The Urban Shift Kigali City Academy is a three-day in-person workshop taking place in Kigali, Rwanda from May 17-19, 2022. Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and organised by C40 Cities and the World Resources Institute (WRI) in collaboration with the Government of Rwanda, City of Kigali, World Bank, and the UN Development Programme (UNDP),  

The Urban Shift City Academy brings together approximately 75 participants from around 20 cities in the region, in addition to key national government representatives from Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Morocco. These senior-level representatives will participate in one of two trainings offered in parallel at the workshop: Integrated Climate Action Planning (ICAP), delivered by C40; and Nature-Based Solutions (NbS), delivered by WRI and Cities4Forests. The trainings will combine expert and participant presentations, interactive exercises, sharing of best practices, and a site visit to Nyandungu Wetland Park to demonstrate the climate adaptation efforts being implemented in Kigali.  

The Urban Shift City Academy was officially inaugurated by Lord Mayor Pudence Rubingisa on May 17 at the Heaven Rwanda Hotel. The Mayor welcomed all participants to Kigali and reflected on the importance of raising urban climate ambition and the role of nature-based solutions in delivering climate-resilient urban infrastructure. 

“Kigali is hosting this workshop during a period where the World is facing extraordinary climate change issues. It is a wake-up call for us to adopt the Nature Based Solutions and the climate adaptation and resilient planning measures in urban and Infrastructure development projects”. Pudence RUBINGISA City of Kigali Mayor said 

“Though Green projects are considered as a solution to sustainable development, and they are the priority for the global world climate change issues, there are still gaps in their financing mechanism. It is therefore our responsibility to advocate and solicit funds for their implementation since they are climate resilient and able to solve the issue of climate change that is faced by the whole world”. He added

Distinguished speakers at the opening session included Juliet Kabera, Director General of the Rwanda Environmental Management Agency (REMA); Eddy Kyazze, Division Manager of the Rwanda Ministry of Infrastructure, Urbanization and Human Settlements (MININFRA); Gifti Nadi, C40 Deputy Regional Director for Africa; Diego Riano, C40 Urban Shift Head, and Mariana Orloff, WRI UrbanShift Senior Manager. 

Over the next three days, City Academy participants will hear from regional and local technical experts about urban climate risks, mitigation and adaptation strategies, and share their own experiences planning projects that address issues presented by the climate crisis and rapid urbanization. Key representatives from the City of Kigali, MININFRA, REMA, and the Rwanda Green Fund (FONERWA) will bring their perspectives to the discussion.  

The City Academy follows the launch of the Rwanda Urban Development Project (RUDP II) on May 4, a five-year project funded by the GEF under the Urban Shift programme that aims to improve access to basic services, enhance resilience, and strengthen integrated urban planning and management in the City of Kigali and six additional cities.  

Urban Shift is a global, GEF-funded initiative that was launched in September 2021 at the New York City Climate Week. It is led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), in partnership with the World Resources Institute (WRI), C40 Cities, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Urban Shift’s mission is to support integrated urban development in more than 23 cities across Asia, Africa and Latin America, collaborating with a range of stakeholders to reduce carbon emissions and conserve biodiversity while fostering sustainable, equitable urban growth. The programme is also developing a knowledge and learning platform that connects cities worldwide with the tools, training and advocacy they need to put integrated development strategies into action.  

Urban Shift would like to extend its gratitude to the City of Kigali and the Government of Rwanda for hosting the City Academy, the first of many in-person capacity-building activities planned in the region. For more information about the programme, please visit the website (www.shiftcities.org) and follow Urban Shift on Twitter (@shiftcities) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/shiftcities).