Localising the implementation of the Global Action Plan for Accelerating the Transformation of Slums and Informal Settlements

The networking session creates a dialogue space between the IBSA countries and development partners around the Global Action Plan to share visions and actions for slum transformation, localised prioritisation, and multi-partnership approaches.

Mmamoloko Kubayi

Facilitator

November 7, 2024 | 15:00 - 16:30

Multipurpose room 19

Department of Human Settlements

South Africa

English

Reference:

NE 19-08

WUF12

Networking Events

Summary

In the final Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SDG indicator 11.1.1 to “reduce the proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing“ is one of nine indicators whose implementation has regressed globally. A rapidly growing urbanisation of poverty with projections of three billion slum dwellers by 2050, if no action is taken, calls for urgent, significant, and coordinated efforts. In view of this, UN-Habitat with its partners of the Slums and Informal Settlements Network (SISnet) has elaborated a “Global Action Plan: Accelerating for Transforming Informal Settlements and Slums by 2030” (GAP) to provide a vision, principles, accelerators, and action areas for all governance levels. Spearheaded by the Government of South Africa, the GAP was launched in October 2022 and its ten action areas were formally adopted by the Resolution “2/2. Accelerating the transformation of informal settlements and slums by 2030” during the UN-Habitat Assembly in June 2023. In response to those efforts, the Board of the Cities Alliance, as multi-stakeholder partnership co-chaired by the Government of South Africa and Habitat for Humanity International, agreed to support the GAP through its Informality Task Force, a platform for exchange between a variety of stakeholders engaged in slum transformation.

The Networking Session aims to bring together the members of the Informality Task Force and further stakeholders to set key milestones for localising the implementation of the GAP in countries that have actively supported the resolution, by
a. providing a space for dialogue to foster commitment on all levels for implementing solutions that respond to locally prioritised demands, and
b. consolidating multilevel partnerships that enable local stakeholders to mobilise technical and financial support and leverage synergies for implementation, tapping into the rich diversity and complementarity of expertise of the SiSnet network.

Objectives

The networking session takes on a multi-stakeholder partnership dedicated to implementing the Global Action Plan for accelerated transformation of informal settlements and slums(GAP). Building on commitments made by national governments and international organisations for supporting ten key actions towards scaling slum transformation that were formally adopted in the Resolution 2/2 during the UN-Habitat Assembly in 2023, the networking session will:
a. Illustrate engagement: Identify and feature the efforts of partners that have made affirmative commitments to the GAP implementation, or that are implementing slum transformation actions aligned with the GAP recommendations, to show potentials for replication and scaling up.
b. Deepen engagement: Engage local stakeholders of countries that have acted as key partners of the GAP in specifying current priorities within the key actions of the resolution to strengthen political commitment for the implementation of the GAP.
c. Broaden engagement: Build short-, medium-, and long-term partnerships between local and national governments, international development and financing partners, and other stakeholders to provide technical and financial support to local governments to support the translation of prioritised demands into pioneer actions to implement the GAP and to monitor its achievements.
d. Foster engagement: Mobilise the actors of the Slums and Informal Settlements Network and other stakeholders to adhere to the growing partnership dedicated to implementing the GAP.