The tenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF10) will take place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from 8-13 February 2020. The Forum is a high level, open and inclusive platform for addressing the challenges of sustainable urbanization, and is convened the UN Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, which is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. It was established in 2001 to address rapid urbanization and its impact on communities, cities, economies, climate change and policies.

The Forum, during its meetings, aims to:

• raise awareness of sustainable urbanization among stakeholders and constituencies, including the general public;
• improve collective knowledge on sustainable urban development through open and inclusive debate, exchange of best practices and policies, and sharing of lessons learnt; and to
• promote collaboration and cooperation between different stakeholders and constituencies engaged in the advancement and implementation of sustainable urbanization.

During WUF10, six dialogue sessions will unpack the theme of “Cities of Opportunities: Connecting Culture and Innovation.” The dialogues are high-profile events to discuss policy recommendations with a focus on policy actions and innovative means for the effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

• The first dialogue session will explore how urbanization affects and is affected by culture and innovation and will solicit regional-specific perspectives from different parts of the world.
• The second dialogue session will examine the role of culture and innovation in implementing the New Urban Agenda and achieving urban targets included in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• The third session will explore the ability of cities to manage the conflicts between tradition and modernity and to maximize their convergence to bring about sustainable economic, social and environmental outcomes.
• The fourth session will consider perspectives from different regions of how frontier technologies transform urban areas and how these can respond to urban challenges.
• The fifth session will examine the role that urban policies can play to preserve cultural heritage, including how urban planning can leverage cultural heritage to revitalize urban areas.
• The sixth session will explore the nature and role of global partnerships, networks, capacity building and new technologies that support culture and innovation in cities.

WUF10 will build on the outcomes of WUF9 that was held in Kuala Lumpur in 2018, the first Forum to convene since the adoption of the New Urban Agenda (NUA) at the Habitat III conference in Quito, Ecuador, in 2016. WUF9 accordingly focused on arrangements and actions for NUA implementation, and in its outcome document, the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Cities 2030, highlighted the NUA as a way of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, calling for aligning NUA monitoring and reporting with the follow-up and review process for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 11 on sustainable cities.