The sixth edition of the World Urban Forum (WUF), the world's preeminent conference on cities and urban issues, officially opens today in Naples at the Mostra d'Oltremare fairground, running through the 7th of September.
Organised by the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT) in collaboration with the City of Naples, the Campania Region, and the Government of Italy, this year's WUF focuses on "The Urban Future" through sessions ranging from urban planning and quality of life improvement to wealth distribution and competition.
As a city that has learned to thrive in the shadow of a volcano and has one of the world's highest population densities, Naples was chosen to host this year's forum for its topicality as well as its amenities. Mostra d'Oltremare fairground is the largest space ever used for the WUF, which has been hosted by Nairobi, Barcelona, Vancouver, Nanjing, and Rio de Janeiro in past years.
This year's WUF is the first ever open to the general public, beginning with the international village, which was open over the weekend. Many of the WUF's 7.000 registered participants are also local residents.
430 young Neapolitans have volunteered to run booths in the international village and assist with conference sessions, and the regional government has given 200.000 euros to fund youth education events in Naples' Market Square during the WUF.
