Annually, on October 10th, people come together all around the world to celebrate World Homeless Day. It is a day where we as a global community draw attention to the needs of individuals and families who experience homelessness. Most importantly, it names a day for us to celebrate the achievements and agency of individuals and families, especially women and children with a lived experience, advocates, and service providers who on a daily basis dedicate their lives to ending it.
As part of the celebrations this year, UNANIMA International hosted our annual Symposium on Women and Children/Girls Experiencing Homelessness, as well as co-sponsored events with UN DESA and the Working Group to End Homelessness. One such event was UN DESA and UN Habitat’s Urban October/World Homeless Day webinar, which was themed: “Housing and Social Protection for all to End Homelessness.” It included the launch of the UN-Habitat Proceedings Report of the 2019 Expert Group Meeting on “Affordable housing and social protection systems for all to address homelessness”.This publication features a paper by Jean Quinn, DW, UNANIMA International’s Executive Director, from the expert group meeting she attended in Nairobi, Kenya in May 2019.
Throughout Urban October, UN-Habitat and partners including UNANIMA International contributed to a diverse and valuable global conversation on sustainable urbanization. Throughout the month a wide variety of issues were discussed including the impact of COVID-19, homelessness, climate action, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Beginning with the Global Observance of World Habitat Day,Urban October was celebrated in the context of this year’s theme “Housing for All: A Better Urban Future.”One of the events occurred over two days in Surabaya, Indonesia, where participants reminded the world that we all have the power and responsibility to shape the future of our cities.
With many events in between, Urban October closed with the Global Observance of World Cities Day in Nakuru, Kenya. This was the first time that an African nation hosted an event in observation of this day. The theme of this year’s World Cities Day was “Valuing Our Communities and Cities.” Experts and leaders came together virtually to examine recovery strategies, and to continue to forge a path toward the Sustainable Development Goals. Among the month’s events were UNANIMA International’s Symposium on Women and Children/Girls Experiencing Homelessness/Displacement, at which UN Habitat Director Chris Williams was a speaker.
