizations from 49 ASEAN countries including as well as other countries.
During the two days, the participants shared experiences and lesson learned on sustainable urban solutions focussing on the identified priorities for ASEAN cities, discussed initiatives and progresses of regional and national agendas and explored how to better support the social inclusion and gender equality in urban development.
Today, more than half of ASEAN people live in urban areas and an additional 70 million people are expected to live in ASEAN cities by 2025, making sustainable and inclusive urbanisation a key priority to achieve the objectives of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and to raise the living standards of local communities. ASEAN Member States (AMS) recognise the crucial role of urbanisation for sustainable development and have enacted a pro-active approach to support cities’ endeavors.
AADCP II is committed to help realise an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable ASEAN. Support is currently provided to eight selected cities in ASEAN to design targeted urban development projects; and to the preparation of a Report on the State of Urbanisation in ASEAN. These activities along with the ASUF are funded through the “Accelerating the Implementation of the ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation Strategy (ASUS)” project.