ISULabaNtu side event at the World Urban Forum (WUF9) in Kuala Lumpur
On 9 February 2018, Dr Claudia Loggia and Mrs Judith Ojo-Aromokudu presented our preliminary project findings at a side event at the World Urban Forum conference in Kuala Lumpur. This 9th WUF event was the first to focus on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda adopted in Habitat III in October 2016 (where ISULabaNtu was also present). The theme of WUF was “Cities 2030, Cities for All: Implementing the New Urban Agenda”, thus placing the Forum’s focus on the New Urban Agenda as a tool and accelerator for achieving Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals. Key WUF9 objectives were to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable urban development, assess accomplishments from the last twenty years, address poverty and identify and address new and emerging challenges.
At the event, Claudia presented key findings from Phases 1 to 4, focusing on the Community Engagement strategy, challenges & opportunities of community led-approaches and strategies for co-producing knowledge and mapping urban transitions.
After the presentation, Judith chaired a panel discussion on the development of the toolkit.
The panelists were: Faizal Seedat (eThekwini Municipality, Informal Settlements Unit), Rose Malokoane (SDI) and Emily Mohohlo (FEDUP). In addition, the audience included representatives from the National Department of Human Settlement, NGOs and private organisations representatives, working on Community based projects.
Overall, the project team had a very positive feedback on ISULabantu, particularly with regards to the co-production approach. The main focus of the discussion was on the most effective format that the 'Collaborative Toolkit' (Phase 5) should have in response to both Community and Municipality requirements. The panel agreed on the need for a collaborative and inclusive toolkit as a structure that connects all key stakeholders and that shares co-produced solutions for upgrading. The discussion concluded with importance of gathering qualitative data through a meaningful collaboration between local Governments, NGOs, CBOs and research institutions, while enhancing self-organisation practices of communities towards a more incremental and participatory approach.
