The World Urban Forum (WUF11) is just over two months away. From June 26 to 30, Katowice will become the world center for discussions on urban development. WUF will be organized in Central and Eastern Europe for the first time in its history.

The Deputy Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak talked about preparations for the event.

WUF11 in Katowice

The organization of the World Urban Forum could be a turning point to direct the attention of the Polish public to urban issues. The forum will also help raise awareness of how much our lives are affected by the urban space we inhabit on a daily basis,

said Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak.

As the Deputy Minister noted, the Forum in Katowice will be an excellent opportunity to promote the achievements of Śląsk and Poland. The organization of the event will have a positive impact on Poland's international image as a good cooperation partner.

Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak stressed that in parallel with preparations for the World Urban Forum, the process of updating the National Urban Policy (NUP) is underway. The document was prepared by the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy.

From the point of view of the ongoing work on the NUP, we assume that the WUF will also be an opportunity to confront the ideas and assumptions adopted for the document with the experience of other countries in Europe or the world,

the Deputy Minister added.

World Urban Forum - be with us in Katowice

The Deputy Minister M. Jarosińska-Jedynak visited at the EEC an exhibition promoting WUF11.

The basis of the exhibition is a variable and multidimensional structure referring to the popular Soma Cube puzzle. The cube may resemble a city that is never complete and is constantly adjusting to the needs of its residents, socio-economic conditions, climate or epidemic threats. The shifting, metamorphosis, complementation and interpenetration of elements are a reference to the idea of the exhibition - sustainable and equitable transformation of cities.

The modules form the four main elements of the exhibition, to which the main characteristics of a sustainable city belong, along with the assigned symbolic colors:

• green - the green city,
• red - the productive city,
• blue - the just city,
• yellow - the compact city.

Investments in real estate and local governments

The urban policy is implemented with the support of European Funds. During the "Investment in cities and local governments” panel Deputy Minister Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak spoke about when the EU funds for 2021-2027 will be released, what the priorities of the new financial perspective will be, and what the EU money will be invested in.

The process of programming cohesion policy funds for the new perspective is well under way. The draft Partnership Agreement, which determines what the money will be invested in, is in the final stages of negotiations with the European Commission,

the Deputy Minister said.

The Secretary of State added that the priorities of the new perspective are not significantly different from those we defined for 2014-2020.

We will continue to implement projects in areas such as innovation and entrepreneurship, low-carbon economy and environmental protection, transportation, social inclusion, labor market and education or health care,

Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak mentioned.

The Deputy Minister noted that a strong emphasis in the new perspective will be placed on sustainable and zero-emission technology activities. These areas are part of the European Green Deal and the activities of the Digital Agenda for Europe.

M. Jarosińska-Jedynak explained that, in addition, the Just Transformation Fund has emerged. This is a new instrument designed to mitigate the social and economic effects of changes carried out towards a low-carbon economy in areas that are particularly in need of such dedicated intervention.

Top Municipal Investments 2022

The gala in the competition for the most comprehensive municipal solutions was the final point of Deputy Minister Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak's participation in the European Economic Congress.

European funds and national resources effectively support the creation and implementation of local government investments,

the Deputy Minister said.

The competition is organized periodically by PortalSamorządowy.pl, which evaluates local government municipal investments.