Programme for FIG-UN Habitat seminar June 16-17 during the FIG Working week in Stockholm 2008:

The prevention of slums, which represent an all too big part of housing globally, is an important part of reaching the Millennium Development Goals. Having no security of tenure and no access to functioning financial mechanisms, one billion people are kept from achieving an acceptable housing standard. Surveyors play a key role in establishing rights, and in linking functioning markets for housing and finance.

During two days of the 2008 Working Week special attention will be paid to this in a series of sessions, jointly organised between FIG and UN Habitat, in which the possibilities of the surveying world and the financial sector in changing this will be the main focus. What can enable the Global financial flows for Adequate and Affordable Housing?

Theme and Topics:
• Coordinating the Development
• What are the pro-poor tools that can be used in formalising informal rights?
• Where have they been tested and what experience can be tapped?
• Which innovative financial solutions can be used in liberating capital for housing improvements?
• What do they require in the form of land administration systems?

Answers will be sought through a well-prepared Dialogue built on strengthening and linking existing initiatives. The aim is to bring new actors that are part of the solution on board and explore the potential for relevant exchange of experience between professionals, other actors, countries and regions. Creating broader awareness on the slums issue is essential. So far, there is quite a limited group of experts involved. New perspectives and a broader discussion could add to drivers for further development. Exchange of experiences between regions is a resource that still can be more tapped. The scope should be broadened from “just” a donor-poor peoples concern into an issue concerning the global markets.

The outcome from this event will then constitute the joint FIG and UN-Habitat contribution to the World Urban Form IV in Nanjing, November 2008. 

Please find more information, Invitation and how to register at: www.fig.net/fig2008/

Time and Venue: June 16-17 2008 at the Stockholm City Conference Centre, a historical grammar school "Norra Latin".

Monday June 16 Setting the Scene
Today’s theme: Land Use Management and Property Rights - Implications for Access to Finance.

9.00-10.30 Opening ceremony FIG Working Week
Opening Key Note Speech by  Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka, UN Habitat, Nairobi Kenya

11.00-12.30 Plenary session FIG Working Week
Theme: Sustainable Urban Development and the Millennium Development Goals
Chair: Paul van der Molen, Vice President of FIG,The Netherlands
Rapporteur: Dalal Alnaggar, Vice President of FIG, Egypt

Keynote Speakers:
1.    Andreas Carlgren, Minister of Environment, Sweden, covers the theme “The role and importance of Property and Land Administration Institutions in Society”
2.     “Property Rights and Legal Empowerment”, a theme presenting the work of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor.
3.    Stig Enemark, President of FIG, covers the theme “Partnership between FIG and the UN-Agencies in support of the Millennium Goals”
 

12.30-14.00  Lunch  

14.00-15.30 Technical session FIG-UN Habitat: The Aula
Presentations on Land administration and property rights – How to achieve the basic and fundamental structure?
1. On Informal Land Markets: “Regularization of Land Tenure and Urban Upgrading Programs. Examination through Analysis of Latin American and other international Cases.”
2. UN-ECE/WPLA . Analytic conclusions re Countries in transition:  “Spatial Information Management toward Legalizing Informal Urban Development”
3. “Development of Land administration and links to the financial markets.” Presentation from an African country.
4. “Land Information Systems in Sub Saharan Africa” Lessons learned through comparative analysis.

Coffee break

16.00-17.30 Technical session FIG-UN Habitat:” Land Use Management and Property Rights. Outlining the roadmap.”
Dialogue held in smaller groups, addressing the exchange of experiences on specific themes.
Geographical focus: 
- Southern and eastern Africa.
- South Asia
- South East Asia
- Central and eastern Europe and central Asia.

Tuesday June 17
Today’s theme: Just and Sustainable Shelter Finance Systems

9.00-10.30   Plenary session FIG Working Week
Theme: Land Administration and Finance Systems
Chair: Lars Magnusson, Director General ,National Housing Credit Guarantee Board, Sweden
Rapporteur: Ann Jennervik, ee&sd

Keynote speakers:
1.    Inga Björk Klevby, Deputy Executive Director of UN-Habitat, covers the theme “Expanding the outreach of Housing finance for the Urban Poor – a matter of ccoperation.”
2.    Renu Kanard, President of IUHF, covers the theme “Channelling the Global financial flows for Adequate and Affordable housing”
3.    Klaus Deiniger, Lead Economist DCERG, The World Bank ”Useful experiences from World Bank Projects on Land Administration”

11.00-12.30   Technical session FIG-UN Habitat: Presentations on “Putting Innovative Systems for Functioning Finance into Practice” The Aula
1.    Reporting on outcomes from yesterdays Regional Dialogues on Land Use management and Property Rights. The 4 Dialogue Chairs from yesterday.
2.    “Mixing financial sources for Slum upgrading/prevention with the Municipality as Lead”. City of Ahmedabad, India
3.    Major International Bank: “Globalization of Finance” – What happens when Global meets local? Trends and implications for the housing markets, - catering for the total need?
4.    Innovative financier: “Boosting microfinance by funding through the international capital markets”.

12.30-14.00 Lunch

14.00-15.30 Technical session FIG-UN Habitat: Choose between Dialogues in smaller groups on the four following themes: (Rooms for 20-30 p.)

• Land management practices and tools and their links to efficient finance.

• Revisiting Planning. Cutting the costs, involving the rights of the poor and enabling adequate finance. 

• Linking the Financial sources. Public versus private sector.
  

• Efficient subsidies. Expanding the outreach of housing finance for the urban poor.

15.00 – 17.00 Concluding Technical session FIG-UN Habitat: Wrap-up and How to proceed! Panellists and open forum.  The Aula
Chairs: Michael Mutter, SUF/UN Habitat and Paul van der Molen, FIG
-    Sharing the outcomes of the dialogues. 4x 20 min.
-    Open access to transparent, reliable and relevant information for various target groups, based on in-depth knowledge.
-    Operative conclusions around the nexus: Public-Private and the other nexus: Innovative “tools”- Institutional capacity.
-    Awareness: Slums represent a market.