The CITIES Forum provides one of this year’s most distinguished events on urban policy, hosted by the City of Rotterdam and organised by the European Commission. Taking place at various locations throughout the city of Rotterdam, with the former cruise ship SS Rotterdam at its heart, the event truly embraced the city and presented it to the conference visitors.
Day 1 saw the Partnerships’ workshops and a high-profile opening programme, featuring keynote speeches of Ahmed Aboutaleb (Mayor of Rotterdam), Corina Cretu (Commissioner for Regional Policy), Joan Clos (Executive Director of UN-Habitat), and Kajsa Ollongren (Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands). All of them emphasised cities’ enhanced societal and political role as well as fundamental contribution towards sustainable development.
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