Research Report. Model United Nations Alfrink Global Mayors Forum Creating Inclusive Cities. Introduction. Definition of Key Terms

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1 Forum: Issue: Student Officer: Global Mayors Forum Creating Inclusive Cities Carlijn Levert Introduction In most of the world, informal workers are not the exception, but the rule. These informal workers produce goods in their homes, sell food or household items in the streets, perform hard labour on construction sites, and gather, sort and recycle waste. In these and other ways, they earn livelihoods that sustain entire families while making a real contribution to economic growth and GDP. Their contributions are also social and environmental. And yet most urban plans, policies, laws and regulations (and the officials who enact them) are blind to these workers, and deaf to their needs and demands. WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment Globalizing and Organizing) and its Inclusive Cities partners envision cities that value all people and their needs and contributions equally. Inclusive cities ensure all residents including the urban working poor have a representative voice in governance, planning, and budgeting processes. Inclusive cities ensure the working poor have access to secure and dignified livelihoods, affordable housing, and basic services such as water/sanitation and electricity supply. In 2008, the Inclusive Cities project was launched in collaboration of MBOs (Membership- based organisations) of the working poor. It strengthened MBOs in organizing, policy analysis, and advocacy so urban informal workers had the tools necessary to make themselves heard in urban planning processes. Definition of Key Terms Inclusive cities An inclusive city is one that values all people and their needs equally. It is one in which all residents including the most marginalized of poor workers have a representative voice in governance, planning, and budgeting processes, and have access to sustainable livelihoods, legal housing and affordable basic services such as water/sanitation and an electricity supply. According to Rhonda Douglas, the Global Projects Director for WIEGO. An inclusive city does not have to be a smart city and the other way around. A smart city focuses on a high quality of life by excelling in the economy, mobility and environment. An inclusive city gives a voice to all residents. WIEGO WIEGO is an organisation consisting of three bodies:

2 Membership- based organisations of informal workers Researchers and statisticians Practitioners from development agencies who provide services to shape policies towards the informal workforce. These practitioners can be inter- governmental, governmental, and non- governmental. WIEGO strives to increase the voice of the urban working poor, especially women. Informal sector The informal sector includes all jobs which are not recognised as normal income sources, and on which taxes are not paid. While the term is sometimes used to refer to only illegal activities, such as a person not claiming the wages on his/her income taxes, it could also be interpreted to include legal activities such as jobs that are performed in exchange for something other than money. It is also referred to as the informal economy or grey economy/market. Informal workers Informal workers are the people who work in the informal sector. Inclusive cities focus on the least visible informal workers. Examples are: GDP Home- based workers o Domestic workers Street vendors Waste pickers People who sell or produce goods from their homes: GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product. It is the value of a country'ʹs overall output of goods and services at market prices. General Overview Although the informal sector makes up a significant portion of the GDP and gives a great contribution to economic, social and environmental growth, it is often denounced as troublesome and uncontrollable. However, the informal sector provides critical economic opportunities for the poor. The inclusive cities project has been working to solve this issue for four years. The partners share a belief to reduce urban poverty, we must reverse the current exclusionary trend taking place in so many modernizing cities and instead foster inclusive cities. says Rhonda Douglas, the Global Projects Director for WIEGO.

3 These unseen informal workers are not restricted to developing countries only. All around the world there are informal workers, such as: garment workers in Toronto; embroiderers on the island of Madeira and shoemakers in Madrid. Integrating the informal economy into the formal sector is an important policy challenge. The informal workers need to get a representative voice in governance, planning, and budgeting processes. In order to reach this objective, cities should have a transparent governance and effective legislation. Major parties involved Dhaka The informal sector has grown enormously over the past few years in Dhaka. The major problem for the informal workers is that they have no social protection. [1] Mumbai 68% of Mumbai s workforce is employed by the informal sector. [2] Jakarta In Jakarta, women, migrants and other vulnerable groups of workers who are excluded from better opportunities have little choice but to take informal low- quality jobs. [3] Useful documents dy content/uploads/2015/04/habitat- III- Issue- Paper- 1_Inclusive- Cities- 2.0.pdf to- build- inclusive- cities/487322/ cities ways- build- inclusive- cities/ Bibliography what- we- mean- by- inclusive- cities we- are

4 sector.html economy/occupational- groups Major parties involved [1] sector- and- its- impact- on- dhaka/ [2] [3] economy/lang- - en/index.htm

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