Ecuador celebrates World Cities Day
Xinhua, November 1, 2016 Adjust font size:
Ecuador held activities to celebrate World Cities Day here Monday, highlighting the important role of urbanization as a source of global development and social inclusion.
World Cities Day is the first international day initiated by the Chinese government in the United Nations.
In 2013, the United Nations designated the last day of October as World Cities Day to promote the international community's interest in global urbanization and to push forward cooperation among countries to contribute to sustainable urban development around the world.
World Cities Day 2016 is celebrated under the theme "Inclusive Cities, Shared Development."
The event, jointly organized by the UN-Habitat, the City of Quito and Shanghai municipal government, included a high-level debate and World Cities Day Exhibition.
World Cities Day came after the third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, or Habitat III, held in Quito on Oct. 17-20.
"The recently concluded Habitat III Conference adopted the New Urban Agenda, a vision for cities that are just, safe, accessible, affordable, resilient and sustainable. This marked a milestone in setting global standards for sustainable urban development, sparking new thinking on how we plan, manage and live in cities," said Ban Ki-moon, United Nations secretary-general, through a video message at the opening ceremony.
"On World Cities Day, let us renew our resolve to confront urban problems and forge lasting solutions. Together, we can show how success in cities inspires change across the world," he added.
Similar celebrations were also held on Monday in New York and China's Xiamen and Shanghai. Endi