The 4th APMCHUD in Amman - the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan |
The 4th APMCHUD was held in Amman under the patronage of H.E. the Prime Minister. The Conference was organized by the Housing & Urban Development Corporation/ Ministry of Public Works and Housing, in cooperation with APMCHUD Secretariat and UN-Habitat. The theme of the conference was 'Youth and IT in Sustainable Urban Development', with a focus on five main housing and urbanization themes through the five working groups adopted and undergoing since Delhi(2006), Tehran (2008) and Solo (2010), being(1) Urban and Rural Planning and Management; (2)Upgrading of Slum and Informal Settlements; (3)Delivery of MDGs for Water and Sanitation;(4) Financing Sustainable Housing, and (5) Urban Development with a focus on Natural Disasters.
The Asia Pacific Conference was established under the umbrella of the United Nations for Human Settlements "UN-Habitat" in 2006 with the goal to promote sustainable housing and urban development for human settlements in the Asia-Pacific Region. Since the establishment; 3 conferences were organized, the 1st APMCHUD was held in New Delhi, India, in 2006 with a theme: 'A vision for sustainable urbanization in the Asia-Pacific by 2020'. The 2st APMCHUD was held in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran in 2008, with a theme: 'Sustainable Urban Development; Associating Growth with Equity and Identity'. While the 3rd APMCHUD was held in Solo, Republic of Indonesia, in 2010, with a theme: 'Empowering Communities for Sustainable Urbanization'.
The subthemes discussed at the Working group sessions included:
Youth and IT in Urban Planning and Management; Livelihood Opportunities for Youth; Youth and MDGs for Water and Sanitation; Opportunities for Financing Youth-led (Sustainable) Development; Youth as City Changers for prosperous cities, with special sessions held during the conference to discuss the role and the involvement of youth, women and information technology.
The conference was concluded after the adoption of Amman Declaration and Implementation Plan.
Eng. Faris Gunaidi, The Chairman of the Organizing Committee announced the venue of the 5th APMCHUD that will be hosted by the Republic of Korea in 2014. The Head of the Korean delegation expressed his country’s keenness to share the Korean experience in tackling the chronic housing shortages and other urban issues with the member countries during the next APMCHUD, besides to expressing Korea’s devotion to make it a successful and fruitful event.
H.E. Eng. Yahia Al-Kasbi, Jordanian Minister of Housing and Public Works, announced the election of the 4th APMCHUD Bureau Members that included the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of India, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Maldives, the State of Samoa, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of Fiji.
Dr. Joan Clos Executive Director of UN-HABITAT expressed his gratitude to the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for hosting the conference and to the Republic of Korea for hosting the 5th session of APMCHUD.