New Delhi, 8 October 2015: On the second day of the Urban Thinkers Campus (UTC) India hosted by the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), the organizers launched the National Campaign on Cities and Human Settlements.

This campaign aims to engage stakeholders all over India, such as civil society and private sector organizations, to contribute to the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), as well as to share ideas and commit to the implementation of the recently adopted United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda and 17 new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The name of the Indian Campaign is motivated by SDG 11: “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. By linking the Campaign to this goal, and with the support of UN-Habitat’s World Urban Campaign, the organizers aim to gather and strengthen the Urban Thinker Community in India.

NIUA will be the lead organization for this Campaign, and has announced that a slogan for the overall activities will be defined in the coming weeks through a participatory approach involving all interested stakeholders.

A Campaign Steering Committee will be formed and will develop a roadmap towards Habitat III and beyond – towards Sustainable Urban Development.

The campaign was launched with the participation of UN-Habitat’s Deputy Executive Director Dr. Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, Mr Rajiv Ranjan Mishra (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India), Prof. Usha Raghupathi (National Institute of Urban Affairs) and Ms Christine Auclair (Coordinator World Urban Campaign, UN-Habitat).

During his speech, the Joint Secretary Mr. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra highlighted the importance of this Campaign in order to promote stakeholder’s engagement and perspectives to enrich the efforts of the Indian government in order to implement national policies in a meaningful way.

Dr. Aisa Kirabo Kacyira thanked the Indian Government for its commitment and support towards this Campaign, as well as its efforts towards Habitat III and the Sustainable Development Agenda process. She emphasized that the success of the SDG implementation on a global level highly relies on India – a country full of drive towards transition and positive change.

More information on the National Institute of Urban Affairs and Urban Thinkers Campus India webpages. Related news from NIUA.