NEW YORK------- October19, 2015---------- The World Habitat Day, designated by the United Nations to reflect on the state of towns and cities concluded at the United Nations headquarters in New York with the participation of HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAGOrg) and the Digital Technologies for Sustainable Urbanization Network (iTSUN).

Abu-Ghazaleh's participation came as a response to the invitation by the Executive Director of UN Habitat and the president of the Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization in an event attended by a large number of high UN officials, government policy makers, urban planners and architects, business leaders and academic and civil society participants.

In his keynote speech, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh stressed on his participation as a business leader and iTSUN co chair who is committed to the goal of global sustainability saying: "The world today is poised to make a historic new beginning. Just a few days ago, the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development adopted a land mark Agenda 2030: Transforming Our World. At the heart of this global and universal Agenda are the 17 Sustainable Develop Goals to which all the leaders of the world have committed at the UN Summit.   Goal 11 calls for making “cities and urban settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.”

Dr. Abu Ghazaleh called for a global partnership of world business leaders, government policy makers, urban planners and academic experts to promote a New Sustainable Urbanization Agenda for building smart and sustainable cities in all countries.

"In an increasingly urbanized world, where the majority of the people live in cities, it will not be possible to ensure a sustainable future for mankind without making cities and urban settlements more sustainable," he said.

"As we remake the cities of today and build the urban centers of tomorrow we need to re-examine our priorities, policies and planning in light of a New Urban Agenda which recognizes the centrality of accessible public spaces in urban settings," he added.

He stated: "The current paradigm of urbanization is based on wasteful use of land and other precious resources, such as energy and water, and is centered on automobile use, leading to suburban sprawl and un-planned expansion of cities. This type of urban development simply cannot be sustained for long. Apart from contributing to environmental degradation and climate change, it has exacerbated spatial inequality which often leads to social segregation, slum formation and unequal access to jobs, health and education services. Rather than fostering well-knit communities living together, it has led to greater socio-economic divisions, growing inequality, political instability and strife."

He stressed that in this information age, digital technologies must be seen as an essential component of a modern urban infrastructure and a strategic tool for good urban planning and design.

"If we use digital technologies to build smart cities with smart land use, smart roads and buildings, smart energy grids, smart water supply and smart, less polluting vehicles, we can help bring about a shift from the current paradigm to a new more sustainable model of urban development. With its research and development capacity, its entrepreneurial spirit and its ability to make the needed investments, the private sector has a key role to play in meeting this challenge," he said.

Abu-Ghazaleh presented his readiness and the readiness of the private sector to help create good quality public spaces for all as a central tenet of the new sustainable urbanization agenda calling on business leaders around the world to join hands with public policy-makers and urban planners, the academic community and other stakeholders in a genuine global partnership to promote and implement  a new, more  integrative agenda for sustainable urbanization and help rectify the  growing imbalance between private and public  land use by creating public spaces for all.

"It is with this objective in mind that a new Digital Technologies for Sustainable Urbanization Network was set up in July this year under the aegis of the United Nations Economic and Social Council and UN Habitat. The Network provides a platform for collaboration among all stakeholders for harnessing the digital revolution in the service of smart and sustainable urbanization. I encourage you to join this Network and participate in its First Global Forum to be held in Barcelona on November 16 this year in the context of the Smart City Expo World Congress," he said.

In closing, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh tackled the decision by the US government to take a process of consultation on internet governance saying:" As founding chair of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), and while co-chairing the UNICT Task Force, and as chair of the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development, as well as chair of the International Chamber of Commerce Committee on internet, and also as member of the panel of advisors on the future agenda of world trade, in all of these capacities as well as many others, I have been an advocate of internet governance."

"However, my perception of governance does not imply in any way giving away the ownership of the Internet by the USA. In the report I submitted to the WTO I called for the need to undertake a round of multi-national negotiations for an MLTA on trade on the Internet. I would like from this podium to call on the US government to start this process with the objective of developing a global governance discipline (including rules on data security, terrorism on the internet, and security of life and assets) and a dispute resolution system, without jeopardizing the US IP rights to the internet nor the US control of the technical operations and infra structure of the internet. This would be in the internet of the U.S and the entire humanity, he concluded. 

The World Habitat Day brought together eminent individuals from governments, United Nations, local authorities, private sector and academicians.  

During his visit to New York, Dr. Abu- Ghazaleh also chaired a meeting of the Executive Council of the Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization which reviewed the recent activities and discussed the future work program of the Consortium.