300 Youth of Asia Pacific Discussing the Urban Future in Jakarta

Minister PUPR Basuki Hadimuljono opens the Asia Pacific Urban Forum (APUF) Youth 2015, in Shanri La Hotel, Jakarta, Sunday (18/10)

As many as 300 young people from 34 Asia-Pacific countries to discuss the future of urban areas in the Asia-Pacific Urban Forum (APUF) 2015, held at the Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta, Sunday (18/10).

In his speech the Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadilmuljono, explained that young people have a strategic role in building the future of the city, and young people took part in the realizing the sustainable and inclusive city.

He mentioned that the currently estimated 50 percent of the world’s population live in cities and by 2050, approximately 70 percent is projected to live in urban areas. In Asia, the number of people living in urban areas today reached 48 percent. However, the UN estimates that the number of Asian population living in urban areas will increase to 64 percent in 2050. “Asia and Africa will record the largest increase in the urban population than other regions of the world,” Basuki said.

Urban Agenda

Minister PUPR Basuki Hadimuljono said, in Asia Pacific Urban Forum (APUF) Youth 2015, young people from 34 countries discussed six main issues of urban namely agenda of social cohesion and justice, the agenda of city spatial planning, agenda ecology and the environment, the agenda of urban settlements and basic services.

Other speakers in the forum are Governor of Jakarta Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, Deputy Ministry of Youth and Sports Gatot S Dewabroto, and several mayors of youths from the Asia Pacific region, including the Mayor of Bogor Bima Arya Sugiarto.

Minister PUPR Basuki Hadimuljono explains, APUF-Youth is the first association of organizations and different groups of young people, to conduct discussions about the urban agenda at the regional level. “APUFY offers steps towards strengthening constructive cooperation with the youth as stakeholders of the issues facing urban areas in the Asia Pacific region,” he said.

He said Indonesia recorded in the history, as the host of a series of the III Habitat Conference, held every 20 years. In 1976, I Habitat Conference in Vancouver, Canada, in 1996 in Istanbul Turkey, and in 2016 in Quito, Ecuador, with the theme of Sustainable Urbanization.  (Humas Kementerian PUPR/ES)/Sy.