Strategic Meeting Between Laval University and UN-Habitat: Towards Collaborations for Sustainable Cities
On February 20, 2025, as part of an initiative to strengthen international ties in sustainable development, Bertrand Laratte (Associate Professor at the Faculty of Forestry, Geography, and Geomatics and member of the Renewable Materials Research Center), André Potvin (Full Professor at the Faculty of Planning, Architecture, Art, and Design), and Nsimba Kinuani (Coordinator for Administration and Professional Activities at the NSERC Industrial Research Chair on Eco-responsible Wood Construction (CIRCERB)), along with Marie-Claude Gallant, Head of the International Office at Laval University, and Stéphanie Yared, Representative of the Ministry of International Relations and La Francophonie of Québec, had the honor of welcoming a delegation from UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) at the Pavillon Gene-H.-Kruger.
The delegation, consisting of Mr. André Dzikus, Director of the New York office, and Ms. Fee Stehle, Program Officer at the Montreal office, was led by Ms. Stéphanie Yared. The meeting served as a pivotal moment in the exchanges between Université Laval and UN-Habitat, aimed at promoting sustainable, inclusive, and resilient cities and communities on a global scale.
Mandated by the United Nations General Assembly, UN-Habitat plays a crucial role in building sustainable, inclusive, and resilient cities. The organization actively works to create urban spaces that enhance quality of life while adhering to the principles of sustainable development across social, economic, and environmental dimensions. Its work engages a broad range of stakeholders worldwide, focusing not only on large metropolitan areas but also on subnational regions, paving the way for collaborations with universities and municipalities to develop large-scale projects that directly impact local sustainability.
The purpose of this meeting was to explore and exchange ideas on ongoing research projects at Laval University, particularly those related to the built environment. The researchers and experts present were thus able to present innovative projects in the fields of sustainable construction, urban natural resource management, and technologies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
This event could mark the beginning of promising collaborations between Laval University and UN-Habitat, paving the way for joint projects to develop sustainable solutions to the global challenges of urbanization and the management of the built environment.
By: Besma Bouslimi
Photo credit: Nsimba Kinuani et Marie-Claude Gallant