8th Asia-Pacific Urban Forum Opens at Suwon Convention Center

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] The '8th Asia-Pacific Urban Forum (APUF-8),' which aims to establish the direction of sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region, opened at Suwon Convention Center on the 23rd.

The opening ceremony was attended by around 1,000 people, including Suwon Mayor Lee Jae-joon, Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Secretary-General of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), domestic and international ministers, central and local government officials and experts in urban affairs.

Held every four years, this forum will run for four days through the 26th. Over 3,500 domestic and international participants will attend, with representatives from over 60 countries delivering approximately 200 presentations.

In his opening remarks, Mayor Lee Jae-joon said, "Over the past 30 years, the Asia-Pacific Urban Forum has gathered much wisdom on the theme of sustainable development," adding "Over the past 20 years, Suwon City has made continuous efforts toward sustainable urban development and achieved leading results."

He continued, "Ten years ago, Suwon held an eco-transit festival conducting the experiment of 'all neighborhood residents living without cars for a month,' and has maintained our global standing as a water-cycle city," and added, "Now we are pioneering a carbon-neutral city program worth 40 billion won in partnership with the Ministry of Environment in the western Suwon area, compressing our various experiences."

Mayor Lee stated, "Through efforts to conserve water, reduce resource-cycled waste emissions, and use eco-transit instead of automobiles, we will move toward carbon neutrality," and said, "We will advance toward the 'One-Minute City' where employment, rest, leisure, and housing are available within a one-minute walk from home."

He also added, "I hope this forum will be held as one where we wisely overcome social equity issues, polarization problems, and global warming challenges together."

Following this, a press conference was held with Suwon Mayor Lee Jae-joon and UN ESCAP Secretary-General Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana.

Secretary-General Alisjahbana, answering a question about her impression of Suwon City and alternatives for public-private cooperation, said, "Every time I visit Suwon, I have the impression that it's new, and I think I want to learn from Suwon's advantages such as infrastructure," and remarked, "I was impressed by the 'One-Minute City' announced by Mayor Lee Jae-joon, and in the One-Minute City, how well management is conducted during the rapid urbanization process is important."

The forum takes the overall agenda of re-establishing post-pandemic directions toward sustainable urban development in the Asia-Pacific region and is divided into four sub-topics. The sub-topics are ▲Urban and regional planning ▲Urban climate action and resilience ▲Digitalization of inclusive cities ▲Urban finance.

With participation from experts in various fields as well as ministers and government officials, a total of 55 meetings, including high-level plenary panels and parallel sessions, will be held simultaneously to find the direction for Asia-Pacific regional cities.

The most notable sessions are the high-level panels held at 11 a.m. on the 23rd and 9 a.m. on the 24th.

The first topic, urban and regional planning, will be discussed by high-ranking officials from Fiji, Nepal, Malaysia, and Japan, as well as the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Road Safety in a panel discussion to find directions for sustainable urban development.

The second topic, urban climate action and resilience, with a chairperson from the C40 East Asia and Oceania office, will involve high-ranking officials from Tonga, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs discussing urban capacity and change due to climate change.

Suwon City will also participate in several sessions. ▲Suwon Urban Development Corporation will present on 'Urban development direction and strategy in the transition era after the pandemic' ▲Urban Design Group will present on 'Private cooperation-type regional specialization strategy and expert roles in low-growth era' ▲Suwon Urban Foundation will present on 'Expansion from urban regeneration to urban management' ▲Lifelong Education Department will present on 'Community participation in urban climate action, technology building, and problem solving' ▲Suwon Research Institute for Urban Affairs will present on 'Green finance and citizen participation' in respective parallel sessions, explaining Suwon City's achievements and plans.

Participating country delegations plan to participate in the closing ceremony on the afternoon of the 25th, where they will voluntarily pledge and declare their respective national sustainable development implementation measures and plans in the form of statements based on the results produced by the forum.