700 delegates set to attend 3rd Asia-Pacific Housing Forum in Bangkok
September 5th, 2011
Forum Addresses Urgent Issue of Substandard Housing
Delegates at the last Asia-Pacific Housing Forum, held in Manila, Philippines in 2009.
BANGKOK, 5th September 2011: More than 700 delegates will meet for the 3rd Asia-Pacific Housing Forum organized by Habitat for Humanity and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Rick Hathaway, Habitat for Humanity International vice president, Asia-Pacific, said: “The aim of the Asia-Pacific Housing Forum is to bring together key players to address the urgent and widespread problem of substandard housing. With the threat of climate change, population growth and increased disaster risk looming ever larger, practical solutions to build and protect sustainable homes are needed, and needed urgently.”
More than 35 countries are represented amongst the 700 delegates set to attend the Forum, drawn from governments, international and local NGOs, private sector, academia, civil society organizations, and local communities. The theme is ‘Sustainable shelter in an age of climate change and disasters’.
Leading the opening ceremony will be a keynote speech from Philippines’ Vice President Jojomar Binay. Housing Ministers from Indonesia and Fiji will also be present, contributing as part of the ‘Thought Leaders Panel’ in the first plenary session. The three-day forum wraps up on Friday (9 Sept) with an address by Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity.
The Asia-Pacific Housing Forum and Exhibition is a bi-annual conference on affordable housing for key shelter players in public and private sectors. It addresses the urgent and widespread problem of substandard housing in the context of building sustainable homes and resilient communities in a changing global climate. The 3rd Asia-Pacific Housing Forum agenda includes the need for workable long-term shelter responses to the impact of disasters brought on by climate change.
The 3rd Asia-Pacific Housing Forum includes an exhibition, showcasing financial and technical services and products that address shelter needs of marginalized and vulnerable low-income families. The exhibition will also display materials and shelter development services by suppliers of ‘grassroots’ green technologies and housing.
Notes to editors
Media interested in attending the Asia-Pacific Housing Forum, setting up interviews with speakers/sponsors, or receiving photography are asked to contact [email protected] / 65 9068 1892 or 66 879 710 174.
About Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity is a global non-government organization that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built, rehabilitated, repaired or improved more than 500,000 houses (October 2011) worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 2.5 million people.
3rd Asia-Pacific Housing Forum (APHF) sponsors
Government Housing Bank (Thailand) is supporting the housing forum as a Gold Sponsor, with Citi and Aditya Birla Group as Silver Sponsors. Other sponsors include SCG, The Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel, True Visions, Siam City Cement, Amway (Thailand), Ananda Development, BlueScope Lysaght (Thailand), INTL Global Currencies, Raimon Land, JW Marriot Bangkok, Thai Airways and DHL.