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UN PhotoBAKU / WORLD URBAN FORUM OPENING
STORY: BAKU / WORLD URBAN FORUM OPENING
TRT: 04:54
SOURCE: UNTV / UN-HABITAT
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 17-18 MAY 2026, BAKU, AZERBAIJAN
17 MAY 2026, BAKU, AZERBAIJAN
1. Various shots, flag raising ceremony
2. Various shots, general views of the venue for the 13th World Urban Forum (WUF13)
18 MAY 2026, BAKU, AZERBAIJAN
3. Various shots, Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-Habitat and Nga Kor Ming, President of the United Nations Habitat Assembly shaking hands and taking a picture
4. Wide shot, WUF13, opening ceremony hall
5. Wide shot, Ilham Aliyev addressing the Forum
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ilham Aliyev, President, Azerbaijan:
“Today organizing the global gathering, we once again demonstrate our strong commitment to urban planning, urban development, to our agenda to make life of the people better and to provide our population with all necessary means in order to feel themselves comfortably.”
7. Wide shot, WUF13, opening ceremony hall
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“No society is immune, from fast growing cities in the developing world, to advanced the economies with high rents and the rising homelessness. In my student days, volunteering in some of Lisbon's poorest neighborhoods, I saw how profoundly housing affects people's health, education and future. As the Secretary-General, I'm proud that the Pact for the Future and the Doha Political Declaration recognize housing as a priority. And I welcome the upcoming ten-year review of the New Urban Agenda.”
9. Wide shot, WUF13, opening ceremony hall
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Annalena Baerbock, President, General Assembly, United Nations:
“Affordable, safe and decent housing is a fundamental human right. It is a foundation of dignity, health, security and opportunity. Yet today, that foundation remains out of reach for far too many people, with more than 1.1 billion people still living in informal settlements or slums, and more than 300 million people homeless. The consequences extend far beyond housing alone.”
11. Wide shot, WUF13, opening ceremony hall
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Nga Kor Ming, President of the United Nations Habitat Assembly:
“Excellencies, as Baku becomes the capital of the world during this 13th Worl Urban Forum, let us recall a fundamental promise: when we fail to provide housing, we are breaking a promise to our children. Hence the theme of this global forum Housing the World: Safe and Resilient Cities and Communities. It's not merely a slogan. It is a call to immediate action.”
13. Wide shot, WUF13, opening ceremony hall
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director, UN-Habitat:
“Cities are increasingly divided between those who have and those who do not. Excellencies, colleagues, it is no surprise that tens of thousands of us from communities around the globe to high level leaders are gathered here in Baku to address one critical question: How in this era of uncertainty, instability and destruction, can adequate housing be made available to all?”
15. Wide shot, WUF13, opening ceremony hall
16. Wide shot, press conference
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director, UN-Habitat:
“The central message for this Forum is clear: housing must be placed at the heart of integrated urban solutions linking land, basic services, climate action, mobility and economic opportunity.”
18. Wide shot, press conference
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Anar Guliyev, National Coordinator, WUF13:
“Azerbaijan has been actively organizing national urban forums, creating an important national platform for dialog on sustainable urban development.”
20. Wide shot, press conference
21. SOUNDBITE (English) Nga Kor Ming, President of the United Nations Habitat Assembly:
“It is critical to move from motherhood statements to measurable impact on the ground.”
22. Wide shot, press conference
“Affordable, safe and decent housing is a fundamental human right,” the President of the United Nations General Assembly said in a message to the 13th World Urban Forum (WUF13), opening in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Today (18 May) Annalena Baerbock said, “It is a foundation of dignity, health, security and opportunity. Yet today, that foundation remains out of reach for far too many people, with more than 1.1 billion people still living in informal settlements or slums, and more than 300 million people homeless. The consequences extend far beyond housing alone.”
In a separate video message, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: “In my student days, volunteering in some of Lisbon's poorest neighborhoods, I saw how profoundly housing affects people's health, education and future. As the Secretary-General, I'm proud that the Pact for the Future and the Doha Political Declaration recognize housing as a priority.”
Welcoming delegates as host, Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, said, “Today organizing the global gathering, we once again demonstrate our strong commitment to urban planning, urban development, to our agenda to make life of the people better and to provide our population with all necessary means in order to feel themselves comfortably.”
The forum, organized by UN-Habitat together with Azerbaijan, runs through 22 May and has drawn some 40,000 participants from 182 countries. Its theme, “Housing the World: Safe and Resilient Cities and Communities,” reflects a deepening global crisis in which nearly 2.8 billion people are living in inadequate housing conditions and more than 300 million have no home at all.
Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, said, “Cities are increasingly divided between those who have and those who do not. Excellencies, colleagues, it is no surprise that tens of thousands of us from communities around the globe to high level leaders are gathered here in Baku to address one critical question: How in this era of uncertainty, instability and destruction, can adequate housing be made available to all?”
Nga Kor Ming, President of the United Nations Habitat Assembly, said, “As Baku becomes the capital of the world during this 13th World Urban Forum, let us recall a fundamental promise: when we fail to provide housing, we are breaking a promise to our children. Hence the theme of this global forum Housing the World: Safe and Resilient Cities and Communities. It's not merely a slogan. It is a call to immediate action.”
He added, “It is critical to move from motherhood statements to measurable impact on the ground.”
Briefing reporters at the opening press conference, Anar Guliyev, National Coordinator for WUF13, said, “Azerbaijan has been actively organizing national urban forums, creating an important national platform for dialog on sustainable urban development.”
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