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Please click the links below for Special Announcements on the United Nations:

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe with the Support of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) To Develop International Real Estate Guidelines

As the global economic crisis unravels, awareness has been increasing among government authorities in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) for the need for enhanced transparency in the regulation of financial institutions. The UNECE with the Support of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) is working to develop international real estate guidelines which would govern the way real estate is transacted throughout the world. Experience has shown that an excess of liquidity is prone to create opportunities for speculative investment and increased price volatility in the stock markets, which eventually also impact the economy.

Speculative behaviour has important consequences in sectors such as real estate, which in most countries constitutes the primary destination for a household’s lifetime savings. Yet while analysts have widely acknowledged that unsustainable lending practices are at the root of our region’s economic problems, the role real estate markets have played is far from clear and institutional reforms to increase stability remain a point of contention.

A recent UNECE Forum was organized by the Real Estate Market Advisory Group in cooperation with FIABCI and Tecnoborsa (an Italian organization for real estate market development) in which a checklist of principles that could contribute to a better understanding of the variables affecting the stability of real estate markets and provide the basis for more sustainable institutions in the future was proposed. National authorities, experts from the private sector and academics actively participated in the forum, which provided recommendations to the sixth session of the UNECE Working Party on Land Administration (Geneva, 18–19 June 2009).

Participants concluded that whereas national experiences in the UNECE region differ in a variety of aspects, there is still room for consensus on a variety of issues. These include adequate standards to appraise property value and evaluate investment risk, increased transparency in access to information on real estate assets, and the need to adapt the guidelines specific to the current stage of economic development of individual countries. The Working Party discussed the principles and the forum’s findings and decided on further steps to address challenges related to real estate markets during the June session.

Global Leaders Hold Strategic Meeting at the United Nations to Discuss Real Estate and Financial Crisis

A groundbreaking seminar organized by the Secretariat and the Real Estate Market Advisory Group (REM) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, with the support of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) recently took place to encourage Governments, representatives of UN agencies and Regional Commissions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to discuss effects and impact of the recent global financial crisis on development. In addition to providing advice on the current crisis, the summit provided a framework for the development of policies and actions in the housing and land management sector at the regional and global levels. The event was opened by UN Deputy-Secretary General Ms. Asha-Rose Migiro, the first of several strategic meetings with these global leaders to outline policies and strategic actions directed towards creating a healthier real estate market, enhancing financial stability of the real estate sector and making the present market more environmentally sustainable and socially responsive by providing adequate housing throughout the world. Pictured,(l to r) Sheldon F. Good, Past World President, FIABCI/UN (NGO) Delegate; Giampiero Bambagioni, UNECE/REM Chair; Paolo Garonna, Officer-in-Charge UNECE; David Egiashvili, UNECE/REM member; Ken Brown, Wall St Journal Editor; Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant-Secretary-General, Department of Economic & Social Affairs, UN; Luis Fernando Correa-Bahamon, World President, FIABCI; Andreas Zehnder, managing Director, European Federation of Building Societie/ President of the Federation of Private Bausparkassen; Steve Williams, author, "Facing the Global Challenge"; Peter Creuzer, Chair of UNECE Working Party on Land Administration; Enrico Campagnoli, REM Vice Chair.

In a tradition dating back to 1985, the United Nations celebrates World Habitat Day on the first Monday in October each year to reflect on the state of human settlements and the basic right to adequate shelter for all. It is also intended to alert the world on its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.

For this year’s celebrations, the United Nations chose the theme Planning our urban future to raise awareness of the need to improve urban planning to deal with new major challenges of the 21st century. This is because urban settlements in all parts of the world are being influenced by new and powerful forces. In both developed and developing countries, cities and towns are increasingly feeling the effects of climate change, resource depletion, food insecurity, population growth and economic instability. These factors will significantly reshape towns and cities, physically and socially, in the century ahead. With over half of the world’s population currently living in urban areas, and this number set to rise to two-thirds in another generation, there is no doubt that the ‘urban agenda’ is becoming a global priority.

This is why planning our urban future needs to be given a fresh focus and highlighted on World Habitat Day 2009. After all, we know the problems, but we need to share the best solutions as efficiently and widely as possible by planning better and more sensitively for ourselves and our environment.

I am delighted to inform you that the Administration of President Obama will host the Global Observance of this year’s World Habitat Day in Washington, D.C. This reinforces UN-HABITAT’s long relationship with the United States. The long-standing commitment of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to affordable housing and sustainable urbanization is shown by the seminal role it played in Habitat II, in Istanbul, Turkey, in June 1996, the Istanbul+5 special review session of the general Assembly in 2001, and sessions of the World Urban Forum.

World Habitat Day celebrations in Washington, D.C. come at a time when the United States has increased financial support to the general programmes of UN-HABITAT and for housing and urban development projects in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan and Sri Lanka and for the Palestinian people. The celebrations in the United States also highlight significant cooperation with US corporations, private foundations, mayors, and non governmental organizations.

The Global Observance of World Habitat Day always includes the presentation of the Scroll of Honour awards. The most prestigious human settlements award in the world, its aim is to acknowledge outstanding contributions towards improving human settlements and sustainable urban development. Since its launch in 1989, more than 110 recipients have been honoured. We invite you to nominate a best practice for consideration for the Scroll of Honour award. Please find guidelines on our website at www.unhabitat.org/whd. The deadline for Scroll of Honour submissions is 15 August 2009. The World Habitat Awards by the UK-based Building and Social Housing Foundation will also be presented on this day.

I am pleased to report that last year, some 50 countries around the world held events commemorating World Habitat Day. I would like to thank you for this support and invite you again to celebrate World Habitat Day with us this year to raise awareness of the challenges that we need to address to improve human settlements worldwide. We hope you will find the attached guidelines on organizing country and city level activities useful. We kindly ask you to nominate a World Habitat Day representative with whom we can liaise to support your celebrations. A special e-mail address <whd@unhabitat.org> has been set up so that we can respond quickly to any queries.

We look forward to you celebrating this important event with us, either at the GlobalObservance in the United States or in your home country.



	1: Home 2: News 2.1: Announcements 2.2: Prix d'Excellence Awards 2.3: FIABCI Africa 2.4: FIABCI Americas 2.5: FIABCI Asia Pacific 2.6: FIABCI Europe 4: GHF 5: United Nations 6: University 7: Events 7.1: Save The Date 7.2: FIABCI World Congress (Bali) 2010 7.3: FIABCI Brussels Business Meeting 7.4: FIABCI World Congress (Cyprus) 2011 7.5: CityScape 7.6: MIPIM 8: In The News 9: Connect 10: Chapter Tools 11: Contact 14: Archive 14.1: March 2010 14.1.1: Welcome - March 2010 14.1.2: News 14.1.2.1: Announcements 14.1.2.2: FIABCI Africa 14.1.2.3: FIABCI Americas 14.1.2.4: FIABCI Europe 14.1.2.5: FIABCI Cares 14.1.2.6: Technology 14.1.2.7: Testimonials 14.1.3: Events 14.1.3.1: Save The Date 14.1.3.2: FIABCI World Congress (Bali) 2010 14.1.3.3: FIABCI Brussels Business Meeting 14.1.3.4: Cityscape 14.1.3.5: FNAIM 14.1.4: United Nations 14.2: November/December 2009 14.2.1: Welcome 14.2.2: News 14.2.2.1: Announcements 14.2.2.2: FIABCI Americas 14.2.2.3: FIABCI Europe 14.2.2.4: Young Members 14.2.2.5: Meet The Candidates 14.2.3: United Nations 14.2.4: Events 14.2.4.1: Save The Date 14.2.4.2: FIABCI World Congress (Bali) 2010 14.2.5: In The News 14.3: September/October 2009 14.3.1: Welcome 14.3.2: News 14.3.2.1: FIABCI Americas 14.3.2.2: FIABCI Asia Pacific 14.3.2.3: FIABCI Europe 14.3.2.4: Young Members 14.3.2.5: Trade Show Affiliations 14.3.3: United Nations 14.3.4: Events 14.3.4.1: Events 14.3.4.2: Save The Date 14.3.5: In The News 14.4: August 2009 14.4.1: Welcome 14.4.2: Announcements 14.4.3: FIABCI Africa 14.4.4: FIABCI Americas 14.4.5: FIABCI Asia Pacific 14.4.6: FIABCI Europe 14.4.7: Young Members 14.4.8: Highlighted Events 14.4.9: United Nations 14.5: July 2009 14.5.2: FIABCI Africa 14.5.3: FIABCI Americas 14.5.4: FIABCI Asia Pacific 14.5.5: FIABCI Europe 14.5.6: Events 14.6: December 2008 August 2010 >14.7: August 2010 14.8: June/July 2010 14.8.1: Welcome 14.8.2: Message From The World President 14.8.3: News 14.8.3.1: Announcements 14.8.3.2: Prix d’ Excellence Awards 14.8.3.3: FIABCI Africa 14.8.3.4: FIABCI Americas 14.8.3.5: FIABCI Asia Pacific 14.8.3.6: FIABCI Europe 14.8.3.7: FIABCI Cares 14.8.4: Events 14.8.4.1: Save The Date 14.8.5: GHF Announcements


		Please click the links below for Special Announcements on the United Nations: WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE UNITED NATIONS -- FIABCI LEADS THE WAY! LETTER FROM THE UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UN-HABITAT WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE UNITED NATIONS -- FIABCI LEADS THE WAY! *United Nations Economic Commission for Europe with the Support of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI)* *To Develop International Real Estate Guidelines* *Meeting outlines principles for sound real estate markets* As the global economic crisis unravels, awareness has been increasing among government authorities in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) for the need for enhanced transparency in the regulation of financial institutions. The UNECE with the Support of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) is working to develop international real estate guidelines which would govern the way real estate is transacted throughout the world. Experience has shown that an excess of liquidity is prone to create opportunities for speculative investment and increased price volatility in the stock markets, which eventually also impact the economy. Speculative behaviour has important consequences in sectors such as real estate, which in most countries constitutes the primary destination for a household’s lifetime savings. Yet while analysts have widely acknowledged that unsustainable lending practices are at the root of our region’s economic problems, the role real estate markets have played is far from clear and institutional reforms to increase stability remain a point of contention. A recent UNECE Forum was organized by the Real Estate Market Advisory Group in cooperation with FIABCI and Tecnoborsa (an Italian organization for real estate market development) in which a checklist of principles that could contribute to a better understanding of the variables affecting the stability of real estate markets and provide the basis for more sustainable institutions in the future was proposed. National authorities, experts from the private sector and academics actively participated in the forum, which provided recommendations to the sixth session of the UNECE Working Party on Land Administration (Geneva, 18–19 June 2009). Participants concluded that whereas national experiences in the UNECE region differ in a variety of aspects, there is still room for consensus on a variety of issues. These include adequate standards to appraise property value and evaluate investment risk, increased transparency in access to information on real estate assets, and the need to adapt the guidelines specific to the current stage of economic development of individual countries. The Working Party discussed the principles and the forum’s findings and decided on further steps to address challenges related to real estate markets during the June session. #### Global Leaders Hold Strategic Meeting at the United Nations to Discuss Real Estate and Financial Crisis Last December at the United Nations A groundbreaking seminar organized by the Secretariat and the Real Estate Market Advisory Group (REM) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, with the support of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) recently took place to encourage Governments, representatives of UN agencies and Regional Commissions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to discuss effects and impact of the recent global financial crisis on development. In addition to providing advice on the current crisis, the summit provided a framework for the development of policies and actions in the housing and land management sector at the regional and global levels. The event was opened by UN Deputy-Secretary General Ms. Asha-Rose Migiro, the first of several strategic meetings with these global leaders to outline policies and strategic actions directed towards creating a healthier real estate market, enhancing financial stability of the real estate sector and making the present market more environmentally sustainable and socially responsive by providing adequate housing throughout the world. Pictured,(l to r) Sheldon F. Good, Past World President, FIABCI/UN (NGO) Delegate; Giampiero Bambagioni, UNECE/REM Chair; Paolo Garonna, Officer-in-Charge UNECE; David Egiashvili, UNECE/REM member; Ken Brown, Wall St Journal Editor; Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant-Secretary-General, Department of Economic & Social Affairs, UN; Luis Fernando Correa-Bahamon, World President, FIABCI; Andreas Zehnder, managing Director, European Federation of Building Societie/ President of the Federation of Private Bausparkassen; Steve Williams, author, "Facing the Global Challenge"; Peter Creuzer, Chair of UNECE Working Party on Land Administration; Enrico Campagnoli, REM Vice Chair. To view the program online, please go to: www.ustream.tv/channel/isivi Nairobi, June 24, 2009 Dear Sir/Madam, In a tradition dating back to 1985, the United Nations celebrates World Habitat Day on the first Monday in October each year to reflect on the state of human settlements and the basic right to adequate shelter for all. It is also intended to alert the world on its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat. For this year’s celebrations, the United Nations chose the theme Planning our urban future to raise awareness of the need to improve urban planning to deal with new major challenges of the 21st century. This is because urban settlements in all parts of the world are being influenced by new and powerful forces. In both developed and developing countries, cities and towns are increasingly feeling the effects of climate change, resource depletion, food insecurity, population growth and economic instability. These factors will significantly reshape towns and cities, physically and socially, in the century ahead. With over half of the world’s population currently living in urban areas, and this number set to rise to two-thirds in another generation, there is no doubt that the ‘urban agenda’ is becoming a global priority. This is why planning our urban future needs to be given a fresh focus and highlighted on World Habitat Day 2009. After all, we know the problems, but we need to share the best solutions as efficiently and widely as possible by planning better and more sensitively for ourselves and our environment. I am delighted to inform you that the Administration of President Obama will host the Global Observance of this year’s World Habitat Day in Washington, D.C. This reinforces UN-HABITAT’s long relationship with the United States. The long-standing commitment of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to affordable housing and sustainable urbanization is shown by the seminal role it played in Habitat II, in Istanbul, Turkey, in June 1996, the Istanbul+5 special review session of the general Assembly in 2001, and sessions of the World Urban Forum. World Habitat Day celebrations in Washington, D.C. come at a time when the United States has increased financial support to the general programmes of UN-HABITAT and for housing and urban development projects in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan and Sri Lanka and for the Palestinian people. The celebrations in the United States also highlight significant cooperation with US corporations, private foundations, mayors, and non governmental organizations. The Global Observance of World Habitat Day always includes the presentation of the Scroll of Honour awards. The most prestigious human settlements award in the world, its aim is to acknowledge outstanding contributions towards improving human settlements and sustainable urban development. Since its launch in 1989, more than 110 recipients have been honoured. We invite you to nominate a best practice for consideration for the Scroll of Honour award. Please find guidelines on our website at www.unhabitat.org/whd. The deadline for Scroll of Honour submissions is 15 August 2009. The World Habitat Awards by the UK-based Building and Social Housing Foundation will also be presented on this day. I am pleased to report that last year, some 50 countries around the world held events commemorating World Habitat Day. I would like to thank you for this support and invite you again to celebrate World Habitat Day with us this year to raise awareness of the challenges that we need to address to improve human settlements worldwide. We hope you will find the attached guidelines on organizing country and city level activities useful. We kindly ask you to nominate a World Habitat Day representative with whom we can liaise to support your celebrations. A special e-mail address <whd@unhabitat.org> has been set up so that we can respond quickly to any queries. We look forward to you celebrating this important event with us, either at the GlobalObservance in the United States or in your home country. Yours sincerely, Anna Tibaijuka Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director Print this page


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