World Habitat Day 2023
Resilient urban economies, cities as drivers of growth and recovery.
Sri Lanka celebrated the World Habitat Day 2023 on 2nd October under the patronage of Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The national ceremony was organized by the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing in partnership with the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA), Urban Settlements Development Authority (USDA), Condominium Management Authority (CMA) and the Urban Development Authority. (UDA).
The ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka as the chief guest, State Minister of Urban Development and Housing, senior government officials, NHDA, USDA, CMA, UDA officials and UN-Habitat representatives.
The ceremony marked the beginning of the Habitat Week celebrations to be held across settlements organized by NHDA, CMA, USDA and UDA from 2nd to 10th October 2023 in the form of awareness programmes, health clinics, short film and art competitions and sharamadana (gift of labour) campaigns.
The World Habitat Day national ceremony commenced with the screening of a short documentary film and subsequently the Secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, Mr. W. S. Sathyananda welcomed the guests to the ceremony.
UN-Habitat Programme Management Officer for South Asia Mr. Salem Karimzada delivered the UN-Habitat Executive Director’s message on World Habitat Day 2023. The message highlights the significance of human settlements and human habitat. The important role of cities as vibrant ecosystems of human potential and innovation, their resilience in challenging times of conflicts, economic hardship, and climate disaster and cities as islands of hope where communities unite, ideas flourish and dreams are achieved has also been highlighted. UN-Habitat commitment to work with cities and communities to unlock their potential and empower them to create a better urban future with job opportunities, green spaces and respect for diversity has also been expressed.
The second United Nations Habitat Assembly in June 2023 reaffirmed housing as a basic human right and mandated UN-Habitat to develop recommendations for affordable housing. UN-Habitat will also develop international guidelines for people centered smart cities and urban biodiversity.
Honorable Prime Minister in his speech, stated that government housing projects which were put on hold in the past had recommenced to fulfil the aim of Government of Sri Lanka to provide every family with their own house. The initiatives of past leaders of the country towards attaining the goal of housing for all was commended by the Honorable Prime Minister. He stressed the need for a paradigm shift towards cleaner and renewable energy sources for housing and transportation, particularly solar energy and electrification of railways. The need to regulate local government authorities in their enforcement role for building approvals was emphasized in his address. He expressed the hope that World Habitat Day would initiate new discussions on how to optimize technology and innovation and reduce waste towards achieving the goals, with technical support from the United Nations.
State Minister of Urban Development and Housing Honorable Thenuka Vidanagamage, stated in his address that rural urban migration occurs with the hope that the migrants will be able to enjoy a better quality of life. Therefore, cities should provide a better quality of life and prosperity, including secure employment for all inhabitants. He highlighted the need for investment for employment generation in urban areas based on principles of sustainability. Further he stated that these investments should result in distancing people from dangerous and risky livelihoods. He emphasized that discussions on urban economies should not be limited to the Habitat week but result in short term and long-term plans to develop secure urban economies by 2030.
Dances by winners of the competitions held in urban settlements added interest to the celebration, while awards and scholarships were provided to winners of art, essay and dance competitions held for World Habitat Day and students who excelled at government examinations.
