The biennial World Urban Forum (WUF) was established by the United Nations agency UN-Habitat to examine one of the most pressing issues facing the world today: rapid urbanization and the economic, environmental and social-welfare challenges it presents. It has emerged as the central space for debate and for the presentation of studies, forecasts and examples of good practice, the results of which are influencing policy-making and urban programmes both at national and international level.

The next forum, WUF 5, will be taking place from 22 to 26 March 2010 in Rio de Janeiro and is being organized by UN-Habitat in association with Brazil's Ministry for Cities and Government and the Rio de Janeiro mayor's office.

During WUF 5 approximately ten thousand participants will gather in plenary sessions, round tables, thematic workshops, training workshops, networking meetings and groups that are organized around political platforms. Representatives of organizations from many different countries have been invited to participate, many of which will have stands in the exhibitions area adjoining the events area. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is expected to attend the opening of the forum.

The guiding theme of WUF 5 will be 'The Right to the City: Bridging the Urban Divide'. Although in international public law the 'right to proper housing' is enshrined in the most important international documents – such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Pact on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Habitat Agenda – there is not yet any legal formulation and definition concerning a broader and more diffuse 'right to the city'. The WUF does not have a decision-making capacity and should be understood as a forum for discussion between civil society, governmental agents, academics and the private sector. In this context the 'right to the city' emerges as a discursive element steering the debates with regard not only to de facto rights but also to public policy and actions developed by civil society.

As it is not governed by UN procedural rules and does not have a decision-making capacity, the WUF is characterised by a variety of opinions and an intensive exchange of ideas. Accreditation is free (though filtered, if necessary, by UN and local security services), with special treatment for certain officials such as heads of state and government, and high-ranking UN representatives. The government that hosts the event covers almost all the costs (the budget for this year’s event is approximately US$20m).

Brazil's hosting of the WUF coincides with a R$34bn housing development programme, 'Minha Casa, Minha Vida' (My House, My Life), launched by the federal government in March 2009, which will build approximately one million houses for low-income families. It forms part of Brazil's Accelerated Growth Programme (PAC), aimed at reducing the national housing deficit by 14%. 'Minha Casa, Minha Vida' is one of the initiatives based on Brazil's wide-ranging experience with urbanization and human-settlement policies –experience that resulted in 2003 in the creation of the Ministry for Cities, inspired to a large extent by debates within the framework of UN-Habitat and its conferences, in which Brazilian specialists have been active participants. WUF 5 will be an opportunity for Brazil to carry out a domestic audit and to communicate its experience to the international community, as well as being a showcase for successful practices implemented both nationally and internationally.

See the UN-Habitat website for a WUF 5 official brochure and further information.

Source: Ministry of External Relations and Embassy of Brazil in London