Human health is closely linked to environmental sustainability. The degradation of our planet and the destruction of wild habitats in turn negatively affects us. Climate change threatens our food and water supplies, forces the migration of people towards already overcrowded cities, creates pandemics and threatens our livelihoods with more natural and weather-related disasters.

This event will explore the link between the physical environment and the health and wellbeing of people and how this inﬂuences policy, as well as the planning, design, construction, and operations of human habitats that support health and wellbeing. It will spotlight District 2020 as a people-centric, sustainable community and also provide a platform for International Participants and Partners to share how they have incorporated health and wellness into their pavilions at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Healthy Spaces, Healthy Lives

Nature's Healing Hands

Spotlight on Expo and participating countries’ sustainability initiatives, standards and models for sustainable health and wellness practices through their pavilion content, design, programming and operations.

2 FEB - Sustainability @Expo-Natures Healing Hands- Creating Healthy Environments for Living-V2

Nature's Healing Hands - Agenda 

Inside Expo_New

Inside Expo: The Future is Well

The global pandemic has tested our interconnected world. Expo presents an important opportunity for all stakeholders in the health sector to design an inclusive, crisis-proof global health system that is fit for the future. The very latest health and medical technology will also be on display, including systems that are transforming how communities access healthcare and fight disease outbreaks. The programme will highlight how innovation and investment in health and wellness can contribute to a healthier, happier global community. 

health and wellness week

 How can we create a healthy, happy world?

Health & Wellness Week

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Newgrange monument in Ireland is a staggering feat of Stone Age engineering, allowing sunlight into its inner chamber only once each year: at sunrise on the winter solstice. The Ireland Pavilion highlights more than 5,000 years of Irish heritage and know-how with a design inspired by this cultural treasure. Curated around the theme of “Thinking Ireland”, the pavilion’s exhibits trace the long lineage of Irish innovation, from ancient stone-working feats to modern-day advancements in science and technology. Don’t miss the exhibition’s innovative light-filtering cone, built in homage to its 5,200-year-old ancestor at Newgrange.

Ireland Flag

Blending neo-classical architecture with ancient themes, the Ireland Pavilion consists of two single-story buildings surrounded by a screen of white columns and topped by a massive ridged funnel structure. The bronze-coloured main building, called the Oculus, is rectangular in form and features inscribed Celtic designs.

ancient heritage

Inspired by

Ireland Pavilion

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Image Gallery

Sweden’s vast forests are places of magic, beauty and solitude. The Sweden Pavilion offers visitors an enchanting blend of cultures, combining a Nordic woodland-inspired experience with Middle Eastern architectural flair for a tour of the bio-circular economies and sustainable initiatives of tomorrow. The pavilion’s tree-filled design leads visitors through a variety of “clearings”, where interactive multimedia exhibits present an array of themed topics. Explore next-generation travel systems, immerse yourself in futuristic cities and relax to the authentic sounds of Sweden’s rich woodlands.

Sweden logo

The essence of the forest inspires the Sweden Pavilion, which fuses dense Nordic woodland and Islamic geometric design in a plaza full of cozy tree house structures and hundreds of tree trunks, some as tall as 18 metres. The building’s airy ground floor is built for wandering, housing public areas, exhibitions, and cafés, while the tree house conference rooms are raised aloft, forming a roof over parts of the pavilion.

Sweden intro

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Sweden 

Sweden Pavilion

EXHIBITOR Magazine Announces World Expo Award Winners

EXHIBITOR Magazine's World Expo Awards

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Switzerland Gallery

The magnificent, snow-capped Swiss Alps are renowned for their stunning natural majesty. Now, at Expo 2020, you can have your own breathtaking alpine experience – no climbing boots or ice axe required. The Switzerland Pavilion offers a simulated hike through the country’s mountains, traversing a dense sea of fog. After cresting the spectacular summit, you’ll reach an enchanting city of opportunities where you can explore Swiss innovation, take in traditional performances and sample mouth-watering Swiss chocolate.

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  Immersive simulated hike amid the Swiss Alps

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High-tech interactive exhibits exploring Swiss innovation

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Rooftop terrace bar, and delicious Swiss chocolates at the Sprüngli Café

Switzerland Features

Switzerland

The Switzerland Pavilion's bold, funnel-shaped mirror façade reflects the ground in front of the pavilion: a massive red carpet decorated with a white Swiss cross. The polygonal mirror panels converge at a  doorway in the lower left of the building, crafted from scaffolding and textiles inspired by Bedouin tents. 

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Mirror

Switzerland Pavilion

Sustainability @ Expo | Nature's Healing Hands: Creating Healthy Environments for Living

Expo aims to deliver one of the most sustainable World Expos in history, supporting the UAE in its journey towards a green economy. Sustainability is integrated across both our operations and programming, embracing every opportunity to create meaningful impact, and inspiring the global community to play an active role in becoming part of a sustainable future.

The Live in Balance track of Expo 2020 Dubai's Programme for People and Planet features a tapestry of event series and experiences that spotlight our relationship with the natural world, and position Expo as a critical catalyst for restoring balance with our planet.

Restoring Balance with our Planet

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Live in Balance

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World Cities Day at Expo 2020 Dubai will focus on reimagining the future of cities to become more inclusive, resilient and dynamic. With a focus on climate solutions, the Day will be brought to life through a series of discussions, dialogues, and showcases of best practices to explore how to collectively adopt a green recovery for more sustainable, smart, resilient and livable urban environments.

A Place for Everyone

World Cities Day

As humanity becomes more of an urban species, more nature-centric urban planning approaches will be needed to help mitigate the impact of growing cities on our planet.  

Growing urban centres have become the ultimate and most visible example of the impact we have on the planet - places made by and for humans alone: Anthropocities.  

Rampant urbanisation is taking its toll on ecosystems, biodiversity and human health. Estimates suggest that cities are responsible for 75 percent of global CO2 emissions, with transport and buildings being among the largest contributors. At the same time, cities are facing new threats from climate change, ranging from heat islands to flooding.  

We cannot tackle these challenges without transforming the way we build and manage our cities, which is why urban planners are now increasingly approaching the city as a living ecosystem, in which the natural and the urban can coexist, become complementary and less mutually exclusive. Let’s explore this paradigm shift in the “natural” cities of tomorrow.

Keeping the Urban Jungle Alive

WM Natural Cities

How can we create cities that work in harmony with nature?

Session Programme - Natural Cities 

Learnings and insights from the World Majlis conversations on Urban and Rural Development

Insight Report from Urban and Rural Development Week

Learnings and insights from the World Majlis conversations on Urban and Rural Development


Insight Report from Urban & Rural Development Week

Natural Cities - Documents

Access to safe and affordable living conditions is a fundamental right. More than 70 per cent of the world’s population is forecasted to live in cities by 2050 and over one billion are already living in informal communities. As the demand for both cities and communities escalate, Expo will bring together experts, citizens, and governments to re-think the way in which habitats are designed and managed. From innovative transport, sustainable housing and green public spaces to renewable energy and circular economies, living spaces of the future will be imagined as resilient, sustainable and inclusive.  

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 How do we live and grow in harmony with our planet?

Creating a blueprint for future smart cities

Siemens is a global technology powerhouse that unites the digital and 
physical worlds to benefit society through its focus on smart infrastructure, digital industries, and intelligent mobility solutions. As Expo 2020 Dubai’s Premier Partner for Infrastructure Digitalisation, Siemens is reshaping the future of urban living by creating a blueprint for the smart cities of the future. By integrating its technology, the company is helping to create history’s most digitalised, sustainable and secure Expo. Siemens is also an anchor tenant at District 2020, the future city that will live on as a legacy of Expo 2020 Dubai.

Creating a blueprint for smarter cities

Siemens 

UN Habitat

Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN)

Urban & Rural Development Week

World Majlis | Natural Cities: Preserving a Slice of Nature in Our Urban Spaces

World Expos have always been meeting places for people across cultures and geographies; an opportunity to come together and celebrate human ingenuity and forge meaningful human connections. As the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, and with the participation of more than 192 countries, Expo 2020 Dubai looks to take this legacy even further. The Build Bridges track of Expo 2020 Dubai’s Programme for People and Planet features a tapestry of event series and experiences that celebrate our common humanity and the vital connections that can help us prosper together as a worldwide community.

Knowing One Another Better

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Build Bridges 

Build Bridges Icon

Explore a series of exciting conversations inspired by the theme of Expo 2020 Dubai. The World Majlis is a vibrant forum where diverse points of views are shared on important topics of our time. Each conversation brings together globally recognised thought-leaders who are invited for their exceptional contributions to the theme and their unique perspective on the topic. In each Majlis, students and members of the public are also welcome to contribute and engage.

World Majlis

Conversations on complex issues that bring together thought leaders, visionaries and changemakers.

By 2050, 70 per cent of the world’s population will be living in urban areas and the number of slum dwellers will increase to 3 billion. Such rapid pace of urbanisation threatens to put unprecedented pressure on urban infrastructure, making it prone to disease outbreaks and limit service provision capacities. 

SDG 11 intends to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable by 2030, leaving no one behind. Urban areas are home to diverse communities and groups including indigenous people, refugees and migrants, which add immense value and vibrance to cities. This day-long event, Inclusive Cities: Last Mile Delivery in Slums and Informal Settlements, co-curated by UN-Habitat, brings together eminent experts from across the world to draw attention to inclusive solutions for building safe, resilient and sustainable settlements.

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Bringing together eminent experts from across the world to draw attention to inclusive solutions for building safe, resilient and sustainable settlements. 

From the Ground Up | Successful Innovations for Delivery Systems

Youth Voices for Inclusive and Sustainable Urban Development

Slums and Safety: Building blocks for gender responsive and safer informal settlements

Leveraging Public / Private Partnerships for Inclusive and Sustainable Urbanisation

Learnings from Successful Public Sector-led Slum-Upgradation Interventions

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Mr. Kennedy Odede is one of Africa’s best-known community organizers and social entrepreneurs. Kennedy grew up in Kenya's Kibera slum, where he experienced the devastating realities of life in extreme poverty. Odede founded Shining Hope for Communities which impacts over 2.4 million slum dwellers across 24 urban slums in Kenya. In 2018, SHOFCO became the youngest-ever organization to receive the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, and in 2021, SHOFCO was awarded the prestigious UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour. . He was awarded the 2010 Echoing Green Fellowship, and featured on the Forbes "30 under 30 list" for top Social Entrepreneurs in 2014. Kennedy is also the recipient of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Prize.  

Founder & CEO, Shining Hope for Communities

Kennedy Odede

Zoe Tabary is an editor at the Thomson Reuters Foundation, where she runs its coverage of cities including housing and homelessness, slums, cities’ net-zero efforts and smart cities, among other areas. She has organised and conducted journalist trainings in various countries including Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal etc. Prior to joining the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Ms. Tabary worked as an editor at The Economist Group, where she managed research projects for a number of clients across the energy, healthcare and sustainability sectors. She has also worked with Amnesty International as an editor, focusing on human rights issues. She holds a Master of Science in Marketing, a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Sciences Po Paris, and is fluent in French, Spanish and German.

Zoe Tabary

Maimunah Mohd Sharif is the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme . Prior to this appointment, she was the Mayor of the City Council of Penang Island, Malaysia. She began her career as a town planner at the Municipal Council of Penang Island in 1985. In 2003, she was promoted to Director of Planning and Development. In November 2009, as its General Manager, Ms. Sharif established George Town World Heritage Incorporated and managed the George Town World Heritage Site, which was inscribed by UNESCO. In 2011, she became the first woman to be appointed President of the Municipal Council of Seberang Perai. On 11 January 2018, she received an award from the Malaysia Book of Records for being the first Asian woman to be appointed as Executive Director of UN-Habitat.

Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) 

Maimunah Mohd Sharif 

Ms. Leilani Farha is the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing and Global Director of The Shift. A lawyer by training, Leilani has worked for the past 20 years on the implementation of the right to adequate housing for the most marginalized groups. Leilani has helped develop global human rights standards on the right to housing, including through her topical reports on homelessness, the financialization of housing, informal settlements, rights-based housing strategies, and the first UN Guidelines for the implementation of the right to housing. She is the central character in the documentary PUSH regarding the financialization of housing, screening around the world. Leilani Launched The Shift in 2017 with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and United Cities and Local Government.

Former UN Special Rapporteur for Housing and the Global Director of The Shift


Leilani Farha

Hon. Dr. Freda Prempeh is the Minister of State, Ministry of Works and Housing, Government of Ghana. She is a three-time Member of Parliament for Tano-North Constituency, and the only female MP in the Bono and Ahafo regions. She is a former Deputy Minister for Works and Housing, and former Deputy Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection. She has served as Assembly Member for the Lakoo Electoral Area for eight years where she chaired the Women and Children Sub-Committee and the Development Planning Sub-Committee. She worked with the Prison Service for ten years. She also served on the National Reconciliation Commission as a Public Affairs Officer. 

Minister of State, Ministry of Works and Housing, Government of Ghana

Hon. Dr. Freda Prempeh

Mr. Washington Fajardo is the City Planning Commissioner of Rio de Janeiro and President of Pereira Passos Institute for Urbanism. He has also served as President of the Rio World Heritage Institute and the Mayor’s Special Advisor for Urban Issues. In these roles, Fajardo created policies and finance solutions to preserve heritage, regenerate buildings and places, and improve public services in Rio de Janeiro. The Loeb Fellowship selected him for the Class of 2019 at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. Currently, Fajardo is responsible for preparing a new master plan for Rio de Janeiro and is concluding an urban recovery plan for Rio's downtown which was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Fajardo is also responsible for the Revivify Plan, aiming for a bold housing stimulus to the city's downtown.

City Planning Commissioner of Rio de Janeiro and President of Pereira Passos Institute for Urbanism

Washington Fajardo

Somsook Boonyabancha is the Chairperson of the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights, a coalition of organizations working on urban poor housing development in Asia. She was the former Director of Community Organizations Development Institute in Thailand and still serves as Chairperson on the Institute's National Slum Upgrading Committee. She has been working on urban poor housing development and slum upgrading in Thailand and other countries in Asia for the past 40 years. She has vast experience in community-led slum upgrading and housing development in urban as well as rural community upgrading and community-led development activities such as community welfare and disaster rehabilitation. In 1991, she was the project leader of the Sengki Land-sharing Project which received UN Habitat’s “Habitat Scroll of Honor”. 

Chairperson of the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights

Somsook Boonyabancha

Sameh Wahba is the Global Director for the World Bank’s Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land Global Practice. Previously, he was the Director for Urban and Territorial Development, Disaster Risk Management and Resilience at the World Bank Group’s Social, Urban Rural, and Resilience Global Practice. He also served as the Practice Manager for the Urban and Disaster Risk Management unit in Africa and the Global Urban and Resilience Unit, and the Acting Director of Operations and Strategy for the Global Practice. He worked as Sustainable Development Sector Leader for Brazil, and as an urban specialist in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa Regions. He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Cities and Urbanization.

Global Director for World Bank’s Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience & Land Global Practice

Sameh Wahba

Dr. Eduardo López Moreno is the Director of Research and Innovation at UN Habitat. He is also the interim representative of the Agency in Mexico and Cuba. He has over 35 years of experience in housing and urban development policies, institutional analysis, global monitoring, and equity and urban poverty issues. Dr. Moreno has served as the Chief of Research and Capacity Development and Chief of the State of the World’s Cities. He was also the Chief of the Global Urban Observatory, Senior Technical Adviser at the Bureau of Africa and the Arab States and Chief Technical Adviser in Angola for UN Habitat. Before joining the United Nations, he was invited as professor at the University of Louvain-la-Neuve and the University of New Mexico. 

Director of Research and Innovation at UN Habitat

Dr. Eduardo López Moreno

Mr. Henry Ohanga Don, commonly referred to by his stage name Octopizzo, is an award-winning recording and performing artist, humanitarian, and budding entrepreneur. Born in the sprawling slums of Kibera, Nairobi, Octopizzo is passionate about philanthropy. He has been involved in numerous humanitarian engagements, such as the "Artists for Refugees" and "Refugeenius" projects with UNHCR. This initiative encourages refugees and youth in informal settlements to build their talents through music and the arts. The Refugeenius program has also been showcased by TEDx in 2018. Octopizzo’s music centres on promoting self-belief and radiates dynamism, creativity, and passion. He founded his not-for-profit the Octopizzo Foundation in 2015 which is grounded in the pillars of creativity, art, music, culture, and sports. 

Henry Ohanga Don (Octopizzo)

Anacláudia Rossbach is the Regional Manager for Latin America and the Caribbean at Cities Alliance and the Manager of the Global Programme on Informality, where she supports the design of programmes, facilitates knowledge exchange and offers advisory services and technical assistance in housing and urban public policies in the global south. She has previously worked as a Senior Housing Specialist for the World Bank in Brazil and various countries across the world. She has also provided technical assistance as a high-level consultant for the development and implementation of two major programs in the Brazilian housing and slum upgrading policy, such as the slum upgrading program ‘PAC Favelas’ and the housing subsidies program, Minha Casa, Minha Vida. 

Regional Manager for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) at Cities Alliance

Anacláudia Rossbach

Drawing on 25 years of leadership in non-governmental organizations and the private sector, Mr. Patrick Canagasingham oversees the operations of Habitat for Humanity’s work in more than 70 countries as Chief Operating Officer. He served as Chief Executive Officer of Toronto-based Children Believe since 2017, before joining Habitat for Humanity. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Oxfam International, where he applied his considerable experience in operational management, strategic planning, and organizational leadership to serve a global workforce of 10,000 staff members and oversee a budget of $1.3 billion. Before his time with Oxfam, Mr. Canagasingham held senior leadership roles with World Vision in Canada and East Asia, including vice president of international programs at World Vision Canada.

Chief Operating Officer, Habitat for Humanity

Patrick Canagasingham

Dr. Sasha Kramer is an ecologist, human rights advocate, and the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL).  She received her PhD in Ecology from Stanford University and co-founded SOIL while also completing a postdoctoral research position with the Collaboratory for Research on Global Projects at Stanford. She is a global advocate for the recycling of nutrients in human waste, and has inspired people around the world to implement sustainable sanitation projects and participate in the sanitation revolution. She is an Ashoka Fellow, a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, an Architect of the Future with the Waldzell Institute, a 2014 Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year, and the recipient of the 2017 Sarpharti Sanitation Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Co-Founder and Executive Director of Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL)

Dr. Sasha Kramer

Vincentia Koranteng is a Community Development professional with experience in Project Management and Monitoring and Evaluation in the Local Government Service in Ghana. She currently serves as Senior Community Development Officer at the Ashiedu-Keteke Sub Metropolitan Assembly and is in charge of developing new community-based initiatives, community Mobilisation and Advocacy. Her activities cut across various sectors of societal transformation including social housing, renewable energy, sustainable sanitation solutions and livelihood support programmes. The key interventions she has been intensely engaged in are the European Union/UN-Habitat funded Participatory Slum Upgrading Project, the Energy for Justice Programme which focused on Solar energy for informal settlements and Clean Cookstove projects among others.

Community Leader, Ga Mashie Community, Accra (Ghana)

Vincentia Koranteng

Emilie Röell is a social entrepreneur and consultant. An anthropologist by training, she is interested in creating solutions that make use of and preserve cultural and natural capital while also creating sustainable community impact. Ms. Röell is the founder of Doh Eain, a social enterprise aimed at heritage conservation and urban regeneration based in Yangon, Myanmar. As a consultant, she has carried out research, advised, and led programs and collaborations in the areas of cultural and environmental conservation, good governance, gender equality and alternative finance. She works/has worked for the EU, UNDP, WWF, IUCN and several other INGOs and local civil society groups in Myanmar, as well as in the Pacific and Tanzania previously. 

Emellie Röell

Lucy Livesley has over 16 years of experience in international urban development, sustainable cities and affordable housing, and has spent over a decade of her career at Reall. She played a key role in shaping Reall’s evolution from grant-giving NGO to commercial, market-focused innovator and investor. Ms. Livesley brings a wealth of expertise in governance and leadership, organisational strategy, programme design and management, investment and government relations. Livesley is responsible for positioning Reall as a global thought-leader, crowding in actors and resources, addressing market barriers and catalysing climate-smart housing markets that work for people on low incomes.  

Policy and External Affairs Director, Reall

Lucy Livesley

Violet Shivutse is the Chair of the Global Governing Council and Africa Regional Representative at the Huairou Commission. She has worked as a community health worker and home-based caregiver in the Shibuye sub-region of the Shinyalu constituency, Kenya. She is the Founder and Coordinator of Shibuye Community Health Workers, a group working with local authorities to enforce land and inheritance rights of women and orphans. She has been working to build community resilience and combat climate change, nurturing the leadership of large numbers of grassroots women, and negotiating with authorities for gender-responsive policy. Her organization is a practitioner of the Community Resilience Fund initiative and has represented the Huairou Commission in policy all over the world. 

Chair of the Global Governing Council and Africa Regional Representative at the Huairou Commission

Violet Shivutse

Gurmehar Kaur is the author of ‘Small Acts of Freedom', a deeply personal family history published by Penguin Random House India. Her second book ‘The Young and the Restless: Youth and Politics’ was published in 2019. Kaur is a social activist and a global ambassador for Digital Peace now, a non-profit organization advocating for Cyber Peace launched by Microsoft. Ms. Kaur co-founded Citizens for Public Leadership, an independent nonpartisan movement focused on advocating for progressive public policy in India. CPL is an apolitical non-profit with the sole objective of strengthening the capacity of Indian youth to take up leadership challenges in the public sphere. In 2017, Ms. Kaur was listed by TIME magazine as a 'Next Generation Leader', a global listing of ten young men and women making a difference in the world. 

Gurmehar Kaur

Samuel Malinga is currently the Managing Director of Sanitation Africa,  an organisation that enables low-income households to access decent and affordable housing, water, and latrine facilities. In recognition of his works and services, he has earned several awards both nationally and internationally. He was recognised as one of the 17 UN Young Leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals, shortlisted among 8 social entrepreneurs by the Social Entrepreneurship Forum in Sweden, and was a Yunus and Youth Fellow in 2017. Mr. Malinga was the first runner-up of the Civil Society WASH Innovations Award 2016 in Brisbane, Australia, and the winner of Total StartUpper and Tony O. Elumelu Prize in Business. He was also among 12 engineers short-listed for the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. 

Samuel Malinga

Roziyamo Hokimshoeva is a Resilient Enterprise Development Analyst at the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, where she works on the realisation of sustainable and resilient projects designed under the Khorog Urban Resilience Project. Currently, she is involved in setting up the women headed gabion weaving enterprise and other resilient enterprises under this project.  She is also one of the Co-Founders of Pamir Innovation Hub, a public organisation established in 2018, which aims to orchestrate social projects and provide employment opportunities related to technology to the youth in Khorog. Along with serving on the Advisory Board of the Pamir Innovation Hub, Ms. Hokimshoeva supports the launch of Pamir Technology Park - a job centre, tech hub and co-working space. 

Resilient Enterprise Development Analyst at the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH)

Roziyamo Hokimshoeva

Daniel Tillias is a community development leader with over 20 years of experience. He is a social entrepreneur and the visionary behind several sustainable initiatives all over Haiti, such as ALAVET AYITI, FATRAKA, and Collaborative Jobs, among the more recent. Daniel’s work is focused on the city of Cite Soleil, the largest underserved community of Haiti. He co-founded the largest community centre in Cite Soleil known as SAKALA (Community Center for Peaceful Alternatives) in 2006, which is now home to the largest urban garden in Haiti. The initiative has been awarded several prizes from all over the world, including Austria, USA, and Haiti, and most recently the prestigious CNN HERO 2019 award.

Board Member and Co-Chair, Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL) 

Daniel Tillias

Dr. Robert Lewis-Lettington is Chief of the Land, Housing and Shelter Section at UN-Habitat. He is a lawyer by training and has worked in both public and private international law for more than twenty years. Dr. Lewis-Lettington’s principal areas of expertise are international institutions and processes, human rights and humanitarian law, environmental law, science and technology law and urban development. Dr. Lewis-Lettington is also an experienced programme and project manager having worked in most geographic regions and a large number of countries.

Chief of Land, Housing and Shelter Section, UN-Habitat

Robert Lewis-Lettington

Benjamin Armah has extensive experience and knowledge in Local Governance and Decentralisation system which includes Policy Formulation, Planning and Decision-Making at Local Authorities. His vast experience in urban development spans from planned city extension, waste management and slum 
upgrading. As a native of Ga Mashie and a key member of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, he was instrumental in the Participatory Slum Upgrading (PSUP) process which involved the buy- in of the traditional leaders, women, youth, and the community at large. In his current capacity as the Metropolitan Coordinating Director, he coordinates and ensures the implementation of governmental policies, projects and programmes at the Metropolitan Assembly level in addition to acting as an advisor to the mayor of Accra. 

Coordinating Director of the Metropolitan Assembly

Benjamin Armah

Thipparat Noppaladarom is an architect and planner who has experience working in the field of housing development for low-income people in Thailand. She served as the Director of Housing Policy and Planning Division which was her last position there. Subsequently, she worked as Deputy Director of Community Organizations Development Institute (CODI), under the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, Thailand in 2004 and was appointed as the Director of the institute in 2009. During her tenure at CODI, her work focused on supporting the development of community organizations in both urban and rural Thailand following the core principle of CODI to empower communities, especially grassroots people with the vision of “people and communities are the centre of development and people are the core actors”. 

Advisor, Community Organizations Development Institutem (CODI)

Thipparat Noppaladarom

Mohammed Amine Elhajhouj is the CEO of Société d’Aménagement Zenata, Morocco. Mr. Elhajhouj is responsible for the design and development of the new city of Zenata, and through this initiative he is contributing to the territorial development of Morocco. He has previously been a member of the Management Committee of Groupe Caisse de Dépôts et de Gestion. He has several certifications in project management and financial arrangements for major operations from AFITEP France and the World Bank. He has participated in numerous projects in retailing, health and education. He has worked closely with regional and local authorities on resettlement plans, and the launch of the eco-city framework. He graduated from the Hassania School of Public Works in 1992, and received a Graduate Diploma in Management from ISCAE in 1999. 

CEO of Société d’Aménagement Zenata, Morocco

Mohammed Amine ElHajhouj

Kerstin Sommer is an expert on slum upgrading, informal settlements, land, housing and shelter management. As the Programme Manager of the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme, she contributes to poverty and inequality reduction, and inclusion and participation in slum transformation at UN-Habitat Headquarters. She has been managing the Programme in 40 countries and 200 cities for the past 10 years. She is the focal point for the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda implementation in informal settlements, slums and marginalized communities. She has initiated slum upgrading strategies in all regions globally. Her mission currently is to move countries towards scaling slum upgrading, regeneration and affordable housing assisting governments to deliver SDGs in cities in the Decade of Action. 

Programme Manager, the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme, UN-Habitat

Kerstin Sommer

Irene Campos Gómez is the Minister of Housing and Human Settlements and the President of the Board of Directors of Banco Hipotecario de la Vivienda (BANHVI). In the year 2018, she was elected President of MINURVI, an entity of coordination and intergovernmental cooperation of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, in the area of sustainable development. Ms. Gómez was previously a university professor at Universidad de Costa Rica and Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED). She was also General Director of the Costa Rican Cement and Concrete Institute (ICCYC). Ms. Gómez holds a degree in civil engineering from the Universidad de Costa Rica and a Master of Sciences in environmental sanitation from Ghent University in Belgium.

Minister of Housing and Human Settlements and the President of the Board of Directors of BANHVI

Irene Campos Gómez

Mmamaloko Kubayi currently serves as the Minister of Human Settlements of the Republic of South Africa.  Prior to this, she was the Minister of Tourism, a Member of Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, and a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress (ANC). She has previously served as a Minister in three portfolios between 2017 to 2019 – Science and Technology, Communications, and Energy. Ms. Kubayi started her career as a Community Developer in the non-governmental sector and eventually joined the public sector as a Skills Development Facilitator at the National Health Laboratory Services.

Minister of Human Settlements of the Republic of South Africa


Mamaloko Kubavi

Dr. Aditya V. Bahadur is a Principal Researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development, UK where he leads policy research at the intersection of climate resilience and urban development.  His research has been published in top tier academic journals, cited by the IPCC, and influenced global climate and development policies.  Previously, he has worked with Oxford Policy Management UK where he helped run the UK Government funded Action on Climate Today programme where he provided technical assistance on climate adaptation to governments across South Asia.  

Principal Researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development, UK

Aditya V. Bahadur 

Prof Marie Huchzermeyer is a Professor in the School of Architecture and Planning at Wits University in Johannesburg. Her expertise lies in housing and informal settlement policy. She has convened the Master’s in Urban Studies for several years, while leading postgraduate teaching in the field of housing.  Prof Huchzermeyer is also affiliated with the Centre for Urbanism and Built Environment Studies (CUBES). Her comparative research resulted in three monographs: Unlawful Occupation: Informal Settlement Policy in South Africa and Brazil (Africa World Press, 2004), Cities With Slums: From Informal Settlement Eradication to a Right to the City in Africa (UCT Press, 2011), and Tenement Cities: From 19th Century Berlin to 21st Century Nairobi (Africa World Press, 2011). 

Professor in the School of Architecture and Planning at Wits University in Johannesburg


Prof Marie Huchzermeyer

Dr. Dena Assaf is the United Nations Resident Coordinator for the United Arab Emirates and Deputy Commissioner General for the United Nations at Expo 2020 Dubai. She has been with the United Nations for over 20 years in various senior management positions and advisory roles with UN Peace Keeping, the UN Development Programme, UN Women and the UN Sustainable Development Group at the headquarters, the Arab Region, and various UN country offices.

UN Resident Coordinator for the UAE, Deputy Commissioner General for the UN, Expo 2020 Dubai


Dr. Dena Assaf

SDG | Inclusive Cities: Last Mile Delivery In Slums and Informal Settlements

Back in 2015, United Nations unveiled the Sustainable Development Goals as a means to work towards a better future. Expo 2020 Dubai’s purpose embodies the two main pillars of these goals: sustainability and opportunity. The global COVID-19 pandemic has further proved the urgency of this global agenda. As this mega-event takes place, Expo 2020 Dubai will become the center of commitment and action in ensuring that no one is left behind. The Leave No One Behind Track of Expo 2020 Dubai's Programme for People and Planet features a tapestry of event series that spotlight the importance of opportunity for all, gender equality and much more.

Sustainability @ Expo | Nature's Healing Hands: Creating Healthy Environments for Living

Healthy Spaces, Healthy Lives

Participants

Event Information

Health & Wellness Week.

This event is part of the
Live in Balance.

Healthy Spaces, Healthy Lives

Participants

Event Information

Health & Wellness Week.

This event is part of theLive in Balance.

This event is part of the
Live in Balance.