Secretary General Spoke at the Habitat Day’s Celebration in Indonesia

THE Secretary General was invited by the Ministry of Public Works of the Republic of Indonesia to speak at the World Habitat Day’s Celebration under the theme of “Public Spaces for All” held in Denpasar on 9 October 2015 and also in Lampung on 5-6 November 2015.

In her presentations, she underlined the need for improving the quantity and quality of public spaces. She said that “public space is the soul of the city that reflects how the city puts the importance on people and their rights.” Good public spaces should be safe especially for women and children, comfortable and easily accessed by everyone.

Lampung Bernadia(1)
All participants in Lampung (Ist)

She added that the concept of public spaces should be understood well by decision makers. Many participants, mostly from the local governments, learned for the first time that public spaces are not only about open green spaces, but also include streets and sidewalks.

Prior to the celebration, the Secretary General was also invited as one of the jury members of the Writing Contest on Innovation for Slum Improvement in Indonesia, organised by the Ministry of Public Works of Indonesia. It was hoped that the Ministry or interested agencies would be able to put the plans or proposals of the winners into reality.

The UN has designated the first Monday of October of the year as World Habitat Day. It aims to promote sustainable cities and towns all over the world.