Nairobi, 12 May 2014: Cities interested in hosting the Ninth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF) in 2018 have been invited to register their official expression of interest to the convening body, UN-Habitat.

In the first stage of the transparent bidding process that will be finalised by January 2015, cities interested in hosting the international conference are urged to send in an initial expression of interest before the end of May 2014.

Cities that have communicated their interest will then have the next two months to work with UN-Habitat to answer any questions they may have and to finalise their bid by the August deadline.

“This will be an important session of the World Urban Forum because it will be the first to take place after the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development – Habitat III – in 2016,” said UN Under-Secretary-General and UN-Habitat Executive Director, Dr Joan Clos. “The host city must be dedicated to working with us to effectively reflect the outcomes and processes of that conference and supporting the debate and participation of our partners and its citizens.”

The World Urban Forum is a non-legislative technical forum convened by UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme. As an open conference, it gathers participants from every aspect of urban work and life, from government figures to grassroots representatives, professionals, researchers and academics as well as the United Nations and other intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations. It has become one of the major international events for exchanging views and experience on urban challenges, attracting more than 18,000 participants in 2014.

The First session of the Forum was held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2002; the Second session took place in Barcelona, Spain, in 2004; the Third in Vancouver, Canada, in 2006; the Fourth session in Nanjing, China, in 2008, the Fifth session in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2010, the Sixth session in Naples, Italy, in 2012; and the Seventh session in Medellín, Colombia, from 5-11 April 2014.

For information on past sessions, visit www.unhabitat.org/wufClick to download the Call for Expression of Interest.