I am honoured to be the Steering Committee Co-Chair for the 3rd annual Urban Economy Forum. This year, the annual forum will be held on October 4th & 5th, 2021. I am delighted to continue to be involved and in the previous forums in 2019 and 2020. 

UEF has undertaken a lot of important activities and actions for sustainable urbanism over the past several years and continues to do so. I want to encourage everyone to look at their work and consider how you can contribute to the dialogue, problem solving and sharing best practices. This has become a hallmark of the forum. 

While UEF is focused on the problems and challenges, they are also focused on solutions. We have been building connections, networks and focusing on practical solutions for the urban living, environment and economy for the people who access cities for work or leisure and face these challenges. This is not something just one person can deal with on their own but requires collective and collaborative effort. This is particularly true for the post-COVID environment that has brought extra challenges to the most populated centers.

I also want to share how inclusive this movement is. We have a particular strand of work addressed to youth and a strong focus on women and excluded and marginalised communities. We are inclusive and cognisant regarding First Nations and Indigenous Peoples of the world. 

UEF is a forum that provides opportunities for all kinds of innovative, blue sky thinking, and ideas that are outside the box. As a social entrepreneur, I welcome this kind of important and courageous thinking in our current climate. The old solutions don’t work. And we have to build back differently not just build back better. 

There are many opportunities to get involved in UEF’s work and I encourage each of you to consider how you can contribute to this important global agenda, so that all of us can try to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals can be realised, particularly the goal that we are working on, sustainable urban environments.