Riobamba, Ecuador, 9 August 2016—Just a week before the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Human Settlements, Habitat III kicks off in Quito, a landmark meeting will be held in Riobamba city, setting the stage for sustainable construction.

The organisers of the EcoMaterials5 conference expect more than 200 participants and a dozen keynote speakers from industry, research, international organisations and civil society to present their unique perspectives on matters of the construction, maintenance and upkeep of habitat focusing on developing countries.

The Riobamba meeting is important in that it will be more like a curtain raiser to the Habitat III meeting which will celebrate a New Urban Agenda and a renewed global commitment to sustainable urban development.

Running from October 12-14, the event has been put together by the EcoSur network, a founding member of the UN-Habitat coordinated Global Network for Sustainable Housing (GNSH).

“Technologies, practices and materials that can be produced or applied at local level and implemented by small and medium size actors will take centre stage during these days of knowledge-sharing and networking, providing a fitting overture to the high-level meetings in Quito the following week”, the organisers say adding that proven and tested “best practices”, will be in the foreground of discussions, promising innovations and new developments in construction will also be given their due attention.

The EcoMaterials Conferences are part of the international alternative movement demanding for alternative practices to be introduced into the formal housing market, demonstrating the economic, technical and social sustainability. For the list of confirmed keynote speakers, the conference programme and how to register, visit the official EcoMaterials 5 website at www.ecomateriales.org."