Exhibition “Villes au Palais, Palais en Ville”

Ambassador Stachańczyk,
Ms. Jaskólska
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen :

I am pleased to deliver the Director-General’s message for the opening ceremony of this wonderful exhibition. He very much regrets that he cannot be here with you today.
The message goes as follows:

“A very warm welcome to the opening of the exhibition “Villes au Palais, Palais en Ville” which showcases a variety of cityscapes from Poland and around Europe. I would like to congratulate Ambassador Stachańczyk for his first cultural event at the Palais des Nations since taking office. I look forward to our continued collaboration on many future projects. I would also like to thank the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Poland and the Bürgisser Avocats Law Firm in Geneva for their cooperation in making this exhibition a success, as well as artist Wioletta Jaskólska for sharing her unique impressions of urban landscapes with us.

The future of the world’s cities is a top priority for the United Nations. Globally, more people live in urban areas than in rural areas, and projections estimate that by 2050, around 75% of the world’s population will be living in cities. In the years since the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals, the development discourse has placed an increasing importance on the necessity for sustainable cities. Today, as we move to implement the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals, sustainable urbanization will play a transformational role. This is most clearly reflected in Goal 11 - “to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”.

The Geneva UN Charter for Sustainable Housing, recently signed by the 56 Member States of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, including Poland, emphasizes the need for decent, adequate, affordable and healthy housing for all. This goal will be accomplished through four core principles – environmental protection, economic effectiveness, social inclusion and participation as well as cultural adequacy.

In Geneva, we are also working to expand interaction among different actors to strengthen crosscutting activities. UNECE plays a key role in this respect, especially through the regional preparations for next year’s HABITAT III conference. UNOG’s co-facilitation of the Technical Working Group on the Confluence of Urban Safety and Peacebuilding Practice is another example, demonstrating the added value of a crosscutting approach.

This beautiful exhibition is a timely opportunity for us to reflect on the importance of building more sustainable cities for a more sustainable world. We all have the power and the responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns, that increasingly become humanity’s living space.

Thank you.”

That was the end of the Director-General’s message. I join him in wishing you a very successful event.

Thank you.