At this two-part event, the programme associated with the Call to action on sustainable urbanisation in the Commonwealth was launched, under the leadership of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Commonwealth Association of Architects, the Commonwealth Association of Planners, and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum, with support from The Prince’s Foundation and the Rwandan Ministry of Infrastructure.
The programme was officially launched by HRH The Prince of Wales, with contributions from:
- Hon Claver Gatete, Minister of Infrastructure, Rwanda
- Mr Kalim Siddiqui, President, Commonwealth Association of Architects, Pakistan
- Rev Mpho Moruakgomo, Chairperson of Commonwealth Local Government Forum, Botswana
- Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, Council Member, Association of Commonwealth Universities & Vice-Chancellor, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Chair: Dyan Currie AM, President of the Commonwealth Association of Planners.
The second part of the event included a presentation on the key findings of the Survey of the built environment professions in the Commonwealth, which was presented by Peter Oborn, Senior Vice President at the Commonwealth Association of Architects.
This was followed by a panel discussion with contributions from:
- Dr David Howard, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
- VK Madhavan, Chief Executive, WaterAid, India
- Prof Barbara Norman, Life Fellow PIA, University of Canberra, Australia
- Astrid Haas, International Growth Centre, Uganda
The event attracted over 300 attendees from 35 Commonwealth countries, with approximately 400 attendees via the YouTube livestream.
Questions to the panel, together with expressions of support, came from a variety of sources, including the Young Planners Network, Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, Uganda Local Governments Association, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and others.
Key messages
- Recognition of the importance, urgency and scale of the issues
- The potential for the Commonwealth to serve as a convening force
- The importance of developing effective inter-disciplinary, cross-sectoral collaboration
- An invitation to engage with development of a Call to Action.
