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Contacts:
In Washington: Chii Akporji (202) 473-1935
cakporji@citiesalliance.org
In Manila: Margie Jorillo ((632)
811.4198/4122
margie_jorillo@yahoo.com
Manila, November 5, 2007
– Philippine President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will
today formally open the eighth Cities Alliance
Public Policy Forum -which will be held from
November 5 to 7, 2007. The theme for this year’s
meeting is, “Leveraging
Resources for Liveable Cities.”
The Philippine government is being represented by
the Housing and
Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC),
the national coordinating body on housing and urban
development. In addition to the Government of the
Philippines, other co-sponsors for the meeting are
the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), the
Asian Development Bank
(ADB, the
World Bank and
UN-HABITAT as
well as the members of the Cities Alliance.
The Forum will showcase the dynamic Philippine CDS
programme, including specific examples from Marikina
and Muntilupa, as well as the Metro Manila Urban
Services Programme. In addition, there will be
presentations by the City of Yangzhou in China, and
the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality in South
Africa. In the keynote address on Wednesday
afternoon, the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand,
Khun Paiboon Wattanasiritham will present an
overview of the Baan
Maankong nationwide upgrading
programme.
According to Billy Cobbett,
Cities Alliance Programme Manager, “I am
delighted that members of the Cities Alliance will
have this opportunity to understand, first-hand, why
the CDS programme in the Philippines is widely
regarded as amongst the most successful and dynamic
in the world.”
Vice President and HUDCC Chairman,
Noli ‘Kabayan’ De Castro
said that the country’s hosting of the Cities
Alliance Public Policy Forum this year is
‘very timely’.
“We are now stepping up our own efforts at
resolving the problems of urban poverty and housing
in the country. We have valuable inputs to
contribute, and we can also use the lessons from the
other CA members,” he said.
The Forum is expected to come up with a Philippine
Cities Agenda, which will be submitted to the Cities
Alliance for consideration at its Consultative Group
Meeting, which immediately follows the Public Policy
Forum.
About the Cities
Alliance
The Cities Alliance is a global coalition of cities
and their development partners committed to scaling
up successful approaches to poverty reduction. The
Cities Alliance Public Policy Forum is traditionally
held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the
Consultative Group and engages city practitioners,
national government representatives, development
partners and the research community to discuss
challenges and opportunities of an urbanising world.
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For more information on the Cities Alliance visit:
http://www.citiesalliance.org
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