In addition to the Kyiv School of Economics team, Ukraine was represented at the Cities Forum by experts from the UN-Habitat local office, the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine, and the DREAM Project Office, such as the deputy director of the Department of Spatial Planning of Territories and Architecture of the Ministry of Development Hryhoriy Melnychuk and the coordinator of the Department of International Partnerships and Sources DREAM financing by Iryna Shirokova; architect and People's Deputy Hanna Bondar, representatives of the Swedish institution SALAR, which supports the development of local self-government systems in Ukraine, the urbanist coalition Ro3kvit, the Spatial Development Agency of Ukraine ReStart, participants from the All-Ukrainian Association of United Territorial Communities, Deputy Mayor of Kryvyi Rih Yevhen Udod; the leaders of Trostianets and Mykolaiv connected online.
It should be noted that our representatives did not act as a single delegation and participated in separate events.
In total, during the Forum, stakeholders initiated 11 discussions in the context of the Ukrainian agenda.
The 12th World Urban Forum (WUF-12) was held from November 4 to 8 in Cairo, the event was attended by more than 25 people. speakers and guests. Photo: UN News/Khaled Mohamed
WUF-12 was covered in the background by domestic media and on the platforms of participating organizations (and mostly in the context of the presence of "representatives of Crimea"), so we are correcting the situation.
Tetyana Vodotyka, Doctor of Philosophy, academic director of the KSE master's program in urban planning
PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA became interlocutors Tatyana Vodotika — Ph.D., project manager, academic director of the KSE master's program "Urbanism and post-war reconstruction", and Maryna Semenchenko, coordinator of the UNITAC Hamburg project in Ukraine.
Maryna Semenchenko, coordinator of the UNITAC Hamburg project in Ukraine
To better explain the format in which the KSE team presented at the Forum and the role of UNITAC Hamburg in organizing the sessions that took place, we will take a short tour.
WUF past and present
The World Urban Forum was established in 2001 by the United Nations to study and address the challenges of urban development. Rapid urbanization affects communities, cities, economy, politics, climate.
The participants of the event are representatives of governments, business, the academic community, public organizations related to urban planning and related research.
The World Urban Forum is sponsored by the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) and was first held in Nairobi (Kenya) in 2002. Since then, the Forum of Cities has been held every two years in different parts of the world and in 2024 returned to Africa.
The 12th WUF session in Cairo on November 4-8 was attended by a record number of participants — more than 25. guests and speakers from 182 countries. This year, in addition to the usual program events - panel discussions, round tables, stands, the Urban Expo space with country pavilions also worked. Unfortunately, Moscow also presented its pavilion there, because Russia is on an equal footing with other UN member countries, but more on that later.
During the Cities Forum in Cairo, the Ukrainian side initiated 11 discussions on local problems of urban planning and reconstruction
The topics discussed in the Forum program resonate with the Sustainable Development Goals — the 17 Global Goals by 2030, which were defined by the United Nations to achieve a common better future. Goal number 11 specifically concerns sustainable cities and communities.
The year 2030 is not far off, so the world community should intensify efforts in many directions.
This year at the Forum, as expected, there was a lot of talk about challenges. During the Forum's closing ceremony, the "Cairo Call to Action" was released, a guiding document with key themes and proposed solutions to urban challenges that UN-Habitat will use for strategic planning in 2026-2029.
The next WUF-13 will be held in 2026 in Baku.
UNITAC joint missions and KSE
UNITAC Hamburg is an innovation accelerator project for cities that helps to effectively use digital technologies and the latest methods of working with data to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Image: unitac.un.org
UNITAC Hamburg (United Nations Technology Accelerator for Cities) is an innovative UN technology accelerator for cities based in Hamburg.
The project, established in March 2021, is a partnership between the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), the United Nations Office for Information and Communication Technologies (UN-OICT) and Hamburg HafenCity University with financial support from the German government.
It is an innovation accelerator for cities, created in order to use the potential of digital technologies, the latest methods of working with data, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The result of UNITAC's work should be proven ideas and digital tools that will be used in different parts of the world to solve urban problems
UNITAC specialists are an interdisciplinary team of urban planning experts, software developers, tech specialists who develop digital tools, platforms used for prototyping, mapping, spatial analysis and data visualization. And they are distributed in order to improve the urban planning and regeneration capacity of communities, their orientation towards "smart" cities. Therefore, the result of UNITAC's work should be proven ideas, tools and products that will be used in different parts of the world to solve urban problems.
In Ukraine, the goal of the project is to support authorities in recovery.
Therefore, the cooperation of UNITAC and the Kyiv School of Economics to participate in the Forum of Cities is more than logical.
Experts of the Kyiv School of Economics are working with data on the scale of damage and destruction, assessing sanctions against the aggressor, and developing scenarios for the post-war recovery of Ukraine's economy. Photo: kse.ua
Covering the damage caused to Ukraine's infrastructure and aspects of reconstruction, we have repeatedly relied on research and statistical information of the analytical center KSE Institute of the Kyiv School of Economics, which are published by international media.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, specialists of the Kyiv School of Economics have been cooperating with the Ukrainian government and international organizations in assessing the effectiveness of sanctions against the aggressor, the scale of destruction, and in developing scenarios for the recovery of the country's economy after the war.
Thus, KSE Institute analysts participated in the preparation of materials for the International Conferences on the Reconstruction of Ukraine in Lugano and London (in 2022 and 2023, respectively), are members of international expert groups working on recommendations for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, and new ones related to of this program.
It was at the KSE Institute that a number of projects were developed, such as Russia Will Pay, damaged.in.ua, launched jointly with the OP of Ukraine and the Ministry of Economy, LeaveRussia — about companies that remained on the Russian market.
In May 2023 KSE Economy Recovery Lab, a platform for developing solutions for economic recovery, was created.
KSE also launched the Global Minds for Ukraine platform with the participation of Nobel laureates and influential researchers in social sciences, economics and history. It became the first Ukrainian platform where world intellectuals publicly supported Ukraine.
Master's degree at KSE University has unique programs in economics, governance, IT, among others. "Urbanism and post-war reconstruction" is just for those who want to join the work with the urban contexts of the development of Ukraine, restoration, development of Ukrainian cities and their spaces.
Doctor of philosophy Tatyana Vodotika is the academic director of the master's program in urban planning and reconstruction.
Events on World Urban Forum
The Kyiv School of Economics is the only Ukrainian university that participated in the World Forum of Cities
Tatiana Vodotyka is the coordinator of UNITAC Hamburg in Ukraine Maryna Semenchenko they say: choosing the format of participation in the Forum, they initially planned to hold a panel discussion on strengthening opportunities for recovery in communities through the use of digital tools. However, later they settled on the idea of training.
"The planning tool in question was developed as part of a three-year joint project of HafenCity University, UN-Habitat and the United Nations Office for Information and Communication Technologies (OICT) cooperation, which began in 2023 and will continue until the end of 2025. His presentation is not limited to the Forum and will continue at the conference, which will be held simultaneously in Kyiv and Hamburg on February 19-20 and will be dedicated to the recovery of Ukraine through the use of digital tools and data," explains Tetyana Vodotyka.
Together with the Kyiv School of Economics UNITAC Hamburg developed the Urban Data Science course on the use of data in city administration
Maryna Semenchenko adds: "This conference is the result of cooperation with the Kyiv School of Economics. I will also note that we have developed together with the School course Urban Data Science on the use of data in urban management. During the Forum, we wanted to reflect on our own experience. To think about what we can do together to support local Ukrainian capacity in this direction. Colleagues from Hamburg, who participated in the previous World Urban Forum in Katowice, presented the idea that in our case it would be logical to demonstrate digital tools that we developed for Ukraine.
We practice a result-oriented approach, so it is advisable to show how to use these tools, to check in practice how everything works. That's how we added a training component to the speeches of the speakers, which ended with a practical discussion."
During the training on the use of digital tools for making urban planning decisions, participants in groups had to find the optimal location for infrastructure objects
For training "Joint capacity-building for post-war recovery in Ukraine. Digital tools for making informed decisions in crisis conditions" participants in two groups had to find the optimal location for infrastructure facilities of a certain type.
"We practice a result-oriented approach, so it was appropriate to show how digital tools work and how to use them at the Forum," - Maryna Semenchenko
Maryna Semenchenko explains the features of development for reconstruction:
"This is a recovery planning system that has specific thematic modules. A digital platform with data on social, transport infrastructure, educational facilities, green spaces, etc. — everything that the community decided and was able to collect together with us.
We understand that the city is a complex system, so these layers are integrated into each other, the platform provides opportunities to visualize these data and solve local tasks.
The provided module supports the transition to green energy, in particular to solar energy. Thanks to it, it will be possible to evaluate the possibilities for an individual building or an individual roof - for example, how many panels can be installed and at what capacity, how much it will cost and how it will help save in the future, how much it will reduce CO2 emissions. There will also be a module on participation, public involvement.
I would like to note that this is not software that must be installed on a computer, but a web application running in a browser. Next year, the platform will be completed by our specialists."
Maryna Semenchenko: "The city is a complex system, its layers are integrated into each other. The digital platform makes it possible to visualize this data and solve local planning tasks"
The coordinator noted that as part of this project, UNITAC cooperates with four Ukrainian communities: Irpinska, Makarivska, Drohobytska, and Kamianets-Podilska. Once completed, the digital system will be handed over to them to optimize urban planning decisions.
Within the UNI Booth section, in which the world's best universities, members of Habitat UNI, spoke, KSE representatives gave a lecture "KSE for the restoration and sustainable development of Ukrainian cities"
According to Maryna Semenchenko, the tools are available to everyone who wants to use them.
"This is an important principle of UNITAC's work. We work with open source code that is available to anyone qualified to take it and adapt it to their needs.
Of course, in the Ukrainian context, the issue of data security is very important. We don't publish data that communities don't want to make public due to legislation or other restrictions, or when there's no framework for it, but people choose to do so.
Our other principle is that we do not own the data. We work with local stakeholders, local governments — we provide them with tools, knowledge, skills, and organize trainings on how to use these tools. They remain the owners of all data and use it as they see fit."
As part of its project, UNITAC cooperates with four Ukrainian communities - Irpinska, Makarivska, Drohobytska and Kamianets-Podilska
Digital tools for making decisions about reconstruction can be used not only in the context of war destruction, but also, for example, in overcoming the consequences of natural disasters, urban development, revitalization of degraded areas.
Pavlo Bilyk, assistant of the master's program KSE "Urbanism and post-war reconstruction", during a training event organized by UNITAC Hamburg and KSE
At the Forum, representatives of the Kyiv School of Economics presented their own research work on sustainable development and urban renewal within the section UNI Booth, in which the world's best universities — members of Habitat UNI — performed.
Habitat UNI is a global initiative for the world's universities, which was launched in 2014 to integrate the scientific work of universities on sustainable urbanism with UN missions.
Tatiana Vodotika and Pavel Bilyk, assistant of KSE's "Urban Studies and Post-War Reconstruction" program, told the audience about the features of this educational program, which has been in existence since 2023. Her students are already working on reconstruction projects at various levels.
"We were the only Ukrainian university that participated in the World Forum of Cities and addressed the audience in this format," — Tatiana Vodotika
"The event took place in an open format, people could join it at different times. We didn't have much time at the UNI Booth, but it was enough for both the presentation and the questions and answers. I see this talk as a useful networking event that allowed me to understand what is happening in the world in this field, to meet new people and to expand my horizons. Feedback showed that the urban studies program at KSE has significant potential, and the multidisciplinary approach is in line with the development of similar programs in the world.
We were the only Ukrainian university that spoke at the Forum in this format, and the only Ukrainian university that participated in the Forum of Cities in one way or another," said the academic director.
How was it? WUF-12: reflections
The Cities Forum returned to Africa 23 years after its inception, and this year it was attended by many regional representatives. Photo: UN-Habitat
We asked our experts for their opinion on how effective the communication was during the Forum in Cairo, to which projects or cooperation to strengthen Ukraine's position it can lead later. What topics, proposed by the Ukrainian side, evoked the greatest response from the world academic community and what kind of feedback was received? Does the venue of the Forum predict less interest in events in Ukraine than, for example, in Europe? Was less awareness of the audience about the scope of Russia's military aggression noticeable?
"If you compare the Cities Forum in Cairo with the previous one, which took place two years ago in Katowice, there is a difference," says Maryna Semenchenko. - Then in Katowice everything was about Ukraine. It was a very fresh topic, a full-scale invasion had just begun. At that time, Poland was hosting a million Ukrainian refugees. The last Forum was absolutely centered around the Ukrainian theme.
At the Forum in Cairo, we did not feel such a priority, but Ukraine definitely appears in the discussions.
Our training event was attended by an international audience: representatives from Egypt, America, and European countries. There were many people from Arab and African countries, because it is easy for them to travel to Cairo.
So there was an audience from that part of the world, and their interest was palpable. I am glad that we had the opportunity to directly convey the Ukrainian topic to people who, perhaps, did not know much about it."
The expert noted that both international and Ukrainian partnerships grow from such communication. During the Forum, she received requests from community representatives who would like to adapt digital tools for their needs.
Tatiana Vodotyka: "Ukrainian scale and complexity of Ukrainian challenges are unique, but similar problems exist not only in us. Therefore, it is necessary to find messages that will be heard"
Tetyana Vodotyka, Doctor of Philosophy, academic director of the KSE master's program in urban planning
Tatiana Vodotyka says: "For the Kyiv School of Economics, this event is about positioning, networking, publicity and creating an image. It is better to do than not to do, or to do 10% than to do 0%.
I repeat, this is an event about positioning, it is the voice of Ukraine on another big platform. Even if you feel that something is not going as expected, or the environment does not seem friendly, that is no reason NOT to go or speak up.
For example, the fact of the presence of the Russian pavilion and representatives of the temporarily occupied Crimea at the Forum in Cairo.
The main focus of this year's event was on the Sustainable Development Goals and their achievement. On the fact that it is necessary to accelerate movement in this direction, because the year 2030 is coming soon, and some of the Goals are at various stages of achievement.
However, any forum is primarily about communication, cooperation, prospects and areas of potential work for everyone who came there."
PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: Perhaps you found that some topics are more irritating or find a different response in the audience? How to present information so that it arouses more interest?
Tatiana Vodotika: It was obvious to me that this is such a stress test for the Ukrainian agenda. I spoke about it in public communication before the Forum, and when I gave it an assessment. That Build Back Better is not only about Ukraine, but also about Nagorno-Karabakh, for example. That reconstruction is being carried out not only in Ukraine and not only in Karabash, but also in some parts of Africa, other parts of the world, but they don't talk about it like that.
Maryna Semenchenko: And not only because of the war.
T. IN.: Yes, and not only because of the war. That the problem of demining and demining the territory is not an exclusively Ukrainian problem.
It is clear that the Ukrainian scale and complexity of Ukrainian challenges are unique, but similar problems exist not only in our country. And in order to compete and win the competition for public attention, communication, and ultimately for funds (because these problems cannot be solved without funds), it is necessary to find such messages that will be heard.
If we are talking about Africa, we have to talk about decolonization, if we are in Europe or Britain, we have to talk about something else. An understanding of different contexts is required. And understanding that the problems of Donbass and Nagorno-Karabakh can be compared. You have to be ready for this and not panic - how could you do that?
It is necessary to understand why people draw such parallels. How to respond to this reasonedly, how to defend one's position and what is the Ukrainian position in this case.
Therefore, for me, the Forum is a very "sobering" event. It's very much about competition and being adaptable to different types of audiences and different types of events.
Marina Semenchenko and Ukrainian delegates during the training "Joint capacity building for post-war recovery in Ukraine. Digital tools for making informed decisions in crisis conditions"
Tatiana Vodotika: "Communication is always a two-way street"
M. S.: The Forum's target audience is mostly experts. These are specialized specialists, the academic community, as well as students who attended this event to hear new things for themselves, to engage in networking for their future careers. So we have no illusions about the fact that we had to convey any of our messages to the Egyptian society in a broad sense - we had contact with the professional community, participants who represented the country, city or institution.
Yes, to a certain extent, we felt that the level of awareness about the Ukrainian agenda in Egypt is not as we would like. In the cultural context, we are not the focus of their attention, which is quite logical, but, of course, unfortunate. Of course, we would like more interest in the Ukrainian issue in this part of the world.
T. IN.: However, it is always a two-way street. If we ask an average Ukrainian about Egypt, he will always mention resorts, right?
PM: In what way + Were representatives of the occupied Crimea present at the city forum?
M. S .: I note that this is my own opinion, but it is not an official answer of the UN.
The working principle of the UN is that they work and practice an equal approach to work with UN member countries. Organizations, countries or cities submit applications for participation in the Expo or for holding events, the procedure is the same for all. When filling out an individual application, basic information is indicated, who you represent and from which field - business, student, academic, etc. Most likely, these representatives received confirmation of participation on general grounds.
Participation in the Expo is paid, and the Moscow pavilion was huge, its scale spatially represented what place Moscow claims in the discussion, in the public sphere.
However, it is worth noting: no official events with participants from Crimea as speakers were announced in the Forum Program.
UNITAC Hamburg and the Kyiv School of Economics organize a conference on the recovery of Ukraine through the use of digital tools and data. It will take place in February
"It is important that the vision of the recovery of Ukraine through data and digital tools is formulated by Ukrainians," Maryna Semenchenko
PM: How will cooperation between the Kyiv School of Economics and UNITAC continue Hamburg? What can we announce for readers?
M. S.: First of all this conference "Liberty, Equality, Innovations. Digital Tools and Data for Ukrainian Recovery", dedicated to the recovery of Ukraine through the use of digital tools and data, which was mentioned by Tetiana.
It will take place on February 19-20 simultaneously in Kyiv and Hamburg, with an online broadcast for a wide audience.
We will talk about digital tools and data for Ukrainian recovery, this is a range of topics — from agriculture to heritage protection.
Top speakers will take part in the conference. Well-known foreign experts will speak, but we will pay special attention to Ukrainian speakers and Ukrainian digital developments.
It is important that Ukrainians themselves formulate the vision of restoring Ukraine through data and digital tools. Therefore, we aim to provide a platform for domestic experts and the community.
