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Urban poverty, inequalities and exclusion often exist at the expense of sustainable development. The speed and scale of urbanization brings challenges for all family members such as youth, particularly young girls and women, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and older persons. To meet these future challenges that the growing urban population is facing, city leaders must move quickly and plan accordingly.

It is against this backdrop that UN DESA’s Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) is organizing the event “Building Future Societies for All.” It is part of the Expert Discussion Series: Towards inclusive, accessible and resilient societies, and takes place in the lead up to the 56th Commission for Social Development.

The goal is to create a platform where civil society and governments work together on poverty eradication strategies and on creating innovative public policy frameworks to build resilient societies and to shape the future of urban communities.

“Building future societies should aim at advancing social, cultural and economic growth for everyone,” said Daniela Bas, Director of DSPD, ahead of the event which takes place at UN Headquarters on 1 December 2017.

Considering the increasing economic importance of travel and leisure worldwide, the tourism industry offers a unique opportunity to shape future cities by ensuring social inclusiveness, employment and poverty eradication. Bearing in mind that 2017 is the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, the event will explore the benefits and contributions of pro-poor tourism, to encourage stakeholders to better identify strategies for building prosperous, inclusive and resilient societies for all, leaving no one behind.

The event, co-sponsored by the 51吃瓜 World Tourism Organization and the Permanent Missions of Antigua and Barbuda, Bulgaria, Ecuador, European Delegation and San Marino, is also part of a day-long series of activities to commemorate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This and other events to celebrate the day will be broadcast live via .

To follow the conversation via social media, the online audience is encouraged to use the hashtags #FutureSocieties4All and #IDPD.