In celebration of International Women’s Day 2021 #ChooseToChallenge, Cyber Agora 4 convened ten women planners from across the global north and south to share their experience as women leaders in Planning and Placemaking. A recent RTPI study highlights evidence that a glass ceiling still exists despite progress that has been made, and reminds us: “Lack of gender diversity affects not only the way we design and plan, but also who we design and plan for.” The pandemic crisis has further exposed this gender inequality, and many women are facing serious setbacks as part of increased social inequality overall. Participants were invited to an open Cyber Agora discussion with the panel of Speakers to dive further into the state and future of the planning profession, the importance of women in leadership, global differences, and gender related barriers and pathways.
Speakers
Hope Magidimisha-Chipungu (South Africa)
SARChI Chair for Inclusive Cities and Academic Leader for Planning and Housing, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Professor Hangwelani Hope Magidimisha is a SARChI Chair for Inclusive Cities and Head of the Planning and Housing discipline at the University of Kwazulu-Natal. In 2020-2021 she played a significant role as co-general Rapporteur for ISOCARP congress. She is also a chief editor for journal of Inclusive Cities and Built Environment, and has served on a number of boards both locally and internationally, and has published over 70 journal articles and book chapters. She is currently completing her edited book on Inclusive cities in southern Africa.
Nadine Bitar (United Arab Emirates)
Place Thinker and Advisor Place-led 4.0©
Nadine Bitar is a global thought leader advocating Place-led 4.0© and founder of Place-led 2030®. She advises governments, institutions and corporations on innovative policies, programs and strategies centered on place approach for a more sustainable urban future. Over the past 21 years, she consulted on planning in major cities in the MENA region, as well 40 large scale districts and urban extensions in the Middle East, Africa, and South-East Asia. She is a keynote speaker in global and regional forums held by international and regional organizations such as the Arab League, World Bank, UN-Habitat and the Gulf Cooperation Council. She has trained in Innovation at INSEAD San Francisco – Hub for Business Innovation, and studied smart cities at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, urban design at the American University of Beirut, and public policy for sustainable development at the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government,Dubai.
Dr. Madina Junussova (Kazakhstan)
Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Policy Administration, University of Central Asia
Dr. Madina Junussova is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Policy and Administration of the University of Central Asia (UCA), and a CERGE-EI Foundation Teaching Fellow. Madina Junussova holds a PhD in Public Policy from Carleton University, Canada, and a Master Degree from the Kazakh Leading Academy of Architecture and Civil Engineering in architecture and urban design. She has more than 10 years of experience in the planning and management of urban and regional development. In 2017 she was part of the team that developed the OECD report on Kazakhstan’s Urban Policy Review. She worked as a policy analyst and planning expert for the local and national government of Kazakhstan and international organizations operating in Central Asia. In 2018 she served as an expert of the External Reference Group of the Children Rights and Urban Planning Initiative of UNICEF, and she developed and taught Policy courses at UCA. Her recent book, Cities and Local Governments in Central Asia: Administrative, Fiscal, and Political Battles, was published by Routledge in 2020.
Pamela Carbajal (Mexico)
Urban Health and Regional Planner Consultant UN-Habitat
Pamela Carbajal holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Technology of Monterrey, Mexico, and since 2018 has been working at UN-Habitat on integrating health in Urban and Territorial Planning (UTP), coordinating the program, delivering technical advisory to practitioners, local and national government, and working with key global partners. She has supported national and subnational urban policy development in Bolivia, Argentina, and Mexico; has advanced UTP processes through capacity building internationally; and at the city level, worked with the Global Public Space Programme at UN-Habitat and partners on citywide public space strategies for cities in Latin America. She has focused in particular on building healthy environments, and has collaborated with the World Health Organization on developing a Sourcebook on Integrating health in UTP and a Compendium of Inspiring Practices. Previously, she worked at the Public Space Authority of Mexico City where she was part of the design team assessing and designing public spaces; and at the Municipal Institute of Planning in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Juaneé Cilliers (Australia)
Head of School of Built Environment at the University of Technology Sydney
Juaneé Cilliers is a lifelong member of ISOCARP. She is the Head of School of Built Environment at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia; and previously served as Professor and Head of Urban and Regional Planning at the North-West University (NWU) and Leader of the Research Program for Sustainable Planning, Development and Implementation within the Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management (UESM). She holds a 4-year professional degree and Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning (both cum laude), a second Master’s degree in Economics, as well as a Doctoral Degree in Urban and Regional Planning. She is registered as a Professional Planner at the South African Council for Planners (SACPLAN) and a NRF-rated researcher, and is an editorial associate of the accredited Journal for Town and Regional Planning. In 2019 she was the recipient of the South African Teaching Award, was a finalist of both the NSTF South32-awards of the National Science and Technology Forum and the Woman in Science Awards (SAWISA), awarded by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology. She hosted a weekly environmental talk on national radio in South Africa since 2017, and launched the ISOCARP Cyber Agora as it’s first Curator!
Shaakira Chohan (South Africa)
Architecture and Urban Development Specialist
Shaakira is an architecture and urban development specialist who has achieved catalytic success in integrated, transformative development using a human-centered approach. For her, healthy, thriving cities represent opportunities to nurture healthy, thriving citizens, and her ambition is to enable this value-creation with social and environmental impact as guiding forces. She is passionate about People, Places and Social Impact, and works at the intersection of human, and urban development to transform cities to places of inclusive prosperity for all. She holds an MSc in Urban Management and Development from Erasmus University in the Netherlands, as well as a Masters in Architecture and Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Cape Town, and a Bachelor of Architectural Studies from University of Witwatersrand. Shaakira has been recognised for her leadership within her field, as one of Mail and Guardians Top 200 Young South Africans, is a Mandela Washington Fellow as part of the Young African Leaders Initiative and TEDx speaker, and a previous finalist for the Pioneer in Innovation for Women in Construction Award and Standard Bank Rising Star Award.
Marianne Lefever (Netherlands)
Healthy City Design Expert, Posad Maxwan Spatial Strategies
Marianne Lefever holds a Master’s Degree in Architecture from Sint-Lucas Brussels and has almost 15 years of experience in climate mitigation and sustainable city design in Europe and North America. After an exciting career as a structural engineer, renewable energy consultant, innovation consultant, and futurist, she returned to her first love of sustainable city design. As a healthy city expert for Posad Spatial Strategies, she is currently transforming cities around the globe into healthy environments and communities. Marianne is also a thought-provoking public speaker, and has spoken at TEDx conferences in Los Angeles and the Toronto area.
Helen Fadipe (United Kingdom)
Director at FPP Associates, Founder of BAME Planners Network
Helen Fadipe, BA(Hons), DipTP, MA(Merit), MRTPI. Director FPP Associates Ltd. Helen is an accomplished Chartered Town Planner and Management Consultant with significant experience in strategic planning, urban regeneration, development management, project evaluation and service improvements. She has working at different capacities both within the public and private sectors both in the UK and abroad. Helen is a Member of the RTPI General Assembly; Membership and Ethics Committee; member RTPI International Strategy Working Group; Judge in the RTPI Awards for Planning Excellence. Helen champion’s diversity and inclusion in planning. She is the founder of BAME Planners Network, an Advisory Board Member for Women in Planning. She is actively involved in mentoring and coaching young planners.
Huda Shaka (Saudi Arabia)
Associate Advisor, Planning and Real Estate, Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites
Huda Shaka is a multidisciplinary urban planning and sustainability professional and thought-leader, specializing in sustainable development in Arab cities, and is Associate Advisor of Planning and Real Estate at the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites. She began her career in the built environment advising on environmental and sustainability strategies with Dubai Holding, and then joined the global consultancy, Arup, where she spent 12 years working on private and government projects throughout the Gulf Cooperation Council, focusing on ambitious sustainability visions and major infrastructure projects. She holds Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Public Health from the American University of Beirut, a Masters of Science in Chemistry from the University of California, Irvine, and a Masters of Science in International Planning from The Bartlett, University College London. She is a Chartered Town Planner (MRTPI) and a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) in the United Kingdom.
Dr. Geeta Mehta (United States)
Columbia University, and Co-founder of Asia Initiatives and URBZ
Dr. Geeta Mehta is an adjunct professor of architecture and urban design at Columbia University. She has worked on urban design projects in twelve countries in Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Africa. Geeta was recognized as one of the 21 Leaders of the 21st Century by Women’s eNews in 2015. She is the founder and president of Asia Initiatives (www.asiainitiatives.org), a non-profit organization with a mission to help under-served communities through design and through operationalizing their social capital. She is the innovator of Social Capital Credits (SoCCs), a virtual currency for social good that is being used in India, Ghana, Kenya and USA to incentivize participation in community improvement projects. The awards Asia Initiatives received this year include the MIT SOLVER award, Fast Magazine’s World Changing Idea Award, Vodafone Innovation Prize, the General Motors Prize, and the Experian Prize. Geeta serves on the New York City Mayor’s Waterfront Advisory Board, and on the Boards of the Center for the Living City, Women Strong International, and Friends of University of Tokyo. She served as the president of the American Institute of Architects’ Japan Chapter while she lived in Tokyo. She is also the co-author of six books.