WCD: DIGEST #1

Ekaterinburg's level of preparedness to host World Cities Day received high praise from UN-Habitat

In preparation for the annual World Cities Day, Ekaterinburg was visited by a delegation of representatives of UN-Habitat. The goal for the visit was to assess the level of preparedness of the city for hosting the forum in October, 2019. This global event will be held in Ekaterinburg for the first time in its history and will take place simultaneously with 100+ Forum Russia from October 30, 2019 to November 1, 2019.

Members of the delegation: Susannah Price – Head of Communications Branch at UN-Habitat (UK); Silvia Ragoss – Programme Management and Human Settlements Programme Ma Officer (Germany); Victor Mgendi – Publications Officer (Kenya); Tatiana Khabarova – Project Coordination Officer for Countries of the CIS (Russia); and Galina Kolesnikova – Programme Assistant for Countries of the CIS (Russia). In Ekaterinburg, the delegation is accompanied by Vera Belous, Executive of Organizing Committee for VI International Forum for High-rise and Special Constructions and Executive Director of The Guild of Builders of Urals.

The official part of their visit started with a meeting with Alexander Vysokinskiy, Mayor of Ekaterinburg ."This October, Ekaterinburg will become the first city of Russia to host World Cities Day. I am confident that our city will host the global event at the highest level and will undoubtedly prove itself worthy of the trust it received from UN-Habitat and the Russian Government. I promise that we will make every effort to make sure that World Cities Day is held at the highest level, which will serve a display to all cities representatives from all over the world (mayors, ministers, state and regional authorities, experts and media) that Ekaterinburg deserves to be a global city and is a bright example of the motto Better City, Better Life. I am convinced that World Cities Day will turn the attention of the international community to urbanisation as a key tool in successful sustainable development", – said Alexander Vysokinsky in his conversation with the delegation.

The program for the visit of UN-Habitat is structured in such a way so that they are able to see all infrastructure facilities (hotels, eating spots, event sites, technical tour sites etc.).  Today, the delegation visited the Iset Tower and looked at Ekaterinburg from its 50th floor. They also paid a visit to Ekaterinburg-Arena and headquarters of the RCC. These objects are planned to become stops in a technical tour for visitors of the global forum on November 1, 2019. During their visit, the delegation will also inspect the site of the forum – Ekaterinburg-EXPO Conference Center – and visit hotels which will welcome forum participants in October.

On the very first day of the visit Susannah Price, Head of the delegation, gave high praise to Ekaterinburg for being highly prepared to host World Cities Day.  "It's my first visit to Ekaterinburg and I am impressed: It's been only half a day and we already saw a modern construction facility and interesting infrastructural approaches. The view from the Iset Tower is impressive, as are the scale and logistics of Ekaterinburg-Arena. As a representative of the administration of UN-Habitat, I would like to say that we are happy that Ekaterinburg is going to be the host city to this year's forum. We are also extremely glad that top federal and regional officials express their willingness to work together in preparing for the event.  We are going to do everything to make World Cities Day 2019 the best it can be".

"It is our pleasure to host World Cities Day in the capital of Ural. Evgeniy Kuyvashev, Governor of Sverdlovsk Region, and I are both eager to see the highest level of organization of this global forum. The forum is crucial in terms of forming new competencies, receiving experience of working with a UN organization and improving the level of communications, both inside the region and between countries.  We are also receiving new knowledge about modern urbanisation trends in the world and are going to do everything in our power to make Sverdlovsk Region a better place for living", – said Mikhail Volkov, Minister of Construction and Infrastructure Development of Sverdlovsk Region, in a meeting.

The program of the visit also includes trips to Business Center Vysotsky, Conference Center, Church on Blood and work meetings in Yeltsin Center. The outcomes of the visit are going to be discussed on Thursday at a meeting with Vasiliy Kozlov, Minister of International and Foreign Economic Relations of the Sverdlovsk Region.

Vera Belous, Executive of Organizing Committee for preparation and hosting of World Cities Day in Ekaterinburg, shared some insights into the process of preparation for the forum: "It's our honor to be able to bring to Ekaterinburg an event of such scale. This is the first inspection by UN-Habitat, so it's important to make sure that every technical detail is discussed. Our business program is already set, we have a confirmed list of exhibition booths and now we are in the process of inviting guests and speakers. We have received preliminary confirmations from representatives of the governments of Rwanda, India, the United Arab Emirates, Shanghai, the Administration of Barcelona.  We still have a large block of work infrastructure-wise ahead of us".

"This Conference Center is an excellent location for World Cities Day". UN-Habitat delegation visited IEC Ekaterinburg-EXPO – the venue for the global event in October

Members of the visiting committee looked at conference halls, exhibition pavilions, VIP areas and the parking lot of the international exhibition center. During their visit, Senior officers from UN-Habitat and Vera Belous, Executive Secretary of the Organising Commitee for VI International Forum for High-rise and Special Constructions and Executive Director of The Guild of Builders of Urals, finalized their choice on halls, the program for the forum, both business and other activities, and discussed technical details of hosting World Cities Day.

The outcomes of the visit are going to be discussed at a meeting with Vasiliy Kozlov, Minister of International and Foreign Economic Relations of the Sverdlovsk Region.

"Ekaterinburg can be considered a contender for the opportunity to host World Urban Forum in 2024" UN-Habitat delegation described their visit to the capital of Ural as the most productive in all of the history of preparations for World Cities Day.

A meeting with Vasiliy Kozlov, Minister of International and Foreign Economic Relations of the Sverdlovsk Region, was held today, where representatives of UN-Habitat discussed the outcomes of their first inspection visit to Ekaterinburg. The visitors were happy with the level of preparedness and emphasized the professionalism of the team of organizers. They also expressed appreciation for the willingness of regional and city authorities to contribute and make this year's celebration World Cities Day the best it can be.

"This visit has yielded a lot of fruit: we have worked out all current and strategic matters, our meetings were extremely productive and everything is clear and high-level", – said Susannah Price, Head of Communications Branch at UN-Habitat (UK).

In the four days of their stay in Ekaterinburg, the guests took a look at hotels which will host forum participants in October and visited objects which are considered to be included in a tour that will be a part of celebration:  the Iset Tower, Ekaterinburg-Arena and the RCC headquarters. During their tour of the city, representatives from UN-Habitat went to Yeltsin Center, Church on Blood and the observation deck of Business Center Vysotsky.

Delegation members also inspected the main venue for the forum – IEC Ekaterinburg-EXPO and its Conference Center. There, members of the visiting committee looked at conference halls, exhibition pavilions, VIP areas and the parking lot of the international exhibition center. During their visit, Senior officers from UN-Habitat and Vera Belous, Executive Secretary of the Organising Commitee for VI International Forum for High-rise and Special Constructions and Executive Director of The Guild of Builders of Urals, finalized their choice on halls, the program for the forum, both business and other activities, and discussed technical details of hosting World Cities Day.

"Our goal is to ensure the highest level of organization so that in the future we are able to be partners with the UN on our new initiatives in the area of sustainable development. It is our honor to host World Cities Day in Ekaterinburg. Our plan is to continue to carry out initiatives of Sverdlovsk Region that involve partnerships with global communities and organizations, including the UN", – summarized Vasiliy Kozlov.

Vera Belous, Executive of Organizing Committee for preparation and hosting of World Cities Day in Ekaterinburg, spoke about plans for the process of preparation for the global celebration moving forward: "It's our honor to be able to bring to Ekaterinburg an event of such scale. This is the first inspection by UN-Habitat, so it's important to make sure that every technical detail is discussed. Our business program is already set, we have a confirmed list of exhibition booths and now we are in the process of inviting guests and speakers. We have received preliminary confirmations from representatives of the governments of Rwanda, India, the United Arab Emirates, Shanghai, the Administration of Barcelona.  We have important and exciting work to do in terms of infrastructure setup, but we already are both experienced and able to make any global event happen".

Tatiana Khabarova, Project Coordination Officer for Countries of the CIS (Russia), told the committee that everyone, including Russia's top officials, is eager to make this year's World Cities Day a success. This event will open up possibilities both for Sverdlovsk Region and Russia as a whole. It will allow to approach international communities as well as to demonstrate our capabilites in construction, urbanization and spatial works. She also suggested that Ekaterinburg participate in a competition to receive the opportunity to host World Urban Forum in 2024 (this is a biannual forum. In 2020, it will be held in Abu Dhabi (UAE)).

World Cities Day will be held in Ekaterinburg on October 30-31, 2019. The main theme is Better City, Better Life. The subtheme is Changing the World: Innovations and Better Life for Future Generations. World Cities Day celebration is a 2-day program. It will involve participation of government officials and mayors of cities from all over the world as speakers.