Tacloban City, Philippines 31 October 2014-- In the afternoon of October 23, 2014, droves of teens and young adults headed to the Balyuan Grounds in Tacloban City despite gray skies, puddled pavements, and light but steady rain for Kabataan: Kasugbong Ha Pag-uswag (Youth: Partners in Development) – a youth jam for safe and resilient cities.

Shanghai 31 October 2014 The first World Cities Day has been commemorated across the globe under the theme “Leading Urban Transformation”.

In his statement to mark the occasion, United Nations Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon “With the decision by the United Nations General Assembly to establish World Cities Day, we now have an annual date on which to celebrate one of humankind’s greatest and most complex creations.”

Nairobi, 28 October 2014 – UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat has said that affordable housing should be put back at the centre of cities, both in terms of planning and policy, and geographical location.

He made the comments at the launch of the report, “A blueprint for addressing the global affordable housing challenge” by the McKinsey Global Institute, the research arm of international private consulting firm, McKinsey.

Nairobi, 28 October 2014-- Nigeria and Cameroun recently held their first ever urban forums, underpinning the importance of such events as the world heads to the Habitat III Conference.It was remarkable that the two national urban forums were held as part of the World Habitat Day 2014 which was also part of the Urban October, the month UN-Habitat set aside to highlight urbanization issues in the world.In the Nigeria forum, the Federal

Caserta, Italy, 17 October 2014; This week, UN-Habitat convened the first Urban Thinkers Campus: an innovative, inclusive, and intimate gathering of a diverse array of urban thinkers convened as the next step in The City We Need process towards building partner consensus at Habitat III.

Mumbai, 16 October 2014 – The role of youth as social innovators in sustainable development has been highlighted by speakers at a conference in India.

Nay Pyi Daw, 16 October 2014 – The International Day for Disaster Reduction was commemorated at the National and Regional levels in Myanmar on 13 October 2014 by the Government of Myanmar, UN Agencies, International and National Non-Governmental Organizations, Civil Society, Elderly Persons and Students.

Juba 16 October 2014—The Second South Sudan Urbanisation Conference kicked off in Juba on Wednesday with speakers placing greater emphasis on better land governance practice in the urban areas.

Officially opening the meeting, the Speaker of the Council of Ministers Joseph Bul Chan set the mood when he rooted for an improved land governance system in South Sudan. “It is imperative that we have good land governance structures in our country. Land is at the core of development aspirations and there must be good system to utilise it.

Caserta, Italy 15 October 2014: Urban Thinkers Campus participants work on a new urban paradigm towards Habitat III. They highlighted the importance of civil society and the private sector.

Nairobi 13 October 2014—On the occasion marking this year’s World Habitat Day, UN-Habitat has announced the 2014 winners of the Urban Youth Fund.

A total of 22 youth-led organizations from 18 countries have been selected for the Urban Youth Fund program in 2014. The projects will receive financial support as well as training and capacity building and follow-up throughout the duration of the project.