The Asia-Pacific Housing Forum, organized by global housing organization Habitat for Humanity and its partners will take place once again in Thailand from September 16-19, 2019.
With the theme – “Powering collaboration for housing impact,” this year’s Housing Forum aims to harness partnerships to advance housing as a driver of sustainable development. Housing is a key contributor to achieving positive outcomes around global goals related to water and sanitation, health and well-being, education and livelihood, gender equality, climate action and disaster resilience.
Rick Hathaway, Vice President for Asia-Pacific, Habitat for Humanity said, “I am always energized by the sharing of new ideas and best practices during the Asia-Pacific Housing Forum. This year, we want to drive our collective impact on housing to the next level through the synergy of partnerships and collaboration. Together, we can truly influence the way public, private and civil society sectors address housing challenges at the local and regional levels.”
Now on its seventh run, the biennial Asia Pacific Housing Forum has established itself as a melting pot of ideas and best practices from housing and development practitioners, many of which are brought for discussion in other regional and global initiatives. The Forum’s call to leverage public, private and civil society cooperation as a critical component for the acceleration of sustainable housing initiatives, takes its cue from the Kuala Lumpur Declaration at the 9th World Urban Forum, which also reiterated the need for multi- stakeholder coalitions for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.
Happening in Bangkok, Thailand on September 16-19, the four-day conference is expected to draw over 400 participants from the region and around the world. In the lead up to the forum, six preliminary events will be held in Bangladesh, New Zealand, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India and the Philippines from April to July.
The seventh Asia-Pacific Housing Forum will feature four main tracks:
Impact to the max: Through impact investing and market-based solutions, businesses are creating new opportunities for innovative partnerships to bring affordable housing solutions to scale, as firms pursue the triple bottom line: positive social impact, positive environmental contributions, and good financial performance.
Promoting inclusion amidst rapid urbanization: Improving inclusive access to adequate and affordable housing is fundamental to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of the New Urban Agenda. The track will discuss housing and development challenges in urban and rural contexts, and appropriate local strategies and interventions.
Fostering resilient cities and communities: Amid increasing threats brought by climate change, there is a need to examine the issues and explore ways in which safe, secure housing can help communities mitigate disaster risks and build long-term resilience.
Responsive housing technologies: Advancement in technologies can benefit families in need of adequate, affordable housing, adding value to housing policies and interventions that serve the pressing needs of the most vulnerable.
For more information, please visit the website here.
Source: www.aphousingforum.org.
