Tirana- The United Nations General Assembly has designated the 31st of October as World Cities Day.

The general theme of World Cities Day is “Better City, Better Life”, while each year a different sub-theme is selected, to either promote successes of urbanization, or address specific challenges resulting from urbanization. World Cities Day was celebrated for the first time in Shanghai, China on October 31, 2014,with general theme: "Leading Urban Transformations". This year, the United Nations has selected the theme “Changing the world: innovations and better life for future generations” to discuss how urbanization can be used to achieve sustainable development. Cities have always been drivers and incubators of innovation, industry, technology, entrepreneurship, and creativity; creating prosperity, enhancing social development and providing employment.

The main goals of World Cities Day 2019 are to:

  • Increase awareness of how digital innovations can be used for urban service delivery to enhance the quality of life and improve the urban environment.
  • Show new frontier technologies that can create more inclusive cities.
  • Present opportunities for renewable energy generation in cities.
  • Të eksplorohet sesi teknologjitë kufitare mund të promovojnë përfshirjen sociale, në qytete.

The main event for this year will be hosted by the City of Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation and is jointly organised by UN-Habitat, the Shanghai People’s Government and the City of Ekaterinburg. World Cities Day promotes the international community’s interest in global urbanization, enhances cooperation among countries in meeting opportunities, addresses challenges of urbanization in cities and contributes to sustainable urban development worldwide and contributes to sustainable urban development worldwide. ” Source United Nations Burimi: United Nations