Partners in cities around the world held activities and events to celebrate World Habitat Day 2014 and the theme Voices from Slums. Register your event today to include your WHD activity on this list.
Benin
More than 300 people including local authorities and community groups marked this year’s World Habitat Day at an event presided over by Hon. Christian Soussouhounto, the Minister of Urban Planning, Housing and Sanitation. In his speech, the Minister announced that Benin was selected amongst eight countries to be supported by UN-Habitat to implement a participatory approach addressing the country’s slum situation. The week long events organized by the Ministry included; an information campaign organized through a series of communication events, sites visits and an exhibition. In addition, there were conferences organized to advocate the need to improve living conditions with a focus on neighbourhoods such as Atacora and Donga; the use of renewable energy at homes; clean living environments and the need for decent housing.
Cambodia
On 6 October 2014, approximately 1,500 community people and CSOs/NGOs, came together at the site of the former Dey Krahorm neighborhood in Chamkar Mon district, where one of the most violent evictions in Phnom Penh’s recent history took place in 2009, to celebrate the World Habitat Day under the chosen theme of “Voice from Urban Poor” which is reflected in the current problem happening in this Cambodia.http://teangtnaut.org/world-habitat-day-march/http://asia.diakonia.se/c…
Cape Verde
Ministry of Environment, Housing and Territorial Planning (MAHOT), marked World Habitat Day with a photo exhibition on various activities in the framework of the program "Housing for All ", at the Palace of the National Assembly. The exhibition aimed to show the activities undertaken so far by MAHOT under the program which aims to provide decent housing for the residents of Cape Verde. The exhibit featured 80 photographs of the whole process of the "House for All Program" and will be open to the public for a week.
Colombia
Secretaria de Gestiòn Inmobiliaria Municipio de Pereira will hold two conferences on October 29. One will be about the risk of flooding that people living in the social houses of the urban projects face and the second will be a talk on the coffee land in the rural areas where UNESCO declared a patrimony cultural of humanity in 2011.
Habitat-CEHAP School, National University of Colombia at Medellín will organize a reflection on "social construction of habitat ... voices and actions that build city" with linking Antioquia University and its research group, Environment and Society (MASO). This is hoped to contribute to the discussions against the Millennium Development Goals (2015) and to the Habitat III conference to be held in 2016. This event is a continuity of activities that the National University had during the Seventh Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF7) held in Medellin in April this year. In addition, at the juncture of the discussions on the Land Use Plan - POT Medellin in its review process and next delivery for Council approval on 26 October, will be brought to the academic setting, interacting with various actors in society the debate on "the Social Construction of an impossible Habitat within the POT Medellin?” At the same time, School of Habitat-CEHAP will also celebrate WHD with an Academic event which will have a discussion on contemporary interventions in South American cities from the comparison between slum of Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Medellin. The event will be held at the Samuel Auditorium Melguizo, Block 24, Faculty of Architecture campus of El Volador.
The PILaR project, which aims at achieving the urban transformation of a sector in Medellin called La Candelaria, joined World Habitat Day celebration by telling the story of one of the inhabitants of La Candelaria, one of the many stories that have been weaved over more than 50 years and that recalls the Medellin of the 60s to the present time. This story highlights not only the transformations and changes of the sector but also those of the city.
Read more: http://www.pilarlacandelaria.org/world-habitat-day-voices-from-slums/
Costa Rica
Fundación Promotora de Vivienda (FUPROVI) has joined in the celebration with the theme Y usted dónde amanece? It had a series of images of neighborhoods whose reflection called upon the local government authorities and national as well as ciudanía to see the responsibility we have as a society, to seek appropriate solutions to the problems of the living conditions of these people and families and, consider the active participation of women in solving these problems."The walls can be made of tin, a simple shower bucket, the cradle shared cardboard box and yet every morning wake thousands of dreams and hopes flavored bottle and hot pajamas. If today we decided sunrise and wake up with them and do our part, maybe we can stop those dreams dissipate the heat of day ..."The activities are as follows: The campaign started on October, 01 with partners working with communities, other stakeholders and followers on social networks to celebrate this date; There was a photos exhibition under the motto Y usted dónde amanece?; On Friday October 3 FUPROVI, representatives of the Ministry of Housing and Human Settlement, the Housing Mortgage Bank, members of municipalities, NGOs, developers, institutions and universities discussed alternatives to face qualitative housing deficit in the country and also open paths in the process of improving urban neighborhoods in the country. FUPROVI drafted a document and produced a video; On 06 October, employees participated in a cine-forum to create greater awareness of the living conditions in squatter settlements and established neighborhoods that require improvement; On Wednesday 08 October in a formal act together personeros FUPROVI Postal Costa Rica, presented the postmarks on the envelopes circulated correspondence from 06 to 10 October at the national and international levels commemorating this day; At the close on Friday, October 10, will be held with partners an Urban Tertulia.
Ethiopia
The Department of Architecture, Dire Dawa Institute of Technology, Dire Dawa University will on October 6 celebrate World Habitat Day and the 2014 World Architecture Day with several activities including: Mural Painting/ Urban Revitalization at the historic district of Kezira in Dire Dawa City, Ethiopia; Film Screenings and a Symposium.
Egypt
UN-Habitat Egypt office will mark this year’s World Habitat Day with a press conference on October 1, 2014. The celebration will be done in advance since this year’s World Habitat Day will fall on the same day as an Egyptian public holiday. In their speech they indicate that they stand by and reaffirm their commitment to support the countries and cities of the Arab Region that are committed to responding to the Voices from the Slums in developing actions to address the challenges of poverty, inequity and social deprivation that are experienced in informal settlements.
India
India Habitat Centre will commemorate this year’s World Habitat Day by organizing a Quiz Show. The quiz session will have a preliminary round to select six teams to go through the finals. The event is open to all institutional and individual members of India Habitat Centre. At the end of the Quiz, the winners will be awarded with fabulous prizes.
Local Governance Network will organise a discussion and photo exhibition on World Habitat Day along with Media Advocacy on various issues of Urbanisation amongst key decision makers of urban management. Followed by a cyclothon where some people will do bicycling throughout the city in raising awareness amongst the various stakeholders of city. Apart from the World Habitat Day event we will organise various small events throughout the week from Monday 6th October to 10th October leading to concluding events of World Habitat Week. The events will be held in Bhubaneswar.
Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC), the Indian Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, will prepare a special issue of their Newsletter on the theme of the World Habitat Day 2014. The special issue will incorporate Statements by the Secretary-General of United Nations and the Executive Director of UN-Habitat.
The School of Planning and Architecture Vijayawada celebrated the World Habitat Day 2014 in association with the Swachcha Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) - an initiative of the Honourable Prime Minister of India. Various on-the-spot competitions for school and college students were conducted. There were 100 students from 15 schools in and around Vijayawada that took part in painting, quiz, and 50 college students joined the essay and elocution competition. All the participants received the participation certificates in the function at the end of the day. The prize distribution function started with Dr. Abdul Razak Mohamed Dean of Studies, SPAV gave a brief introduction on the theme of the world habitat day as the “Voice of the Slums” and further made the theme for the spot competitions. He said that it is mainly to give voices to slum dwellers for improving the quality of living in the existing slums. On the theme as well as respect to the SBA the topics of competition was My Clean City – for painting, Slum free smart cities for Quiz competitions mainly focused on the school students and Slums and Sanitation for college students for essay and elocution competition. The key note speech was delivered by Dr. N.Sridharan Director of SPAV emphasising on the role of school students and parents in making healthy and clean cities. He emphasised the participation and involvement of school students at the young age could be a medium to educate the parents, neighbours and urban local government. Dr Krishna Mohan Registrar enlightened the audience that the success of the SBA is in the hands of the youth population like school students to create awareness among the local community.
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) office in Chennai in association with the Citizens Alliance for Sustainable Living (SUSTAIN), Department of Architecture and Department of Planning, School of Architecture & Planning, Anna University, Chennai, and Institute of Town Planners, India (ITPI), T. N. Chapter organized the Third Prof. Dattatri Memorial Lecture on Voices from Slums – Theme of The World Habitat Day 2014 on Wednesday, 8th October 2014 from 4.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. at the School of Architecture & Planning, Anna University, Chennai. The lecture was attended by about 100 participants including the professionals and practitioners in urban planning, academics and citizens from NGO’s and CBOs.
Indonesia
The Government of Indonesia led by the Ministry of Public Works, commemorates the 2014 WHD by inviting relevant stakeholders to participate in eradicating slum areas in Indonesia. A series of activities held in Jakarta from 2-12 October 2014, among others are the selection of City Changers, Stakeholders Forum and Exhibition, Youth Forum on Habitat, Synergy on Slums, Habitat Fun Run and Audience with the President. WHD is also celebrated at local level, making the celebration more inclusive
Indonesia: Keep Striving Forward to Improve Indonesian Housing and Settlements. On October 03, 2014, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono addressed experts and stakeholders of housing and environment during the World Habitat Day celebration at the State Palace. In his message, he wished them a Happy World Habitat Day and advised them to keep striving and working hard to improve the housing and settlements in Indonesia. He expressed his full support for the 100-0-100 program from the Ministry of Public Works that aims to achieve 100% access to drinking water, zero slums as well as to improve access to sanitation up to 100%. The President also mentioned that Indonesia is now part of emerging economies. In 2000, one out of five Indonesian lived below the poverty line and it has decreased to one out of eight in 2013.
Furthermore the government has allocated tens of trillions to speed up the improvement of living standars through the National Program for Community Empowerment (PNPM Mandiri). PNPM Mandiri is one of the largest community empowerment program in the world. Indonesia needs to move forward beyond its cu
rrent achievement. According to the Ministry of Public Work, Indonesia has slum areas of 34,374 Ha inhabited by 34.4 million people in 2014. The 100-0-100 targets are the objectives of the Medium Term National Development Plan (2015-2019). To realize cities without slums, however, more attention to the slums character and aspirations of the people living in slums is necessary. This message is in line with this year's theme of WHD, “Voices from Slums”.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono addressing the audience on 3 October 2014, during the opening of the Stakeholder Forum, the first event of WHD2014 in Jakarta, with the Minister of Public Works, Djoko Kirmanto (third from right) on 2 October 2014. The Forum aimed to gather and share thought and experience on housing and settlements.
The Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) held on 8 October a World Habitat Day event on Campus. Three senior students presented their final paper discussing about slum upgrading. The candidates were: Mr. Ibrahim Ukrin who will deliver "Creative Empowerment Program for Sustainable Kampung Development", Ms. Rasmita Yulia Mutiarasari who delivered "Innovation Diffusion Process in Community-based Settlement Planning" and Mr. Ambolas Manuel who shared his intern experience in Vertical Housing as an alternative solution for slum settlement. Urban and Regional Planning students from other universities in Indonesia were also invited. The output of discussion is to highlight to the world the housing problems that are present. On 25 October, a Town Watching activity will be held as a part of commemorating World Habitat Day 2014. The objective of this activity is to collect stories from the slum dwellers in the slum areas within Greater Bandung Metropolitan. Participants will collect stories in the form of photos, videos, articles, etc. We will invite Student and Community to involve in an action giving voice for the slum dwellers. These outputs will be exhibited in the next event. From 26 – 31 October, 2014, Artworks Exhibition and Campaign with the theme Voices from Slums will show and publicize the outputs of Town Watching activity in the ITB Main Campus.
Islamic Republic of Iran
The UN-Habitat office in Tehran is celebrating the World Habitat Day 2014 jointly with the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development. In a half-day ceremony with participation of the Minister for Roads and Urban Development, Deputy Ministers, the UN Resident Coordinator, Heads of UN agencies and representatives of some foreign missions in Iran, senior Government officials and some slum dwellers, the Minister and his Deputies will speak about the plight of slums and informal settlements in Iran and the measures that have been undertaken to tackle this issue. Messages of the Secretary General and UN-Habitat Executive Director will be also be read in this ceremony. A cultural event performed by children of informal settlements and a speech by a slum dweller is anticipated, followed by a panel discussion on the Voices of Slums, including a member of the community. The event will be highlighted by presentation of appreciation and gratitude to a number of activists from various slums or informal settlements who have been instrumental in successful implementation of slums upgrading and improvements in the lives of slum dwellers.
Kenya
Amnesty International will mobilize communities in Kenya to ensure public demand for enactment of the Evictions and Resettlement Bill during the weeks before and including World Habitat Day. They want clear timelines for delivery and implementation of the bill before March 2015. They will mobilize 5,000 people on World Habitat Day drawn from communities at risk of forced evictions to participate in public actions to demand legislation. They will also use social media to involve over 10,000 people to demonstrate solidarity and support of communities at risk of forced evictions by signing a petition that will be presented to the Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Members of Parliament and the President on World Habitat Day. The goal of this project is for people living in slums and informal settlements are protected from forced evictions and have increased security of tenure.
UN-Habitat will launch a cycle sharing demonstration project on 30 October, 2014, at its headquarters at the UN Compound in Gigiri, Nairobi as part of its wider work on sustainable urban mobility. The project, carried out in conjunction with the United Nations Office of Nairobi (UNON) and Kenyan non-governmental organization, Wheels of Africa, aims to improve mobility for staff and visitors to the 140 acre compound while advocating for green transport and the principles of road sharing for all users. The fully interactive project features ten bicycles of ‘cycle share’ design and three parking facilities dedicated to the bikes at strategic locations around the compound. The project is designed to enhance connectivity, especially for those arriving to the compound by foot. Implementing partner Wheels of Africa is supporting the project by managing and monitoring bicycle use and distribution.
Good People International, a Korean non-governmental organization based in Nairobi, in collaboration with UN-Habitat, will commemorate World Habitat Day by holding a children’s art exhibition at the United Nations Offices in Gigiri, Nairobi, from October 6 - 10. The theme will be Voice from slum (I have talent). The children exhibiting will be from Ayany School, Mt. Kenya School and Cool Shade School, the schools are from the informal settlements and will be best placed to speak on the slums agenda.
Global Steps and Grace Heal through their citizenship program that targets young people in schools held activities to celebrate World Habitat Day in Kitale Town. Activities included: Global Citizenship awareness campaign; Photo shooting to highlight the challenges faced by children and youths in the slums; Accelerate MDGs games and activities to educate school students about the MDGs and their roles as youths; Photos of students in class on sanitation; Photos of the Hospitals and other buildings.
Malawi
On 11th October 2014, Malawi commemorated World Habitat Day at Mgona Community Ground under the theme ‘Voices from the Slums’. Several Organizations in the Public Sector and NGOs took part in showcasing their activities to commemorate the day. Community members from slums in Lilongwe voiced out their concerns through drama, traditional dances and poetry about the situation in the slums so that the Government Authorities should address them for their own good. http://www.redcross.mw/?p=160
Mexico
UN-Habitat-Mexico commemorated World Habitat Day on Sunday October 5. They cycled along the Sunday drive, “Muévete en Bici”. The Under-secretary of the Secretariat of Agricultural, Territorial and Urban Development, Alejandro Nieto and Iván de la Lanza who was responsible for the Bike Mobility Program of the Environment Secretariat of the Government of the Federal District, joined the celebration. In addition, they had key messages on cruises of the Avenue Paseo de la Reforma, which promoted a better civic life. This campaign “Compartimos la ciudad” - We share the city – was designed by the artist Carlos Uzcanga, with support from the Mexican Association of Transport and Mobility and TeleUrban for dissemination.
Niger
Building a Better Response Consulting commemorated World Habitat Day with an event discussing how Land use and Shelter construction are becoming a main concern in the context of capital scarcity and economic stress, climate change, and rapidly changing income. The objectives of this program was to inform the local government and citizens on the challenges of climate change’s impact on housing construction, the consequences of bad constructions in their daily economy and the importance of consulting different firms before investing in building.
Nigeria
Centre for Human Settlements and Urban Development, Federal University of Technology (CHSUD), Minna, Nigeria will hold World Habitat Day activities on Thursday, 30th October. Planned activities include to: Organize and promote actions among stakeholders on Slum Upgrading and Sustainable Urban Development; Produce and distribute leaflets; organize radio jingles aimed at raising awareness on the need to develop more effective and sustainable basis for Managing; Financing; and Governance of cities; Presentation of Videos, Photos and Interviews on Global Best Practices on Development and Management of Cities; Presentation of site-specific slum upgrading projects (Kpakungu, Barkin Sale and Maitumbi Areas) developed by the undergraduate students of the Urban and Regional Planning Department, Federal University of Technology, Minna; Organize an interactive discussion among the slum dwellers; government officials; academicians; and civil society groups aimed at building consensus on how to improve the living conditions in existing slums; Inaugurate the City Managers Association of Nigeria by Postgraduate students offering Masters in Sustainable Urban Development -M.Tech (SUD).
Initiative for the Support and Promotion of Human Shelter (ISPHS) is planning with slum dwellers and those living in informal settlement in FCT this year’s World Habitat Day with the theme Voices from the Slums. The objectives are to: raise awareness of life conditions in slums; develop processes and tools in defense of the historical memory of the people who have lived and live in the slums; demonstrate, through real stories, to decision makers in the urban arena that slum upgrading programmes can achieve better life conditions for slum dwellers, and greater economic and social impacts. Planned activities include; road work, presentation/discussions on this year’s World Habitat Day’s theme, and a press conference on the state of their slums.
National Union of Tenants of Nigeria will use the occasion of this year’s World Habitat Day observance to organize a stakeholders’ forum aimed to raise public awareness of the links between rapid urbanization and slums; and how slum-upgrading can be used to improve the life of slum-dwellers. The gathering which draws audience from different interest groups including especially state and non-state actors will, through sharing and learning, expand the participants’ understanding of the overarching challenges of slum-dwellers in this urban millennium and result in a set of “Best Practice” references for addressing these challenges. Intended to use the event to set up an initiative aimed to support the slum-dwellers community, the occasion will culminate in the introduction of Slum-Dwellers Foundation as a demonstration project! for addressing the needs of those living in most-depressed housing condition.
Papua New Guinea
Inclusive Development Inc. will organize a public rally in collaboration with UN Habitat at the Constitutional Park. The Prime Minister and his senior ministers will speak on the government's policies and plans for settlements in the country.
Singapore
On Monday 6 October, at the Archifest Pavilion, Event Plaza, Marina Bay Sands, ArchiFest (Singapore's Annual Architecture Festival) in conjunction with World Habitat Day, BillionBRICKS will organize an informal gathering titled Urban Crossover. Eight accomplished designers, thinkers, planners and architects will showcase their ideas, works, thoughts or pictures in a Pecha Kucha style of presentation. Urban Crossover will be an opportunity to discuss the way various cities across the world have dealt with the right of providing their citizens with options for housing. It will be an ideal moment to listen to experts in a relaxed setting, compare experiences, demolish stereotypes and cross-learn about a topic that concerns us all. Urban Crossover explores the subject of crowd, people, density and housing in a world where there are bigger and bigger slums and more and more luxury private properties. Although housing remains the most pertinent issue in the minds of governments, policy makers, architects, urban planners and the people, density is a word which unintentionally is synonymous with housing.
Sri Lanka
The Government of Sri Lanka and its lead agencies in human settlements development have launched a series of celebrations to commemorate World Habitat Day 2014. With a focus on engaging children, youth, women and self-employed, the events commenced on the 20th of September and will culminate on the World Habitat Day, the 6th October 2014, at a grand ceremony presided by the President of Sri Lanka, His Excellency Mahinda Rajapakse.
Hon. Wimal Weerawansa, the Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities is the convener of the celebrations under this year’s theme “Voices from Slums”. The Ministry will partner with line agencies such as the National Housing Development Authority, Urban Settlement Development Authority and the Urban Development Authority, as well as the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
Summary of events:
- Art competition dabbed “Children of Colombo” drew participation of over 5,000 children from the urban underserved settlements in Colombo; on 20th September the final rounds of the competition was held with the participation of the President of Sri Lanka, His Excellency Mahinda Rajapakse. Selected art was displayed at an exhibition held at the National Art Gallery, Colombo 07 from 1st – 3rd October, and also at the World Habitat Day main event held on the Monday, the 6th of October.
- A Drama Competition held with the participation of over 1,500 children from urban poor families. The final rounds were held on the 27th and 28th September at New Town Hall, Green Path, Colombo 07.
- Over 2,000 youth participated in sports activities promoting healthy living amongst urban communities. The final rounds of the Six-a-side Cricket tourney for Men and Women held at the Bandaranaikepura Stadium, Rajagiriya on the 28th of September.
- An evening Urban Cultural Festival held from 6.00pm - 10.00pm on 1st-3rd October at the Viharamahadevi Open-air Theatre, Colombo 07.
- Healthy Food Street Carnival featuring produce by urban small-scale farmers and vendors held along the Green Path, Colombo 07 from 4.00pm – 10.00pm on 1st -3rd October.
- “Children of Colombo” Cultural variety show held on the 4th October at the Lotus Pond Mahinda Rajapakse Theatre, Colombo 07.
- 6th October: The “World Habitat Day” main event was presided by The President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapakse. The event drew over 5,000 attendees and featured the handover of deeds establishing security of tenure to 1,000 families.
- Sri Lanka’s first ever national housing policy was presented to the president by Hon. Wimal Weerawansa, the Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities on the World Habitat Day.
- In addition to the ceremonies, programmes to establish 50 Community Resource Development Centres, 450 Urban Youth Sports Clubs and a project to promote the Urban Small-scale Food Producers will be launched to mark World Habitat Day 2014.
- On the 7th of October HDFC, the Housing Development Finance Cooperation Bank, joined up with UN-Habitat to organize an awareness campaign themed “Voices from Slums” at Seevali College, a school located in Vanathamulla, one of the poorest underserved slum settlements of Colombo.
In commemorating World Habitat Day 2014, the Housing Development Finance Corporation Bank of Sri Lanka organised a special program at the Seevali Madya Maha Vidyalaya, Borella with the collaboration of UN-Habitat Colombo office. The objective was to raise awareness on the World Habitat Day theme which was importance of protecting the environment in our towns, cities and basic human rights on adequate shelter among school children. http://www.ft.lk/2014/10/18/hdfc-celebrates-world-habitat-day-at-seevali-maha-vidyalaya-borella/
Sri Lanka celebrated the World Habitat Day 2014 under the theme ‘Habitat Sound-Future from Janasevana’. The National conference on the World Habitat Day was held on Monday at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo, under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. A National Housing Policy for the country was launched for the first time in Sri Lanka on World Habitat Day at this national conference. http://www.news.lk/news/sri-lanka/item/3400-sri-lafka-to-launch-a-natio…
Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka took on Habitat Youth BUILD, a youth-led campaign to tackle the global challenge of substandard housing, for the first time in 2014. Now in its fourth iteration, Habitat Youth BUILD has grown each year, with Sri Lanka, Fiji, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam joining other Asia-Pacific countries for the first time. On the occasion of World Habitat Day 2014, 21students and 3 teachers from the American School of Doha, Qatar along with some Habitat Sri Lanka's staff, came to the village of Palagalakanda to assist in the construction of one of the homes for a very needy family. http://www.hfhsl.org/docs/WHD-2014.pdf
Spain
On the 6th of October, during World Habitat Day, UN-Habitat Office in Spain celebrated an event held at the European University of Madrid, under the title 'Voices from Slums: The challenges faced by cities and slums in light of the New Urban Agenda and the preparatory process towards Habitat III'.
The speakers at this event incorporated representatives from the Spanish Ministry of Development, academics and UN-Habitat staff"
Thailand
ESCAP together with UN-Habitat, the National Housing Authority of Thailand and the Community Organizations Institute of Thailand jointly commemorated World Habitat Day at the United Nations Conference Center in Bangkok on October 7, 2014. The event included the reading of the Secretary-General’s message, a panel discussion with Government officials and urban poor community leaders and the screening of a specially prepared video on the theme “Voices from Slums”
Tanzania
The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlement Development (MLHHSD) in cooperation with other government departments as well as Ardhi University, TBA, NHC, ILALA and TEMEKE Municipalities, DAWASA, CCI, NGOs, CBOs and local government authorities commemorated World Habitat Day at the National Museum Conference hall. The seven hour event had a series of activities including; an introductory speech from the Director of Housing in the Ministry, followed by a cultural dance. This was followed by the statement from the Executive Director of UN-Habitat which was read on his behalf by the Habitat Programme Manager. Thereafter the guest of Honour, Prof Anna Tibaijuka, the Minister for Land, Housing and Human Settlement of the government of Tanzania, delivered her speech on this year’s theme. After the speech from the Minister, a lecturer from Ardhi University presented “Urbanization Trends in Tanzania”, whereby the major reasons for informal settlements development were identified as well as characteristics behind the slums. There was also an exhibition for the habitat agenda partners. The exhibitors included; MLHHSD, Ardhi University, TBA, NHC, ILALA and TEMEKE Municipalities, DAWASA, CCI, MKURABITA, NGOs, CBOs and the local government authorities.
Uganda
Ministry of Lands Housing and Urban Development in partnership with the ACTogether Uganda, Habitat for Humanity, National Slum Dwellers Federation of Uganda and SSA: UHSNET organised a one day national celebration at Walukuba/Masese division play ground in Jinja Municipality. The guest of Honour was Honourable Minister of State for Housing Hon. Samuel Engola who represented the Minister of Lands Housing and Urban Development Hon.Daudi Migereko. The national celebrations began with a procession in Walukuba environs where a band marched and attracted many residents who were eager to take part in the function. Community people both young and old, federation members from Jinja, ACTogether, MOLHUD, SSA staff and pupils of Walukuba East and West primary schools all joined the celebration’s matching holding banners and placards with this years’ theme ‘Voices from the slums’. There were other activities to commemorate the day including an exhibition with different exhibitors displaying community products and low cost construction materials towards low cost housing for the low income earners. The other notable activity of the day was giving awards to different personalities who had done some work in slum communities. Hon. Minister Samuel Engola gave out 17 Mega phone awards to 17 change maker personalities who hailed from 19 municipalities. A raffle draw was then conducted and the winner Vicky Nakibuuka, from Kampala Central won a smart phone.
The State Minister for Housing, Mr. Samuel Engola, called on Slum Dwellers to “be active in programmes geared towards slum upgrading”. He said that the challenge of slum redevelopment requires concerted efforts. The Minister spoke during the World Habitat Day celebrations in Walukuba- Jinja Municipality. Read full article here http://www.ssauganda.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=135:uganda-celebrates-world-habitat-day&catid=78:what-s-new&Itemid=437
Philippines
Cebu City Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on housing , Kaabag sa Sugbo and FORGE Inc. conducted a consultative meeting with urban poor groups, housing agencies and civil society organizations on 3 October, 2014 at 1:00 pm at the Vice-Mayor’s Conference Room at the Cebu City Hall Legislative Building. The consultation focused on the proposed ordinance to institutionalize the site development fund and the lot acquisition fund for the city’s socialized housing programme. This aims to ensure adequate and available resources to purchase and develop relocation sites and provide clear guidelines in the use of the said funds.
Habitat for Humanity Philippines’ 1st Online Champion Build -
Habitat for Humanity Philippines held their first Online Champion Build to mark World Habitat Day in Quezon City on 4 October. Subsequent WHD activities were held on 11 October 2014 where Habitat Philippines run 20 simultaneous ‘builds’ in Metro Manila, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Zamboanga, Mindoro, Bohol, Cebu, and Leyte. Through these series of events, Habitat for Humanity Philippines aimed to raise awareness that more than 4 million Filipino families still live in substandard housing and that this figure does not include the millions recently displaced by the Zamboanga Conflict, the Bohol Earthquake, and super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).
http://www.chuckiedreyfus.ph/2014/10/world-habitat-day-2014-habitat-humanity/
http://www.thetummytraveler.ph/2014/10/08/world-habitat-day-2014-online-champion/
http://www.rappler.com/bulletin-board/71193-world-habitat-day
United States of America
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Pittsburgh will host an affordable housing simulation to commemorate World Habitat Day. Participants will learn about barriers to housing by playing the role of a low-income family in search of adequate housing. This eye-opening simulation will take place at the Habitat ReStore, located in Edgewood Town Centre.
Habitat for Humanity of West Virginia in collaboration with WV Capitol Build, Huntington WV Area Habitat for Humanity, and APCO will construct the wall frames of a Habitat for Humanity home on the WV Capitol grounds. The wall frames of this energy star certified home will be transported to Huntington WV where they will become the permanent home of Huntington family.
The Museum of the City of New York has organized a talk by Jaime Lerner, who is an architect and urbanist. The talk will be on Lessons from Brazil, a discussion of his new book Urban Acupuncture (Island Press, September 2014), which celebrates initiatives from cities around the world that uplift their communities—from Barcelona’s bustling La Boqueria market to Seoul’s revitalized Cheonggyecheon River. Former NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and noted author and urbanist Roberta Brandes Gratz will join Jaime following his presentation for a community conversation. This event is made possible with the support of The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and The Center for the Living City, and co-presented with the AIANY Global Dialogues Committee, Design Trust for Public Space, UN-Habitat as part of the Urban October Celebrations, Van Alen Institute and the Transit Center.
The Huairou Commission celebrated this year’s World Habitat Day. In their message, they indicated that they were uplifted to see UN-Habitat honoring people living and working in their own communities at the grassroots level by designating 6 October, 2014 as a symbolic day to amplifying their voices. They were heartened and encouraged that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recognized the need to learn from this constituency: "By learning from their experiences, city planners and policymakers can enhance the well-being of a significant portion of the human family. Let us hear from people who live in slums what has worked and what has not - and what we need to do."
The Environment Investigation Agency showcased a photo journal of some of the habitats they work in to mark World Habitat Day. The day presented an exciting opportunity to marvel and reflect on the rich and diverse habitats that make up our planet.
http://eia-global.org/blog/world-habitat-day-a-photo-journey-with-eia
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Pittsburgh held an affordable housing simulation to commemorate World Habitat Day. Participants learned about barriers to housing by playing the role of a low-income family in search of adequate housing. This eye-opening simulation took place at the Habitat ReStore, located in Edgewood Town Centre. http://www.pittsburghhabitat.org/get-involved/news/WorldHabitatDay2014
Habitat for Humanity Fayetteville Area (FAHFH) celebrated World Habitat Day with Parade of Doors. They used this activity to ask area supporters to raise awareness of the Habitat mission to provide affordable housing to hardworking families in Cumberland County and show their support of World Habitat Day on October 6, 2014, with a door display. “The parade of doors is a fun and creative way for everyone to show their support of Habitat,” said Tammy Laurence, FAHFH executive director. “Community organizations, churches, and other nonprofits that may not have the time or the funds to contribute can participate in the symbolism of opening the doors to homeownership.”
Habitat for Humanity says 1.6 billion people worldwide do not have adequate shelter. In Youngstown, the day was celebrated by dozens of volunteers who pitched in to help work on Habitat’s latest project on Oak Street on the city’s east side. The event was marked by Habitat for Humanity Youngstown, Ohio. http://wkbn.com/2014/10/06/volunteers-celebrate-world-habitat-day/
Habitat for Humanity - Greater Los Angeles volunteer raised awareness for World Habitat Day through Twitter chat and a blog. The volunteer used these platforms to call on more people to volunteer and join Habitat for Humanity initiatives aimed at providing shelter. http://habitatla.org/world-habitat-day-guest-blog-ashley-noel/
Habitat for Humanity - New Orleans used the occasion of World Habitat Day to call for people to join the call for adequate shelter around the world by raising awareness and mobilizing individuals and communities to take action. See more at: http://www.habitat-nola.org/blogs/in-the-news/2014/10/06/whd-2014
In celebration of World Habitat Day 2014, Habitat for Humanity South Hampton Roads launched their “$100 Realtor Round-Up” to help renovate homes to sell to deserving families in our community. Beginning on Monday 6 October, HFH SHR requested that local real estate agents in their community join in the fight to end poverty housing by donating $100 from each closing until April 30, 2015. The proceeds from this initiative were to support their continued focus on renovating foreclosed and abandoned properties in distressed neighborhoods. http://shrhabitat.org/a-word-from-wayne-celebrating-world-habitat-day/
Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom County launched a ’50,000 cups of coffee = Home’ campaign to raise funds to support six local families. The campaign engaged 13 partners. Read more here http://www.hfhwhatcom.org/world-habitat-day-2014
On October 7, 2014, Habitat for Humanity Macon area joined with housing advocates around the world to advocate for safe, decent and affordable housing. Over 100 participants gathered at Southside Community Church to dedicate the homes of three partner families. This event brought sponsors, volunteers, community leaders, residents and homeowners together to celebrate this milestone and to renew their commitment to work towards the day that no child of God will awaken in substandard housing. http://www.maconhabitat.org/#!World-Habitat-Day-Home-Dedication-Celebration/cnwt/0C548DBB-301F-403A-BDB8-AD991B7A0E5E
Habitat for Humanity Crystal Coast held a charity event at the Newport ReStore Parking Lot. Proceeds were donated back to Habitat to help build homes for families in their community. http://www.habitatcrystalcoast.org/uncategorized/world-habitat-day-charity-event/
Habitat for Humanity of West Virginia hosted the Capitol Build to provide advocacy and promote awareness for World Habitat Day. The activity was held on the grounds’ at their State Capitol where walls of a Habitat house were constructed and transported to its permanent site in Huntington and became the home of a hardworking West Virginia family.
Habitat for Humanity Inland Valley honored World Habitat Day 2014 with a Free Movie and Refreshments. The event took place at Old Town Temecula Community Theater. Read more http://tickets.temeculatheater.org/eventperformances.asp?evt=850
Community Bank of Texas participated in a sponsored build day in honor of World Habitat Day, Monday, October 6th with a donation of $5,000. Bank employees hit the build site for a day of construction. Read more http://www.beaumonthabitat.org/NewsDetail.asp?printv=1&id=11
The Huairou Commission promoted World Habitat Day through a blog on their website. See article here: http://huairou.org/celebrating-world-habitat-day-2014-voices-slums
The Museum of the City of New York organized a talk by Jaime Lerner, who is an architect and urbanist. The talk was on Lessons from Brazil, a discussion of his new book Urban Acupuncture (Island Press, September 2014), which celebrates initiatives from cities around the world that uplift their communities—from Barcelona’s bustling La Boqueria market to Seoul’s revitalized Cheonggyecheon River. The event was made possible with the support of The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and The Center for the Living City, and co-presented with the AIANY Global Dialogues Committee, Design Trust for Public Space, UN-Habitat as part of the Urban October Celebrations, Van Alen Institute and the Transit Center.
Habitat for Humanity of West Virginia in collaboration with WV Capitol Build, Huntington WV Area Habitat for Humanity, and APCO constructed the wall frames of a Habitat for Humanity home on the WV Capitol grounds. The wall frames of this energy star certified home was transported to Huntington WV where they became the permanent home of a Huntington family. http://www.habitatwv.org/news-201408.shtml
DOW and Habitat for Humanity Michigan came together in commemoration of World Habitat Day 2014. More than 100 Dow volunteers participated in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project on Oct. 5-11, in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Volunteers built alongside homeowners to help make their dreams of owning a home a reality. As Habitat’s first national corporate partner, Dow has had a long-standing commitment to the organization for 31 years. Support includes financial, product and volunteer contributions, through a well-established global partnership. Since 1983, Dow has supported the construction of more than 41,000 homes in more than 26 countries worldwide. Read more: http://www.dow.com/news/press-releases/article/?id=6647
Habitat for Humanity Kansas City promoted World Habitat Day through a blog raising awareness and calling for more participation in volunteer activities. Read more here http://habitatkc.org/world-habitat-day-october-6-2014/
Habitat for Humanity Milledgeville-Baldwin County, marked the celebration of World Habitat Day at City Hall. The HFH board members and Mayor Richard Bentley joined together to rejoice in the success of Habitat and invited the public to get involved with Habitat to continue meeting the needs of the community. http://www.unionrecorder.com/news/community-officials-celebrate-world-habitat-day/article_3e5abc80-5080-11e4-8a28-738515d6ca58.html
Habitat for Humanity Orange County called for more volunteers to build homes for families in need. Their World Habitat Day celebration was held on 6th October, on their build site in La Habra. http://www.habitatoc.org/worldhabitatday
Habitat for Humanity Wild Rivers hosted tours and had a short information meeting to help bring attention to the need for adequate housing around the world at the St. Croix Falls ReStore. The event was held on 6th October, on the occasion of World Habitat Day. http://hfh-wi-wild.huterra.com/content/join-us-world-habitat-day
Habitat for Humanity Fredericton Area Inc. joined with their partners around the world to rededicate themselves to a world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live.
Read more http://www.breadnmolasses.com/2014/10/03/celebrate-world-habitat-day-oct-6th/
Vietnam
UN-Habitat Vietnam Office has collaborated with primary school Ly Thai To and Ha Noi International Academy to organise drawing contest for kid from 10-12 years old. This activity in under the bigger contest that Regional Office of Asia and Pacific (ROAP) launched in Asia Pacific to engage the participation of the countries in the region. The drawing contest with the theme “City for Everybody” attracted nearly 70 talented children. Each child had three hours to imagine and draw about their dreaming city that everyone can live happy together. Through their eyes, the cities are green, peaceful, colourful and liveable. Those drawing will be sent to Fukuoka, Japan for judging.
