A key plenary session of the Conference was devoted to the discussion of the concept and modus operandi of the International Forum on Urban Poverty (IFUP), which was one of the Conference's main objectives. The session achieved the following:
The membership, secretariat and co-ordinating committees represented the three main structures of the Forum. The Forum was to avoid setting up a new bureaucracy and make the membership the backbone of the organization.
Partnership was to represent the key strategy for achieving results by the Forum and through cooperation among members to facilitate the exchange of experiences and knowledge and the implementation of activities at local level. The specific role of anchoring institutions in partnerships was stressed together with the concept of social contracts as tools for establishing accountable partnerships with regard to specific activities.
The Forum was to establish active forms of membership which included local authorities, governments, aid agencies, NGOs, CBOs and other civil society partners, as well as professionals, academicians and experts. Benefits linked to such membership would include recognition, access to exchange of experiences and access to an active world-wide network.
The co-ordination and facilitation role was to be given to the Secretariat (or focal point) guided by a Co-ordinating Committee. Initially, the Secretariat was to be located within UNCHS (Habitat), using the Centre's facilities for at least the first two-year period to assist and facilitate the activities of anchor institutions and networks.
The Co-ordinating Committee would include representatives of the three core member groups (local authorities, aid agencies, and NGOs/CBOs/citizen groups) and would be responsible for overseeing the Forum's activities and plans.
This will also include planning for key events and initiatives of the Forum and updating the networks through information-exchange activities and producing a compendium of experiences with urban poverty programmes.
For Habitat International Coalition (HIC), Mr. Kirtee Shah, HIC President, presented an overview of the Coalition and its experience in activating networks.
The Coalition represents more than 350 NGOs, networks, professionals and policy-makers in some 80 countries addressing poverty issues globally. The issues include:
HIC incorporates a very wide range of organizations and institutions, with very different work programmes and local contexts. These different organizations have to subscribe to some common objectives thereby creating a political forum in which members continually interact through a shared political platform at regional and international forums.
Within the global coalition, specific campaigns have been formed to advance particular elements of HIC's agenda. Being a decentralized organization, the six geographical regions also develop and promote their own agendas. The network is thus activated on global issues as well as on thematic/sectoral issues.
In the case of HIC Latin America, a regional process for the consolidation of a regional programme was initiated in the preparatory period towards Habitat II. This regional process, within which many diverse initiatives and experiences could be integrated, provides many lessons relevant for the Forum on Urban Poverty.
The keys to activating the programme were: (1) reliance on existing networks, which resulted in the strengthening of existing, rather than building new, infrastructures, and sharing through simple low-cost communications tools, such as electronic lists and conferences; (2) limitation of new activities, while incorporating in the plan of action ongoing processes and activities; (3) use of symbolic factors (such a graphic symbol) to stress the unity of diverse initiatives and to assure a broad dissemination of the programme and thus recognition; (4) linkage to regional and national social movements; (5) promotion of city- and national-level processes, through the linkages with a supra-national process.
One of the main instruments established for the functioning of the network was a newsletter of the programme, which also served to communicate with a broader regional audience.
A small number of culminating events served to bring together the participating groups and advance the collective development of the shared platform.
The programme also promoted an exhibition of experiences in housing and urban development of the various participants of the programme, which served to tie together the range of actors' participation in the programme.
In the case of the Housing Rights Campaign, the HIC president presented the work of the Campaign and highlighted some key aspects, which are considered relevant to the Forum.
HIC delegates to the UN Human Rights Bodies, national housing rights' activists and community housing rights activists compose the Co-ordinating Committee of the campaign. HIC has always combined and linked work at the local community level, with work at the international level, and promoted regional linkages throughout. Some of HIC's work has a national focus and their campaigns support activities in close relation with nationally established processes.
Research and documentation projects are also undertaken to adequately orient the work at both local and external platforms.
To maximize benefit from the work undertaken, the campaign is linked with existing processes, offering orientation and support at local level (i.e. through fact-finding missions) and defending the local struggle at the international level.
Research projects (such as the one on Governmental/Non Governmental Cooperation) have also been instrumental in activating the networks, promoting a process of documentation of experiences, analysis of results and exchange and comparison of experiences.
The HIC representative stressed the most important changes that have impacted on HIC activities globally: the collapse of the East European systems and the ideological vacuum this has created for social movements; the decreasing role of the state and the globalization of the economy, which is deepening inequalities and poverty. These issues, which have affected HIC's work, will be particularly relevant for the IFUP, since poverty has major structural components.
Building on HIC's experience, the following main recommendations were made for the International Urban Poverty Forum:
The network supports the exchange of local experiences and personnel, and promotes capacities and policy development related to urban violence at various levels (in collaboration with European Union programmes, through seminars, training and violence audits).
The funding is provided by the cities (which pay a membership fee), and by the EU programmes which work with the Network.
Latin America, Africa and the Indian Ocean have established forums which bring together practitioners to exchange experience. The importance of forums was to restate alternative patterns and solutions in addressing safety issues at city levels, and appreciation was expressed for the International Forum on Urban Poverty which is addressing this issue directly.
For the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), Mr. Brian Appleton, Information Officer highlighted the structure and objectives of WSSCC, whose secretariat is based in Geneva (located at the WHO headquarters). Mr. Appleton described some of the activities that the Network was engaged in, particularly supporting research and conferences among its members (with emphasis on participation of developing countries in conferences, etc.).
Membership of the Council is made up of individual, mainly from the professional sector (in particular from developing countries WSS agencies).
Operational activities are developed around:
Mr Appleton highlighted the importance of autonomy for the Council which allowed it to carry on its activities independently inspite of its close linkages to the United Nations and United Nations mandates. This autonomy he argued was crucial in order to allow regional networks to freely initiate activities and identify their own priorities. The fact that the Council was hosted by WHO added credibility and accountability to its autonomous activities.
The main challenges and problems identified were: communication with members, and operationalization of activities. The first is being addressed through the establishment of specialized mailing lists at a global level and directly by the working groups, which have also developed specific procedures such as bulletin boards and listserver-operated mailing lists/discussion lists. Regionalization is seen as a tool for becoming more operational at the local level.
The Council representative expressed their availability for further discussions and exchange on these themes and on substantive aspects with the International Urban Poverty Forum in the coming months.
Mr. Ernest Kumo-Mobio, Mayor of Abidjan, representing the World Association of Cities and Local Authorities Co-ordination (WACLAC) spoke of their formation and their charter to promote local authorities. WACLAC was a response to the demand by local authorities to play an increasingly central role in the international development arena. WACLAC was closely identified with the follow-up to the Habitat Agenda and was fully supportive of the Forum.
Other important objectives of WACLAC included promoting cooperation among cities, and strengthening the capacity and negotiating skills of municipalities and cities in the international arena.
WACLAC is presently establishing a Local Authorities and Governance Observatory, to monitor the development of its agenda in collaboration with the associations of local authorities.
The representative of the UNDP, Mr. Jonas Rabinovitch , highlighted the areas of focus for UNDP:
In the field of poverty reduction, the UNDP representative presented two main initiatives: the poverty strategy initiative and the Microstar project. The former is supporting Governments in the establishment of national poverty strategies based on specific analysis. The latter supports microfinance institutions. Both initiatives are based on the sustainable-livelihood approach, which UNDP has developed as an analytical and operational tool for the identification of issues and options in poverty reduction. The application of the approach in urban areas will start soon in Cairo, Egypt.
Finally, direct support to urban poverty reduction activities was presented, as well as UNDP support or promotion of specific networks. The Urban Management Programme and the World Alliance of Cities against Poverty were briefly presented.
The UNDP representative stressed in his conclusion that the Forum should avoid duplicating efforts or initiatives and should concentrate on coordinating and enhancing complementarities among existing initiatives.
The UNICEF representive, Ms. Ximena De La Barra presented the Child-Friendly Cities (CFC) Strategy. After describing the main trends related to children living in poverty, the need was highlighted to reorient actions in order to promote policies based on human rights, as a mean to reorient public policies.
Three points were identified as key issues on which the CFCS was built:
The initiative promotes:
The Huairou Commission's activities and recommendations to the Forum were presented by Ms. Prema Gopalan. The Commission was formed as an umbrella network which brings together women groups focusing on the Habitat Agenda. This includes grassroots women, and communities in their search for better access and control of resources. The Commission has put together proposals to support the networks and supports the Urban Poverty Forum. In Africa the focus is on land rights and inheritance, and the Commission will support research and policy dialogue. The Commission works closely with a variety of programmes in UNCHS (Habitat), helping to mainstream gender issues.
Recommendations from the Commission to the Forum are:
Recommendations: