The 56th ISOCARP World Planning Congress – in its first virtual edition – kicked off on 8-10 November 2020 with a rich line-up of events, including inspiring keynote presentations, panel discussions, publication launching, and the Awards for Excellence – Announcement and Presentation of Winning Projects, among others.
Together with our co-hosting organisations, UN-Habitat and Urban Economy Forum, we opened the Congress on 8 November in celebration of the World Town Planning Day. With over 250 registered delegates and planning experts from around the globe, the highlights of the opening plenary include the Opening Address of ISOCARP President, Martin Dubbeling, and the keynote presentation of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) President, Sue Manns, who delivered the Global Planners Network’s (GPN) World Town Planning Day Statement.
The second plenary of the Congress on 9 November was very much rich in content, starting off with thought-provoking presentations from Prof. Steffen Lehmann of the University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Architecture, who spoke about Post-Oil and Post-COVID-19 City: Urban Futures; Mayor Roheyatou Lowe of Banjul, Gambia, who called for a more gender-responsive urban planning and development approach; and Prof. Em. Bruce Stiftel of the Georgia Institute of Technology, who focused on the prospects of Global Climate Actions. Complementing the discussions were some highlights of ISOCARP activities, such as the announcement of Award for Excellence winners as well as the launching of ISOCARP’s flagship publication – the World Planning Review, Volume 16: Post-Oil Urbanism.
The opening events of the Congress also paved the way for the first round of parallel sessions exploring research and case study presentations under the thematic tracks of the overall theme “Post-Oil City: Planning for Urban Green Deals”. With excellent presentations from our speakers and engaging discussions among our delegates, the opening events definitely went off to a great start.
Considering the uncertainties during these strange times, we are pleased to have brought together relevant speakers and a lot of delegates and planners from all over the world.
We will continue with the second stage of our Virtual Congress on 9-11 December 2020 for the next round of parallel sessions. Something to watch out for are the interesting and well-thought out Special Sessions and Keynote Presentations:
9 December 2020 | 12:45-13:15 CET
- Keynote by Camilla Ween: Why We Need to Change (Almost Everything): Towards Social and environmental Equity
9 December 2020 | 13:30-15:00 CET
- Urban Regeneration Forum
- ISOCARP Institute Session
- Special Session on COVID-19 (16:00-17:30 CET)
10 December 2020 | 12:45-13:15 CET
- Keynote by Lučka Kajfež Bogataj: Effective, well resourced, spacial planning as a response to the climate change?
10 December 2020 | 13:30-15:00 CET
- Urban Policy Forum
- Special Session on Sustainable Urban Mobility and New Transport Revolution for a Better Urban Environment
- Award Session: Gerd Albers Award and Student Award Presentations
As in the opening events, Congress participants will again have the opportunity to ‘meet’, chat, and professionally network with other delegates via our Virtual Meeting Place: Gather.Town. This time a full networking day with a publication launching is planned for 11 December.
Registration will remain open throughout the Virtual Congress, which will run from 8 November 2020 to 4 February 2021. For more information on registration and the programme, please visit the Congress website: doha2020.isocarp.org.
See you again in December!
