The World Cities Day celebration program in Yekaterinburg

On October 31, the World Cities Day celebration under the auspices of UN-Habitat will be held at the convention center of the International Exhibition Center "Yekaterinburg-EXPO". The international event will be attended by the heads of cities and regions of foreign countries, heads of international organizations and UN structural units.

On the eve of the event, on October 30– business seminars and panel discussions will be held on the theme of the celebration: "Changing the world: innovation and a better life for future generations."

We present the program of the first day – October 30, 2019.

From 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., the participants of the celebration will be greeted by the Head of Yekaterinburg, Alexander Vysokinsky, the Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, and a representative of the Shanghai Municipality.

At 9.30 a.m., the Governor of the Murmansk Region, Andrey Chibis, will speak on the topic "Placing people in the center of smart cities."

Panel discussions on World Cities Day will be held in the plenary Hall from 10.40 to 13.00.

Panel discussion No. 1: "Digital innovations for the provision of services in cities"

Coordinator and Moderator:

Stephanie Holzwart (UN-Habitat).

Speakers:

Ann Lowy – Pangea Accelerator (Nairobi, Kenya);
Inna Lavrinovich – Committee of Architecture and Urban Planning of the Minsk City Executive Authority (Belarus);
Artyom Sedov – The Big Three (Moscow, Russian Federation);
Azer Aliyev – National Assembly of Youth Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan (NAYORA) (Baku, Azerbaijan);
Irina Ilyina is the Director of the Faculty of Urban and Regional Development at the Institute of Regional Studies and Urban Planning (Russian Federation).

Questions for discussion - How can new technologies improve the provision of urban services in an affordable way? What best practices can be shared? What are the key success factors? What policies are required from the Government to promote innovation in service delivery? What actions are needed from other stakeholders to achieve a broader outcome? How can this be preserved for future generations?

Panel discussion No. 2: "Advanced technologies for increasing inclusivity in cities"

Coordinator and Moderator:

Pontus Westerberg (UN-Habitat).

Speakers:

Diane Kerry is a member of the UN-Habitat Stakeholder Advisory Group (Brisbane, Australia);
Oleg Kolpashchikov – White Cane (Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation);
Ulugbek Umarov – Scientific Research Institute of Construction and Architecture (GUP SIC) (Dushanbe, Tajikistan);
Rufat Mahmud – State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture (Baku, Azerbaijan).

Participants will discuss how new technologies such as artificial intelligence, 3D printing, blockchain, virtual reality and drones can make cities more accessible and inclusive. How can such technologies change the lives of people today and future generations?

Panel discussion No. 3: "Opportunities for renewable energy generation in cities."

Coordinator and Moderator:

Francesca Kalisesi (UN-Habitat).

Speakers:

Deger Saigin – SHURA Energy Transition Centre (Istanbul, Turkey);
Franziska Breuer - Department of Environment, Youth, Schools and Education (Freiburg, Germany);
Ekaterina Sharovarova – Ural Federal University Civil Engineering Institute (Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation);
Zurina Moktar – Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change, Winner of the Youth Incubator Award (Putrajaya, Malaysia);
Ogulgerek Nazarova is the Ambassador for Youth Affairs (Turkmenistan).

Questions for the discussion: How can cities contribute to the renewable energy revolution through innovation and technology? How can new technologies help achieve a cyclical economy? How can this benefit all residents of cities and beyond?

Three seminars based on the results of the panel discussions will be held in parallel from 14.30 to 16.00. The first day of the celebration will be closed from 4.30 pm to 6.30 pm by the youth section "Generation 2030", coordinated by UN-Habitat and the National Council of Youth and Children's Associations of Russia, and the section of the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of Russia on the theme "Providing affordable high-quality housing for future generations".

We present the program of the main celebration of World Cities Day – October 31, 2019.

The official opening of the event will begin at 10.00.

The welcoming speech will be delivered by:

Governor of the Sverdlovsk region Evgeny Kuyvashev,
The head of Yekaterinburg, Alexander Vysokinsky,
Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Maimouna Mohd Sharif,
Nikolay Tsukanov, Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Ural Federal District,
Vladimir Yakushev, Minister of Construction and Housing of the Russian Federation,
Deputy Minister of Housing and Urban Development of China Jiang Wanrong,
Vladimir Kuznetsov, Director of the UN Information Center in Moscow.

After the end of the official opening at 11.15 a.m., the Shanghai City Municipality will present a new issue of the city's manual in cooperation with UN-Habitat.

At 11.50 a.m., the results of the three seminars of the first day will be summarized: presentations by speakers and a panel discussion.

At 14.15, the results of the youth section "Generation 2030" will be summed up.

At 2:45 p.m., a teleconference will be held with World Cities Day celebrations in other cities and countries: UNESCO Headquarters (Paris, France), Bilbao (Spain) and Istra (Moscow Region, Russian Federation).

The presentation of the 10th World Urban Forum by a representative from Abu Dhabi will take place at 15.30.

At 3:45 p.m., the official closing ceremony of the event and closing speeches by the Head of Yekaterinburg, Alexander Vysokinsky, and the Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Maimounah Mohd Sharif.

Technical tours will be held from 16.00 to 19.00 with a visit to the Iset Tower and the Yekaterinburg Arena stadium.

On October 31, all events will be held in the plenary Hall.