The new event series "Insight Sessions: Post-COVID Urban Futures" is part of this year's Connective Cities Corona programme and facilitates a regular, open exchange on relevant topics of the post-COVID-19 era for municipal practitioners and relevant experts worldwide. Different topics of sustainable urban development during and after the COVID-19 pandemic will be discussed and innovative approaches in this regard will be shared in brief and concise virtual exchange formats. The aim of these events is to provide impulses that encourage participants to reflect on their progress so far and think about innovative solutions. The open discussion rounds will take place on Wednesdays once every three weeks.

We are pleased to invite you to the opening event and first discussion of the Insight Sessions series focusing on the topic "COVID-19 Recovery & SDG 11" on Wednesday, 28 July 2021, from 10:00 to 11:45 a.m. CEST. 

The opening event will start with a brief introduction to this year's Connective Cities Corona programme. Subsequently, a panel discussion will explore the challenges and opportunities of the COVID-19 crisis for achieving SDG 11 towards making cities more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. During this panel discussion, municipal practitioners and experts from different urban sectors and world regions will share their diverse perspectives and insights on this topic. The panelists (tbc) are:

• Faola Hodaj, Director of Innovation, Municipality of Tirana, Albania
• Karim Elgendy, Sustainable City Strategist, London UK / MENA - Recipient of the 2013 Global Green Building Entrepreneurship Award by the World Green Building Council
• Aditya Kumar, Executive Director, NGO Development Action Group, Cape Town, South Africa
• Hilmar von Lojewski, Councillor for Urban Planning, Building, Housing and Traffic, Association of German Cities / Cologne, Germany

The agenda of the opening event can be found here. The preliminary schedule of the series of Insight Sessions will be shared soon. The event will take place virtually in the Connective Cities Community: 

Insight Session: COVID-19 Recovery and SDG 11 | Connective Cities Network (connective-cities.net)

Date: Wednesday, the 28th of July 2021

Time: 10:00 - 11:45 a.m. CEST

Event language: English. Translation available in: Russian, French, Arabic. 

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If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Contact: paulina.koschmieder(at)giz.de