Salma Yousry’s Post

One week until we present our interdisciplinary work in Cairo for UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) World Urban Forum 12 Egypt! ☀️ I’m so excited to be part of a terrific team from LIS: The London Interdisciplinary School demonstrating interdisciplinary methods to tackle complex challenges. While we're excited to be taking our work to Egypt, when it comes to climate and climate policy it truly all starts at home. This is the theme of WUF12: localising the SDGs. This was also the focus of my dissertation research at LIS (read more here https://lnkd.in/en5ziSrJ!) and I’m thrilled to have the chance to contribute to the global dialogue at WUF! What a mammoth task! And one that we as a global community have spent a decade trying to achieve. One of the biggest knowledge gaps is understanding how exactly local actors ‘localise’ - that is how they translate abstract goals into tangible local action. And if we don’t understand this, it’s hard to design policy that serves it. TLDR? We need to put more power in the hands of local actors to decide climate policy (perhaps a preposterous suggestion). We need to improve policy officers integrative skills (a possible outcome). And we need to do better than the probable incremental improvements by slow-moving national governments. If you’re at WUF next week and I’ve piqued your interest, join us Thursday, 9am, Multipurpose Room 15 to learn more! (Or hear more about LIS at the Habitat UNI Booth at 4:30pm on Wednesday). Can’t wait to see you there! Lucia Ene-Lesikar, Lara Kinneir, Carlo Castelli, Harry Roberts, Anna Matei, Lucy Adeniji #UNHabitat #WorldUrbanForum #WUF #WUF12 #Cairo #SDG #NewUrbanAgenda #Sustainablity #Climate #ClimatePolicy #localisation #interdisciplinarity 

It all starts locally. That was the key slogan of the World Urban Forum 12 Egypt. #WUF12 will go down in history as a record-breaking event with an attendance of over 24,000 participants from 182 countries. I have to say though that bigger is not aways better. Because bigger also means bigger venues, longer queues, higher security, larger advertising, massive logistic operations and more speakers … and because of that perhaps more disconnected from what happens locally... In Cairo - 👉 We talked about sustainable smart transport solutions, but we collectively travelled in cars and taxis to a conference venue that was not connected by public transport… 👉 We navigated giant halls that at times resembled a fancy real estate expo, because booth fees have become unaffordable or unjustifiable for many small or large organisations 👉 We listened to amazing speakers, but often without time for discussion 👉 We chanted #ItAllStartsLocally, but the venue was so far removed from the city that we ate packaged food, largely missed out on the flavours of Egyptian cuisine and hardly got a glimpse of local initiatives and ideas that make a city of 20 million inhabitants work… I walked away from the event with the usual excitement about meeting old friends, making some new ones and together cook up new project ideas, but this time also a sense of disappointment. WUF remains unparalleled as an occasion for politicians to decide on agendas, for agencies to commit and invest into those agendas, for urban practitioners and academics to connect with partners and clients, create alliances, secure new project opportunities and for students to learn...  But I hope that #WUF13 in Baku - like in many of the previous WUF editions - we will also get the opportunity to really experience and learn from what happens locally. #ItAllStartsLocally #ItAllStartsAtHome UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme)

🌍𝗢𝗛𝗖𝗛𝗥 𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗨𝗙𝟭𝟮: 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 I am pleased to share that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights Section will be co-organizing an event at the Twelfth Session of the World Urban Forum, taking place in tomorrow Cairo. Our session will focus on the critical theme of localizing human rights. 🗓️ Event Date: 5 November 2024 🏛️ Location: WUF12, Cairo, Egypt 🖇️ Register with the QR Code The WUF12 theme, "It All Starts at Home: Local Actions for Sustainable Cities and Communities," resonates strongly with our commitment to ensuring that human rights are embedded at the local level. As urban areas grow and global challenges—such as housing crises, climate change, and inequality—intensify, it is more important than ever to align local actions with human rights principles. Through this event, we will explore how localizing human rights can strengthen governance, foster citizen engagement, and drive sustainable development, ensuring that urbanization efforts leave no one behind. This discussion will be part of WUF12's broader focus on localizing the Sustainable Development Goals to address pressing global issues through local solutions. Join us at WUF12 as we highlight the role of human rights in creating sustainable, inclusive, and resilient cities. #WUF12 #HumanRights #SustainableCities #ESCR #UnitedNations #OHCHR

Get ready for #WUF12 with these 5 essential ideas! From building greener, safer cities to ensuring that everyone has a place to call #home, these concepts are shaping the future of urban living. UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) World Urban Forum 12 Egypt

Urban/City/Regional/Country Planners is a Professional that care so much about Humanity and His Environment

Are you ready to participe in the sustainable urban and territorial development ?

This past week in #Cairo, I had the remarkable opportunity to attend the World Urban Forum 12 Egypt (#WUF12) organized by UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) UN-Habitat Egypt alongside incredible people from around the world. The theme, “It All Starts at Home,” framed an ambitious vision: addressing global crises through local, community-rooted actions. Yet, this notion sparked more questions than answers about the idea of “home” as a site for global transformation. Navigating the forum felt almost like a live academic inquiry, moving through panel discussions, presentations, and workshops that shared insights into the profound, often unseen work that individuals, organizations, the private sector, United Nations agencies, cities, and governments do in their own “homes.” Each session shed light on both the potential and the inherent challenges of using local actions to confront worldwide urbanization issues. I felt fortunate to be part of such an engaged and intellectually stimulating environment. #WUF12 brought forward the nuanced intersections of localized action within a global vision, particularly highlighting the tensions of sustainable urbanization—between overarching ambitions and the granular, human aspects of policy application. I left the forum with new questions and a renewed awareness of the intellectual and ethical issues that sustainable urbanism raises: Can local action truly address global crises without being diluted by the pressures of scale and standardization? How can we preserve the authenticity of place in an era of increasingly globalized urban practices? While WUF12 didn’t answer these questions outright, it provided an invaluable space to grapple with them, offering a collaborative setting where ideas intersected with lived experiences. The four days were intense—a whirlwind of sessions, lectures, networking events, and debates centered on local actions, global visions, and the layered complexities in between. I reconnected with old friends and met inspiring individuals whose work left a lasting impression. Special thanks to Jihad Farah, Nicholas You, Mohamed Salheen, Hassan Elmouelhi, Maram Tawil, Hellen Aziz, Ashraf Abbas, and Mia Barnard for engaging conversations that went beyond the forum. #unhabitat #unhabitategypt #wuf12 #ItAllStartsAtHome, #ItAllStartsLocally Link to Entire post and review on my website: https://lnkd.in/daSNnGCy

🌟 Member Spotlight: Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research (AQF) 🌟 We had the pleasure of sitting down with Jessica Tsimprea Andrade Maluch, Director of Strategy Research and Impact at AQF, to discuss their impactful work in advancing #OpenScience across the Arab region. 🔍 Key Takeaways: Breaking Barriers: AQF is committed to making high-quality #Research accessible to those facing financial constraints, ensuring that valuable knowledge is within reach for everyone, regardless of their economic background. #DecolonisingKnowledge: Jessica highlighted AQF’s efforts to challenge global hierarchies in #Academia by promoting #LocalisedResearch and supporting voices from the Global South. This approach is crucial for creating a more balanced and #EquitableResearchLandscape. Collaborative Innovation: AQF values the importance of cross-regional collaboration, engaging with international partners to share #BestPractices and foster a deeper, multi-perspective understanding of educational and research challenges. We’re honoured to collaborate with AQF, whose work aligns closely with our mission to enhance #ResearchVisibility and drive positive change in the Arab region. Their dedication to Open Science is a testament to their leadership in the field. #OpenScience #ResearchCollaboration #InclusiveEducation #CommunityDevelopment

Tomorrow I will speak about #Proximity and #resilience in Cities and Territories at the #WUF12, the World Urban Forum 12 in Cairo Proximities are at the heart of territorial #development. Bad or good, desired or unwanted, they are processed by human action, and their outcomes depend about the mobilisation of local #population and the actions of strong local leaders, towards #resilience and sustainable #wellbeing

🔶 The Crown Prince Award for Best Government Service Application 🤝 In collaboration with the United Arab Emirates #UAE ⭕ University students have been given a unique opportunity to showcase their creativity and make a positive impact on society by developing innovative smartphone applications that can revolutionize government services. ⭕A total of 100,000 JOD has been allocated as prize money, which will be divided among the winners as follows, for the third edition in 2023: - The first-place winner received 50,000 JOD for their application that promotes tourism in Jordan 🥇. - The second-place winner received 30,000 JOD for their application that supports education for students 🥈. - The third-place winner received 20,000 JOD for their application that supports agriculture 🥉. "Witnessing the skills and creativity of Jordan University students as they tackle critical sectors in Jordan is truly inspiring." #alhussein #Jordan #UAE #Innovation #GovernmentServices #CrownPrinceAward #MoDEE #2023