2021 October - HURBE Conference message

We, the participants in the 1st HURBE Conference held in the city of Sarajevo on 4-6 October 2021, acknowledge that:

Cities and towns are vitally important to all of us, they shelter all our lives and provide us with chances for individual and societal development.
The towns and cities in South-eastern Europe have evolved along long historic paths, which teach us lessons of striving for cultural interaction, respect for Nature and healthy living.
Today, cities belong to all people and the right to a healthy city is globally claimed to be among major human rights. It is also a shared responsibility of people and institutions to work in synergy following a clear vision of a healthy, socially fair and sustainable urban future.
Nowadays, creating a healthy urban environment requires complex knowledge and the joint efforts of numerous actors. We urgently need the expertise but also the culture and commitment for safeguarding the health and future of people and the environment.

We, therefore, encourage all the actors involved in the urbanization processes in to put their efforts in contributing to the process:

University students and teachers – to develop a culture of healthy urban planning as well as architectural, technological and structural design, to inspire holistic thinking, respect for cultural traditions and smart innovative approaches.
Higher Education institutions – to support the integration of health-related knowledge, skills, and attitude in all education programs; to promote regional and international collaboration and cooperation in health-sensitive education.
Expert communities – to develop interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches linking technical, social and natural sciences.
Public authorities – to explicitly prioritize health considerations in strategic and operational decision-making.
Business entities – to increase their sensitivity to health-related design and building solutions.
Citizens and civil society as a whole – to actively stand in defense of health considerations and health equity.

Sarajevo, October 6, 2021

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