World Habitat Day is celebrated every first Monday of October every year. The theme for 2019 is: “Frontier Technologies as an innovative tool to transform waste to wealth”.
Let’s start the round up with a speech from UN Habitat Executive Director, Maimunah Mohd Sharif’s message:
United Nations has featured UN Habitat Day 2019 on its front page website. Read more here.
Read the message by UN Habitat: here.
Message from UN Secretary General:
World Habitat Day highlights the central role our cities and communities play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Well-planned and smartly managed cities can steer us towards inclusive growth and low-emission development.
At the same time, rapid and unplanned urbanization can generate or exacerbate many challenges, including the climate crisis.
This year’s observance focuses on the problem of waste – and the potential of frontier technologies to transform waste into wealth.Solutions begin with small steps individuals can take to alter the way our cities function. We must reduce the amount of waste we produce, and, at the same time, start seeing it as a valuable resource that can be re-used and recycled, including for energy.
Frontier technologies can offer better and cheaper answers to these daily challenges. For example, automation and artificial intelligence can help sort recyclables more efficiently. Sensors in smart packaging can help reduce food waste, while other innovative technologies are turning organic waste into renewable energy and compost. And new materials – such as advanced biodegradable plastics – can reduce environmental impact.
But we still need to invest much more if we are to improve waste management.
With cities in the lead and frontier technologies in widespread use, we can achieve make major advances on the road to sustainable urban development.
António Guterres
Odisha Tourism (India) advocates for banning of single-user plastics to keep our habitats safe:
https://twitter.com/odisha_tourism/status/1181076173838643200
UN Development is calling for adoption of clean energy as a solution towards improving our health:
https://twitter.com/UNDP/status/1181101853171425280
European Commission talks about eco-design:
https://twitter.com/EU_Commission/status/1181096568256126976
Tires Earth calls upon UN Habitat do more:
https://twitter.com/Tiredearth/status/1180791668494229504
On October 3, UN Habitat Executive Director, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, reported that #WorldHabitatDay2019 will be celebrated in Cameroon and Kenya:
https://twitter.com/MaimunahSharif/status/1179812328843419650
Economic and Social Rights Center (Hakijamii) is hosting the UN Habitat Conference in Mombasa City, Kenya as part of the global celebrations of #WorldHabitatDay2019.
https://twitter.com/KTNKenya/status/1181104148139401217
Look out for the next article which will focus on 10 leading actors converting waste to wealth around the globe.
