Keynote Address

by Nikhil Seth

Rector, SDG Management School (SDGMS), former UN Assistant Secretary-General and

Executive Director of United Nations Institute for Training and Research

at

20ᵗʰ Annual Session of Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS 2025)

WMO Headquarters, Geneva — November 4-5, 2025

Theme: Advancing Local Innovation and Cooperation for a Resilient and Sustainable Urban Future

Opening — Gratitude and Context

Distinguished delegates, Excellencies, colleagues and friends,

It is such a pleasure to be with all of you — gathered today by the Global Forum on Human Settlements here in the WMO building. It is the 20ᵗʰ Forum, and one focused on local innovation and collaboration to propel us toward a sustainable urban future.

I am especially happy that we meet in this building — the WMO Headquarters — where I spent the final decade of my UN career leading UNITAR which forged so many partnerships. This space embodies the collaborative spirit that advances the SDGs.

WMO is a fitting venue for our conversation. It is the organization that works tirelessly to confront and assess climate change and design measures that protects planetary health.

By 2050, 70 percent of humanity will live in cities. The fate of our world will increasingly be intertwined with the fate of our cities.

I remember an eminent mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, telling us as we drafted SDG 11: “Urban planning is a mirror of our values. Do we plan for the public or for the privileged?”

Those words echo today as we ask: How do we build cities that are inclusive, resilient, and sustainable for all — especially for the poor, the vulnerable, the migrant, the disabled, the stigmatized?

New Multilateralism and New Champions

The traditional model of multilateralism — governments working alone through formal institutions — is evolving. We see new champions of collective action: academia, enlightened business, civil society, and philanthropy.

Many of these actors are closest to the local level — the true laboratories of innovation.

As we think of local innovation and collaboration, we must embrace these partners as co-leaders of change. The theme of this Forum celebrates that spirit: the power of collaboration across boundaries to make our cities engines of resilience and hope.

The Urban Moment — Promise and peril

Every minute, 180 people move to a city in search of safety, opportunity, and belonging.

This is our urban moment — filled with extraordinary promise but also profound peril. Cities produce 75 percent of CO₂ emissions and house most of the world’s poor and climate-vulnerable.

They are both the engines of prosperity and the epicentres of inequality.

Can our cities become engines of resilience — or will they magnify our crises?

The Essence of Local Innovation

Local innovation is not only about technology or data; it is about imagination — re-thinking how we live, build, and care for one another in shared space.

It is the ingenuity of a neighborhood that turns waste into energy.

It is the creativity of a city that opens data for all.

It is the compassion of communities reviving water systems.

It is the courage of youth transforming abandoned spaces into gardens.

Local innovation is the bridge between global aspiration and daily life — the human face of the SDGs.

Stories of Transformation

Let me begin with three stories that give me hope.

Kigali, Rwanda — Once scarred by tragedy, Kigali reinvented itself through Umuganda, a monthly citizen clean-up. Sanitation became solidarity, and ownership of the city’s destiny.

Medellín, Colombia — Once a city of fear, Medellín linked its hills to its heart through cable-cars, schools, and libraries. Infrastructure became inclusion; dignity travelled on every carriage.

Surat, India — After a plague in the 1990s, Surat rebuilt its public-health system through participatory planning and citizen vigilance. Crisis became innovation.

Across Continents — The Same Story

Across continents we see the same story — citizens and cities re-imagining their futures through collaboration.

Africa — Cape Town, South Africa: Facing a historic drought in 2018, citizens and authorities joined forces to halve water use and avoid “Day Zero.” Transparency and shared sacrifice built trust.

Asia — Seoul, Republic of Korea: The Cheonggyecheon Stream restoration removed a highway to restore a river and revive urban nature through public participation.

Ahmedabad, India: Its Slum Networking Programme gave tens of thousands access to water and sanitation through partnerships between residents and municipalities.

Surabaya, Indonesia: Residents trade recyclables for bus tickets — a grass-roots circular economy that promotes mobility and dignity.

Europe — Barcelona, Spain: The Superblocks reclaim streets for people, cut pollution, and foster neighborhood life.

Rotterdam, Netherlands: Communities co-create water plazas and floating homes that turn climate adaptation into public art.

North America — New York City, USA: The High Line converted an abandoned railway into a park through citizen activism and partnerships, spawning similar projects worldwide.

Medellín, Colombia: Through “social urbanism,” it proved that design and trust can heal a city.

South America — Curitiba, Brazil: Its Bus Rapid Transit system and participatory planning made mobility affordable and sustainable.

Santiago, Chile: The “Half-House” initiative invited families to co-build their homes, combining architecture and empowerment.

Oceania — Melbourne, Australia: The Urban Forest Strategy lets citizens “adopt” trees online, creating a bond between people and ecology.

Wellington, New Zealand: Community resilience hubs born from earthquake recovery now anchor local trust and preparedness.

From Kigali to Rotterdam, from Seoul to Santiago, the same lesson echoes: Local innovation is not born in wealth, but in will.

Collaboration — The Multilevel Imperative

Innovation thrives in collaboration.

Vertical collaboration — between local, national and global levels — aligns policy and resources.

Horizontal collaboration — among government, business, academia and communities — shares risk and reward.

True partnership is not cosmetic; it is trust in action.

The most powerful urban technology is not artificial intelligence — it is human co-operation.

Acknowledging the Barriers

Many local governments face high expectations but scarce resources. Regulations are rigid, finance is tight, political cycles short.

Digital tools can deepen divides if we ignore equity.

We need the courage to reform institutions — to share power, fund risk, and empower communities. The city of the future will be measured not by its skyline but by its compassion.

Five Pathways for the Next Decade

1. Resilience and Climate Adaptation — Integrate nature-based      solutions: trees that cool, wetlands that protect, parks that heal.

2. Inclusive Housing and Infrastructure — Community land trusts      and participatory design restore dignity; a home is a right.

3. Digital Empowerment — Use data for transparency and equity. Let      smart cities be just cities.

4. Circular and Green Economies — Local systems turn waste into      wealth — recycling co-ops, repair hubs, micro-energy grids.

5. Finance and Governance — City innovation funds and      participatory budgets blend public, private and community capital.

Together these form the architecture of a sustainable century.

From Vision to Pact — Local Action for Global Impact

This Forum’s deliberations link directly to the UN Pact for the Future, calling for networked and inclusive multilateralism.

For us that means connecting local innovation with global ambition. Cities are where the SDGs live or die.

Every mayor, every planner, every citizen is a front-line diplomat for sustainable development.

Let GFHS evolve into a Global Urban Innovation Partnership — linking good practice, data, and finance. The UN at eighty must listen not only to capitals but to communities — for there lies the future of multilateralism.

Closing — The Human Future

Allow me to end not with statistics but with a story.

In Bhuj, India, after the earthquake of 2001, women’s collectives rebuilt homes brick by brick. They learned masonry, budgeting, and design — but most of all, confidence.

One woman said, “We used to wait for help. Now we are the help.”

That is the essence of sustainable development — not charity but empowerment; not dependency but dignity.

So let us pledge that every innovation we champion and every partnership we forge will make people agents of their own future.

Let this Forum not end only with another declaration, but also with a promise — a promise to make our cities the laboratories of hope our world so desperately needs.