SOME 5,000 participants from 53 countries are expected to attend the 7th Asia-Pacific Urban Forum (APUF-7) at the Setia SPICE Convention Centre in Relau from Oct 15 to 17.
State Local Government, Housing, Town & Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said they expected the leaders and ministers of some countries to be among the participants.
Others include stakeholders, academicians, council experts, representatives from government and non-government organisations, and members of the public.
The forum will focus on four main aspects, namely urban territorial planning, urban resilience, data & technology for smart cities and urban finance.
“To facilitate registration process, especially for civil servants in Komtar, Penang Island City Council has taken the initiative to set up a registration booth in Komtar from today (Aug 26) till Sept 30,” Jagdeep Singh said in his speech during the launch of the registration booth for APUF-7 this morning.
Also present were MBPP mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang and secretary Datuk Addnan Mohd Razali.
Organised by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP), United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT) and Urbansie Malaysia, APUF-7 has so far attracted 560 participants.
Apart from the forum, pre-event such as ‘The Cycling Mayors’, ‘Youth and Women Assemblies’ and ‘Convention for Empowerment of Local Authority 2019’, will be held in October.
A carnival-type event, ‘Potpourri of Penang Carnival’, will also be held on Oct 17 at Padang Kota Lama in George Town.
Story by Danny Ooi
Pix by Alissala Thian