The U20 Deans’ Summit begins in Saudi Arabia

The U20 “Urban Society” Deans Summit begins in Saudi Arabia

The world’s cities are shaping the post-pandemic future and shaping its milestones

Riyadh: Muhammad Al-Ayed

Today (Wednesday), the virtual summit of the Deans of the U20 Urban Community Communication Group kicked off, which will continue until October 2.
More than 500 participants participated in the eight sessions of the side events of the summit on its first day and were hosted by representatives of major international organizations such as the World Economic Forum, the United Nations Program on Human Settlements, the Global Alliance of Smart Cities and the Global Empowerment Organization, to review the most prominent issues of urban transformation at the global level.
Fahad Al-Rasheed, head of the Urban Community Communication Group and CEO of the Royal Commission for Riyadh, said that the participation of major international organizations: “Indicates the success of the Urban Community Communication Group in mobilizing international efforts to discuss and provide solutions and recommendations to deal with the most important urban issues that touch the lives of everyone in various cities of the world. . Through cooperation and close work, we all contribute to shaping the features of a better future for cities, which elevates the lives of their residents. ”
The work of the first day of the summit began with a specialized session hosted by the city of Riyadh entitled “Future Cities After Covid-19”, which focused in particular on assessing the extent of cities’ readiness to deal with epidemics and crises, taking appropriate decisions, designing services for future cities during and after crises, as well as reviewing best practices And city initiatives to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic in a way that enables them to improve the quality of life and social development plans and enable them to build resilient, sustainable and inclusive future cities, the role of the population, the public and private sectors, non-profit organizations and academic bodies in exploiting the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in meeting the requirements of cities, in addition to Promote innovative partnerships, exchange and cooperation between cities.
Hosting a representative of the Local Government Network for Sustainability, the second session focused on the concept of achieving financial, economic and social justice as a model for solutions based on environmentally friendly recovery, while the third session, hosted by a representative of the World Economic Forum, reviewed ways to achieve a transformation in energy and buildings in 100 cities by 2030, as well as A representative of the United Nations Human Settlements Program hosted the fourth session, which discussed how to take advantage of urban transformation to accelerate the achievement of the sustainable development goals.
On the other hand, a representative of the Global Smart Cities Alliance, in partnership with the Global Empowerment Organization and G3ict, hosted the fifth session, which shed light on taking the necessary measures to build smart, inclusive and easily accessible cities, while the Canadian cities of Montreal and Izmir, Turkey, in partnership with the Metropolis organization, hosted the sixth session, where the focus was on The importance of adopting the concept of coexistence, social cohesion and urban inclusion in times of the pandemic.
In turn, a representative of the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution of the World Economic Forum hosted the seventh session under the title “Air Mobility in Urban Areas and the Liberation of Skies”, to conclude the activities of the first day of the Deans ’Summit of the Virtual Urban Communication Group with a session on the pivotal role of public transport in reshaping and building cities in a better fit Population needs, hosted by a representative from the International Public Transport Association and United Cities and Local Governments.
The Group City Mayors Summit aims to facilitate discussions on major urban challenges by rallying Mayors and partners from around the world in this exceptional phase; In the midst of the current global health and economic crisis, it will make important recommendations on policies and proposals in the form of a final statement containing 27 recommendations, which will be submitted to the leaders of the G20 during the Leaders’ Summit between 21 and 22 November 2020 in Riyadh.

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