Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy announces the world's biggest urban festival due to begin in Poland shortly

WARSAW, June 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The eleventh session of the World Urban Forum (WUF11) will begin on 26 June in Katowice (Poland) under the banner "Transforming our cities for a better urban future". For the five days of the Forum, the eyes of the world will be turned to Katowice where experts, politicians and representatives of local governments will be debating on urban development and the future of cities. Apart from debates, sessions and presentations, WUF11 will also feature numerous attractions, such as the Urban Expo, concerts, meetings with young people or urban cinema. Free registration at www.unevents.org/Home/Register is open until 25 June. Online participation in the event is also possible.

Core programme of WUF

The core programme of WUF11 is made up of many types of events, such as dialogues, special sessions, workshops and round tables. These events are organized by UN-Habitat, Poland, as well as external partners selected in an open call. Almost five hundred such events are scheduled to take place in the International Congress Centre, so there will be a lot to choose from!

"We received a record number of offers, almost a thousand, from interested parties willing to organize WUF events. No earlier WUF has noted such keen interest", says Deputy Minister for Development Funds and Regional Policy Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak. 

Chillout, concerts, urban cinema – holiday vibes at WUF11

During WUF11, learning and entertainment will go hand in hand. After each day of discussions and presentations at the ICC (participation in which is free but requires earlier registration, by 25 June 2022), WUF11 delegates will explore the city. The centre of Katowice will be divided into eleven zones:

• Metrolab,
• Youth City,
• Relax Zone,
• Science Zone,
• Innovation Zone,
• Central Zone,
• KATO Urban Corner,
• Culture and Arts Zone,
• City of Music Zone,
• City360,
• Urban Cinema by Santander.

As all those zones are situated less than a 15-minute walk away from the ICC, we recommend that you make the best of your time in Katowice and visit them all.

A spectacular attraction that is definitely going to draw both WUF delegates and Katowice residents will be Urban EXPO, a huge exhibition where countries, cities, companies and NGOs will present their promotional pavilions. Participants will be able to learn about and "experience" innovative ideas for cities from all over the world.