The JAE at the Cities Forum 2023: young people's voices for green and fair European cities

On March 16 and 17, 2023, Astrid Vital Durand, Secretary General of the Young Ambassadors for the Environment, was in Turin, Italy, for the 5th edition of the Cities Forum, at the invitation of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The Cities Forum: the European meeting place for sustainable urban development

Organized every two years by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), the Cities Forum is the European Union's leading event dedicated to urban policy. This edition brings together more than 750 representatives from European cities and regions for a program combining debates, participatory workshops, and field visits in the city of Turin, chosen for its exemplary transformation from a former industrial city into a hub of culture, knowledge, and innovation.

At the heart of the discussions were the implementation of the EU Cohesion Policy for 2021-2027, the European Green Deal, the EU Urban Agenda, the European Mission for 100 Climate-Neutral Cities, and the New European Bauhaus. This edition also saw the official launch of the European Urban Initiative (EUI). The European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, which aims to integrate nature into urban policies and strengthen green spaces in cities, was a cross-cutting theme of the event, directly linked to the issues of ecological transition and social inclusion addressed by this edition.

Astrid spoke at the Forum's closing plenary session, alongside Pascal Smet, Secretary of State for European Affairs and Urban Planning for the Brussels Region, and Normunds Popens, Acting Director-General of DG REGIO at the European Commission. As a member of the IUCN Education and Communication Commission, she reiterated the urgent need to integrate biodiversity and nature-based solutions into European urban policies, and brought the voices of engaged young people to institutional decision-makers.

The JAE on the international urban scene: from the Cities Forum to the World Urban Forums

This participation in the Cities Forum is part of the JAE's broader commitment to urban issues. The association regularly attends the World Urban Forums (WUF) organized by UN-Habitat, the leading international conference on sustainable urban development. At GWU11 in Katowice, Poland, in June 2022, the JAE raised the issue of nature in cities through several presentations as part of the French delegation coordinated by the French Partnership for Cities and Territories (PFVT). The presence of several young environmental ambassadors in this delegation made it possible to take into account the vision of young people in thinking about and building the sustainable cities of tomorrow. Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

From the European Cities Forum to the United Nations World Urban Forums, the JAE carries this necessary message: the cities of tomorrow will not be built without nature, nor without the active participation of the younger generations.