United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) will organize an Internet event—Habitat Jam—
that will take place in early December as part of preparations for the 3rd World Urban Forum, to be held in
Vancouver from 19-23 June 2006.

In advance of the Internet dialogue, web seminars are held throughout October to explain more about Habitat Jam.

The World Urban Forum, created by UN-HABITAT and held once every two years, brings together opinion leaders and experts from around the world for an exchange of information and best practices that will lead to meaningful progress on one of the main challenges of the new Millennium: the transition of our planet to an urban—and sustainable—world.

It is projected that in the next fifty years, two-thirds of humanity will be living in towns and cities. A major challenge is to minimize burgeoning poverty in cities and improve the urban poor’s access to basic facilities such as shelter, clean water and sanitation.

As part of the preparations for the 3rd World Urban Forum, the Government of Canada, in partnership with UN-HABITAT and IBM, will sponsor a global 72-hour Internet event from 1-3 December 2005—Habitat Jam. During the event, tens of thousands of people around the world will be connecting in real time over the Internet to discuss, debate and collaborate on key urban issues and to work towards finding solutions. It is hoped that this unprecedented global conversation and collaboration will help empower people to take charge of decisions that affect their lives.

These are the subjects to be discussed:

1. Improving the Lives of Slum Dwellers
2. Sustainable Access to Water
3. Environmental Sustainability
4. Safety and Security
5. Finance and Governance
6. Humanity: The Future of our Cities

The opinions of the participants will be collected by UN HABITAT and presented during the Information on the 3rd World Urban Forum, Vancouver, Canada 19-23 June 2006, (www.wuf3-fum3.ca).

More information on Habitat Jam can be received by contacting:
Mr Daniel Vilnersson,
Habitat JAM / WUF Consultant
Global Division, UN-HABITAT
P.O. Box 30030, Nairobi 00100, Kenya
e-mail: daniel.vilnersson@unhabitat.org
tel: +254 20 62 3188
cell: +254 725 892 243

Information on the 3rd World Urban Forum is also available online: (www.wuf3-fum3.ca).

• Habitat JAM website
• Overview (PDF file)