Press release -
2,500 CityChangers gather in Oslo - Creating greener, healthier and happier cities for all people now and for future generations.
Creating greener, healthier and happier cities for all people now and for future generations.
Oslo, Norway | May 22, 2019 Change is in the air. In cities from Oulu (Finland) in the North to Kampala (Uganda) in the South, from Toronto (Canada), to Oslo (Norway). All over the planet passionate people are fighting for a sustainable future.
Europe’s largest event for and about sustainable cities – the URBAN FUTURE Global Conference (UFGC) - is currently gathering more than 2,500 CityChangers in Oslo, the European Green Capital 2019. The event is coorganized by FutureBuilt, an innovative project that supports climate-friendly urban development in the Oslo region.
Innovative and forward-thinking people are putting their heart and energy into projects to make our cities better places to live in - for us and for future generations. Let’s listen to them, share their ideas and start acting, says Gerald Babel-Sutter, Founder and CEO of the UFGC.
Hanna E. Marcussen is Vice Mayor for Urban Development in Oslo and Co-host of UFGC19.
Cities account for more than 75 % of all climate gas emissions. That’s why it really matters how we develop our cities! A greener city is a better city. For everyone. In Oslo we have ambitious goals – we don’t just want to be a great place to live and grow up, we want to be one of the best cities for the world. Now I am really looking forward to learning more from other cities and others cities can learn something from us.
Young voices being heard.
This year for the first time in UFGCs history, in cooperation with EUROCITIES, the conference has integrated a special track for a group of 50 pre-selected Young Leaders with the aim of fostering the dialogue between high level urban leaders and the future generation.
“We felt that this connection was still missing, so we created these unique opportunities – like having an intimate fireside chat with the former mayor of Santiago de Chile or the architect of the Oslo Opera house. That’s an awesome setting for both – and we’re curious to where it will lead.” says Gerald Babel-Sutter.
Matt Stewart is one of these Young Leaders. As Co-Founder at Yarra Pools, Melbourne (Australia), he has led the conversation around bringing Melbourne’s river back to health and making it swimmable. He has engaged over 100 local organisations and thousands of Melbournians and they are optimistic to being able to make the river swimmable in the near future. Now he lives in Berlin and is engaged in a wide range of creative urban projects. Why Matt is joining the URBAN FUTURE global conference?
One can never know enough awesome people, especially those on the cutting edge of city innovation.
Shaking up the city.
The events during URBAN FUTURE global conference are not happening behind closed doors. On the contrary. In more than 40 Field Trips and 20 side events attendees are exploring what made Oslo win the prestigious Green Capital Award. They will be swimming in the Oslo Fjord, heating up in the floating saunas made from recycled materials, rowing their boat to experience the architectural changes at the harbour, visiting the construction sites of soon to be opened iconic landmarks like the Munch Museum or the new Oslo Public Library, discovering the biking infrastructure, and hiking on the mountains close by.
The Future Viewpoint.
But it is not only the young leaders who have great visions and ideas. Three weeks ahead of the UFGC gathering, the organizers have revealed the Future Viewpoint at Ekebergparken. This VR installation has been created by design students from Westerdahls and is based only on the visions of fifth graders (kids in the age of 10) from Oslo. Asked about their ideal future city, they demanded more trees, clean air, less cars, green façades, delivery drones instead of trucks, vegetable fields and sport yards on rooftops but above all they wished for healthy and happy citizens!
Contact
Lisa Gatterbauer | UFGC Communications | media@urban-future.org
Anette Jamtvedt | Nucleus, UFGC Press Agency Norway | aj@nucleus.no
Topics
About the URBAN FUTURE Global Conference (UFGC)
The UFGC is the world’s largest meeting place for CityChangers, people who strive to make their cities more sustainable with lots of passion and commitment. They implement concrete projects, thus improving life in the respective city. The UFGC brings our brightest minds together, regarding itself as a neutral platform without any political agenda. The conference was founded in 2014 and is taking place in a different European city every year from 2018 onwards. Since 2014, visitor numbers have tripled. The conference is one of the main events in Oslo’s European environmental capital programme and at the same time marks FutureBuilt’s 10th anniversary. This year the conference teamed up with more than 100 partners including the Covenant of Mayors, C40, EUROCITIES, Airbus, Daimler, EY or Sweco.
About Urban Future:
At Urban Future you meet people who drive change to make our cities more sustainable. Be it mayors, architects, mobility experts, city planners, scientists, sustainability managers, representatives from start ups, environmentalists, innovation experts or others. What unites them is their passion for better cities.
