The World Urban Forum, a premier conference on cities worldwide, takes place in Naples, Italy, September 1-7. And ICMA will play a role in a number of Forum events as well as showcasing its programs in an educational exhibit.

David Grossman, director of international programs at ICMA, is a member of the U.S. delegation to the Forum, one of 23 representatives of local and regional governments, the private sector, and other organizations. 

He also is on tap as a presenter for a networking session, “Using Partnerships to Support Urbanization,” on Wednesday, September 5. The session is scheduled from 4:30-6:30 PM in the Levanzo Room of the Palacongressi d'Oltremare. The focus of his presentation will be ICMA’s CityLinks™ program, which matches municipalities in developing/transitioning countries with their counterparts in the United States and elsewhere to leverage the potential of city-to-city learning on a global scale. The session leader is Michael Donovan, who is at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. ICMA and USAID launched the original CityLinks program in 1997, and USAID has awarded ICMA a five-year agreement to continue it.

Also on Wednesday, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon, Judit Deilinger, director of new initiatives for ICMA's international programs, will represent ICMA as a presenter at a training workshop, “Municipal Performance Measurement: A Tool to Create Equity and Inclusiveness,” cosponsored with the World Bank Institute and the Urban Management Center (UMC). UMC is ICMA’s anchor organization in South Asia, based in Ahmedabad, India. Other presenters will be Manvita Baradi, executive director, UMC; Meghna Malhotra, deputy executive director, UMC; Kim Cuenco, urban specialist, World Bank Institute; and Christopher Pablo, senior urban development specialist, World Bank Institute, East Asia Sustainable Development Unit, Manila. The workshop is also in the Palacongressi d'Oltremare, Pavilion 5, Room 16.

The World Urban Forum was established by the United Nations to examine one of the most pressing issues facing the world today: rapid urbanization and its impact on communities, cities, economies, and policies. This year’s Forum was organized jointly by UN-Habitat, the Government of Italy, the Campania Region, and the city of Naples. Its theme, “The Urban Future,” is centered on four “dialogues”:

• Urban Planning: Institutions, Regulations, and Quality of life
• Equity and Prosperity: Distribution of Wealth and Opportunities
• Productive Cities: Urban Job Creation
• Urban Mobility, Energy, and Environment.

The Forum is a biennial gathering that attracts a wide range of participants working for better cities: government leaders, ministers, mayors, diplomats, members of associations of local governments (national, regional, and international), nongovernmental and community organizations, professionals, academics, grassroots women's organizations, youth and slum dwellers groups. The first forum took place in Nairobi in 2002.

To learn more about ICMA’s international programs, visit the ICMA International website and the International Development topic area in the Knowledge Network, or e-mail international@icma.org.