rector_unhabitat , exploring the #wuf12 theme: "It All Starts at Home." This session examines key strategies to tackle the global housing crisis, which intersects with ecological, social, and economic challenges, and explores potential alliances to drive change. SDI Secretariat Managing Director @tatebeth shared her reflections about the informality crisis, “I’m still perplexed by the fact that we treat informality as an exception, when 70% of cities in Africa are living informally. We’re ignoring the reality we’re in. We can’t keep thinking we’ll build cities like those in the Global North. It’s not going to happen. We need to find a practical approach that reflects the realities of our cities. We also need to rethink urban planning education—who are we planning for? And let’s not let governments off the hook. They have resources, whether financial, land, or otherwise. They have an obligation to contribute. Slums and informal settlements can be part of the solution to the housing crisis—but we must shift our mindset and see them as opportunities. Organised slum dwellers are already gathering data, planning, and creating solutions. By the time they approach governments, they often already have ¾ of the solution in hand.” #makingslumsvisible #inclusivecities @knowyourcity.tv @arianakaramallis @blessedmtlc

a speaker at the "Safe, Inclusive, and Sustainable Cities for Children: Addressing Structural Barriers to Child Well-being in Informal Settlements" #WUF12 event today hosted by @unicef Half a billion children live in #slums and informal settlements, facing the extremes of poverty and marginalisation. But there are solutions. Thozama shared valuable lessons from a community-led and designed Early Childhood Development (ECD) project in Khayelitsha & Philippi, South Africa. This project was part of a broader initiative, also implemented in Senegal and Uganda. The project is a collaboration with @cecd_since1994 with vital support from the Bernard van Leer Foundation. The project aims to: 🟠 Increase knowledge on effective interventions for children’s early development and caregiver well-being. 🟡 Empower women and community-led initiatives to enhance the wellbeing of children aged 0-5 years. 🟢 Foster collective learning among communities, practitioners, governments, and the global SDI network to promote ECD and caregiver well-being in informal settlements. 🔵 Strengthen linkages with local governments and generate policy recommendations to drive change for children and caregivers in informal settlements. Watch the full panel discussion, by clicking on this link: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/d66GHgRz #makingslumsvisible #dignifiedurbanlife