This Call for Proposals aligns to the main theme of the African Urban Forum, Sustainable Urbanization for Africa’s Transformation: Agenda 2063”; and within the two sub-themes, Financing Urbanization for socio-economic transformation, and Sustainable and resilient urban development in Africa.
The side events will be held physically/in person prior to and after the main high-level and parallel sessions. The events are a product of coordination among Governments, Institutions, Private sector, Academia, NGOs, and civil society institutions and offer the opportunity to listen to different experts and delve into some complementary topics to the themes of the Forum.
The Call for Proposals is seeking technically sound proposals that not only focus on urbanization challenges and opportunities, but also foster inspirational ideas, best practices and innovative approaches on how to address sustainable urbanization in Africa, and that support widely the commitments on urban development, capacity building, programme, and project implementation.
The main objectives of side events are:
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Disseminate knowledge and provide evidence-based research.
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Share practices from experiences.
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Foster collaborations and partnerships.
The organization of side event is free of charge.
Deadline: The side event proposal submission closes on the 15th July 2024 at 6 p.m. (Addis Ababa local time, GMT + 3)
Proposal Requirements and Evaluation Criteria
Any entity interested in organizing a side event during the Africa Urban Forum on Sustainable Development can submit a proposal. Owing to space and other considerations, each organizer cannot be involved in more than one side event. Please use the online form to submit your proposals, which describes the organizers, partners, panelists and speakers, and how the event would contribute to discussions on the main theme or one or more of the subthemes of the Forum.
The basic criteria for selection include the following:
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Given the inclusive nature of the Goals in general, priority will be given to side events organized by groups of three or more partners, sponsors or participants, or any combination thereof;
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The theme of the side event should relate to at least one of the subthemes provided above or be cross-cutting in nature;
Consideration should be given to gender balance and geography (including local government) in the choice of speakers and panelists;
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The format of the side event should ensure broad stakeholder participation, including that of the private sector and major groups, and actively involve the audience;
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The outcome of the side event should inform the overall outcome of the Africa Urban Forum
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The side event should last no longer than 1 and 1/2 hours and should not overlap with the main sessions of the Forum.
Responsibility of Organizers
The logistics of the side events, such as room and virtual platform allocation and the setting up of audiovisual equipment, need to be arranged in collaboration with the side events coordinator. The organizers of the side events will be responsible for the following:
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Inviting speakers and panelists and handling their visa and travel arrangements (if applicable);
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Inviting participants from member States, major groups and other stakeholders;
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Preparing a summary report on the event and sharing it with the secretariat of the Forum;
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Publicity, reproduction of materials and media coverage;
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Any catering services that may be required must be arranged through the designated caterers of the Forum and fully covered by the organizers (if applicable);
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Events should be conducted in English or French. Arrangements for simultaneous interpretation will be the responsibility of the organizers.
Proposals for side events should be submitted to KabeloN@africa-union.org adding in copy Birmaji.tola@un.org and giuseppe.tesoriere@un.org
A English copy of the Call for Side Events and Registration Form is available here
A French copy of the Call for Side Events and Registration Form is available here
