Press - Media as a Driver of Public Discourse on Housing and Urban Resilience (WUF13)

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Today, sustainable urban development, housing accessibility, and climate change are among the key issues on the media agenda.
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The role of the media is not only to inform, but also to promote public responsibility and participation.
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To this end, the establishment of regional media cooperation platforms could further strengthen urban awareness and approaches based on social responsibility.
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The statement on the cooperation and media's role in sustainable urban development.
We, the public and voluntary parties and multiple stakeholders engaged in promoting civic participatory and multidimensional as well as impactful collaborations in sustainable urban development and climate resilience.
Note that media plays a crucial role in raising public awareness, fostering informed participation, and shaping inclusive dialogue on urban and climate adaptability.
Emphasize that partnership among governments, the urban private sector, civil society, international organizations, and media institutions is of particular importance for strengthening sustainable communities and encouraging effective involvement.
Acknowledge that the development of smart, green, and human centered cities, including post conflict reconstruction and environmentally constitious urban planning can contribute to robust outcomes as part of global incentives and efforts in this direction.
Affirm that responsible media delivery, journalism, and public discourse are of key elements in building communicative bridges amongst sustainable, inclusive, and forward looking societies.
Call upon solidified cooperation of stakeholders in proactive discussions for driving progressive urban and environmental awareness aligned with the sustainable development goals.
Thank you for your attention.
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Actually, before we start the main part of our session, we would like you to watch a very short video clip, please I Thank you very much.
Before we start the panel session, and I would like to invite our guests, department head, Ram Barrio, from the Media Development Agency.
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The NGO Support Observatory Committee, Mr.
Isan Nabilv MP Nigar Alpay, member of Parliament of Azerbaijan, Media Development Agency, observation Department of the other University of Shafk Miraleva from Peru, Public Administration, Blanca Mujika Acuna.
International Climate Change institution from Nigeria, Oli Idwu Emmanuel Azerbaijan the Public Union Journalistics, Public Union of Azerbijan, Mr.
Arias.
I would like to wish all the success with the performance of the session.
Please continue.
Yours colleagues.
Ladies and gentlemen, It is a privilege to address this gathering at the World Urban Forum on the important topic of media as a driver of public discourse on housing and urban resilience.
Today, more than half of the world's population lives in urban areas and this figure is expected to rise to nearly 70% within the next 25 years.
At the same time, over 300 million people experience homelessness.
By 2030, the world will need approximately 100,000 new affordable housing units every day to meet global demand.
Modern cities are built not only with concrete and steel, but also on information, communication, and public threats.
According to President Ihamailv in his summarized remarks at the traditional Sha Global Media Forum and in recent interviews with Azerbaijan television channels, media today serves not only as a source of information, but also as a strategic instrument for societal resilience, international communication, and the protection of national interests in an increasingly complex information environment.
Allow me to summarize the role of media in four important direction in shaping urban resilience and housing discourse.
First, media informs.
Citizens cannot participate meaningfully in urban governance without access to accurate, timely, and understandable information.
Second, media platforms connect stakeholders and create spaces for dialogue.
Urban challenges are multidimensional and require cooperation among governments, civil society, academia, urban planners, private investors, and local communities.
Partnerships between different stakeholders and media illustrate how joint efforts, whether infrastructure development, disaster preparedness, or housing policy can lead to meaningful outcomes.
Third, media promotes accountability.
Proactive journalism has exposed unsafe construction practices, and inequalities in housing access around the world, helping improve transparency and governance.
Fourth, media inspires innovation and solidarity by sharing successful experiences from different cities.
Media helps disseminate good practices in sustainable housing, green infrastructure, disaster risk reduction, and smart urban planning.
Ladies and gentlemen, Another important dimension is the role of media in connecting local voices to global platforms.
According to recent studies, more than 5 billion people worldwide use social media and digital communication platforms.
Urban debates that once remained local cannot attract global attention within hours.
Community based journalism, Citizen reporting and local digital platforms can amplify voices that were previously excluded from urban policy making.
However, technology alone is not enough.
Urban discourse must remain inclusive and ensure that the voices of women, youth, displaced persons, and other marginalized communities are fully represented in shaping the future of resilient cities.
More than 120 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced and over half seek refuge in cities and urban areas.
Azerbijan also has its own experience with housing challenges during the occupation of its territories where nearly 1 million Azerbijan were displaced from their homelands.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me share our national experience, especially regarding the destruction of buildings during the occupation and post conflict recovery in Azerbijan.
Likewise, at a time when Azerbijan journalists were unable to visit the territories under occupation, international media outlets published reports about destruction in source areas.
For example, the German media was among the first to report on the destruction of the historic Aqda mosque and the fact that the domestic animals, including pigs were being kept inside the mosque.
Also to international observers and visitors who compared Akdam with Hiroshima and called it the Hiroshima of the Caucasus as a prison Iramyv stated at the opening ceremony of the wuf two days ago.
Media coverage has helped draw global attention, also to the humanitarian dimensions of the post conflict recovery in Karaba and East Zangzor including the mining operations, environmental restoration, cultural heritage preservation, and community integration.
Nearly a certain percent of Azerbijan territory remains contaminated with 1.5 million of land mines and unexploded military ordinance which continues to pose a major challenges.
In this context, State President Aliyev in his interview with ON News, we have so far elaborated a unique experience in how to build cities and villages from scratch.
It was, unfortunately, due to the large scale devastation of the occupied territories.
In these liberated territories, extensive rebuilding efforts are underway.
Around 85,000 internally displaced persons have already returned to the 40 restored settlements and more than 200 additional settlements are planned for reconstruction over the next decade.
Since 2022, Azerbijan together with the UN habitat has held three national urban fora in Azerbijan, in Aghdam, hangan and Hangandi, the cities which were under occupation for many years.
We have witnessed how media can contribute to public averages and also during large scale reconstruction process.
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to conclude my remarks.
The future of resilient cities depends not only on physical infrastructure, but also on information infrastructure and on the quality of public discourse.
It will also be shaped by storytellers, journalists, communicators, educators, and citizens themselves.
Media has the power to elevate housing from a technical policy issue to universal human concern and to transform it into a social priority.
It can humanize statistics and encourage solidarity across borders.
Thank you very much for your kind attention.
Distinguished participants.
Now we have the honor to move the floor to miss Nigapada member of Azerbaijan Prament Dear friends, distinguished guests, esteemed colleagues, it's great to be here today and I see many familiar faces and also new faces.
Before joining the Parliament, I used to be in public relations, though I consider journalists to be my colleagues and friends.
So it's great to be here and to speak about the role of the media in shaping the the urban infrastructure and resilience.
Dear friends, I also served as the climate high level champion for Cop 29, a role that has shown me very clearly that resilience is no longer a choice, it's a necessity.
Obviously, this role was about the climate resilience, but it's definitely overlapping with the city resilience matter and is an integral part of it.
Cities are the engines of economic growth, innovation, and culture, but they are also on the front lines of climate change, environmental degradation, disasters, crime, housing pressures, and social inequalities.
The word media itself is related to the word medium, which basically means interconnector.
Media glues city together through quick information exchange and feedback mechanisms.
Be it the paper boys and printed newspaper of the past or social media platforms of today.
Media and journalists are in a sense, the soul of the city.
It's not surprising that the honest and principled journalist is often a key character in urban stories of heroism and overcoming.
In this context, media plays a far greater role than simply informing society.
Media shapes perception, influences behavior, and builds accountability.
Ultimately, good media can help cities become more resilient, more inclusive and sustainable.
When we speak about urban resilience, we often focus on infrastructure, technology, or governance.
These are important, but resilience also depends on informed communities and public trust.
Without the public awareness and engagement, even the best urban policies cannot succeed.
This is where responsible and effective MDA becomes essential.
First, MDA raises awareness about urban and climate risks, whether it's heat waves, floods, air pollution, water scarcity, or waste management challenges.
People need accurate and timely information.
MIT helps citizens understand not only the risks, but also solutions and their own role in addressing them.
Second, media creates public accountability.
Strong journalism encourages transparency in urban planning, environmental protection, and public spending.
Third, media can inspire action and positive behavioral change.
Around the world, we see how campaigns on recycling, energy efficiency, sustainable transport or reducing plastic waste can mobilize entire communities.
At the same time, we must also recognize the challenges we face in the information era.
Misinformation undermines public trust and delays urgent action.
Therefore, strengthening fact based journalism is becoming increasingly important, especially in urban environment which is so vulnerable and crowded.
People do not connect only with statistics, they connect with stories.
Stories about communities, stories about families, about young people, about women, about vulnerable groups who are directly affected by crime, pollution, and other urban challenges.
At COP 29, we had impact makers campaigns when we tried to show real heroes that do projects that impact their societies in a positive way.
Um, Azerb this is especially important for developing and emerging regions where cities are growing rapidly and where resilience must go hand in hand with social inclusion and economic opportunity.
In Azerbijan, we understand the responsibility as well.
As our country hosts major international platforms from Cop 29 to World Urban Forum, we are increasingly contributing to global discussions on sustainable urban development, green transition, and climate resilience.
We are also witnessing how media can help amplify regional cooperation, share innovative solutions, and highlight successful urban transformation projects.
Ladies and gentlemen, urban resilience is not built only with concrete, with technology or policies.
It is built with awareness, with trust, with cooperation, and shared responsibility.
Media has the power to connect citizens with institutions, science and society, and local action with global ambition.
If we want more resilient cities, we need not only smarter infrastructure, but also stronger communication.
I believe in the power of communication.
Let's work together governments, media, civil society, international organizations, and communities to ensure that information becomes a tool for sustainability, resilience, and hope.
Thank you very much.
Ladies and gentlemen, now we have the honor to extend the floor to miss Shafk Miraleba from Eda University, program co founder, please.
Thank you so much, if you allow me, I would like to speak from here.
I am going to build on very important two previous messages.
Just like Ngan outlined, I would like to take the word media that is in the topic of our panel to a wider sense of communication and its importance.
Of course, when we speak about urban resilience, anybody who you would ask in this forum to describe these words, their mind will immediately go to infrastructure.
The mind will go to more efficient transportation system, more advanced sustainable architecture, or the systems that are better adapted to climate changes.
All of these are important, but there's one element that is indeed too often overlooked or underestimated, I should say, is communication.
And just like Niger Ham outlined, what we overlook is that cities are not built only with bricks and even policy documents, efficient policies, cities are built with a sense of trust because first and foremost, cities are communities.
This is a large group of people living together and communities are sustained by participation, not just simply by being informed.
And cities become resilient only when people feel that they are not passive residents of this process, but active stakeholders in shaping their own urban future.
That's precisely why this panel's topic is very important.
I would like to thank Media Development Center Public Union and its leadership for arranging this.
And Probably in this past three days, it has been mentioned a number of times that an increasing number of world population lives in urban areas.
The main reason for that is jobs because this is where the economy is prospering.
This is where the jobs are.
Cities are hubs of opportunities, they are hubs of innovation, social life and culture.
For one, in all of my travels outside of Baku, this is what I see young people lacking in the periphery of the capital.
They're looking for more quality of social life.
So, um, This flow of population confronts us also with another reality.
Cities are also becoming spaces where inequalities, housing strategies, environmental risks, and social fragmentations are becoming incredibly visible.
Governments and institutions, as great as they are, striving to perform their duties alone by themselves, they cannot respond to these challenges effectively without public engagement and public confidence.
Those two engagement and confidence cannot exist without communication.
We're talking about housing, homes.
If I ask any of you to describe me what home is, you would probably agree that this is not just the space.
This is not just a place for living, it is also a feeling of safety, a feeling of comfort and a feeling of belonging.
If you are going to plan or change my place of belonging, I would surely want to be an active participant of this process.
People support what they understand, people preserve what they feel personally connected to, and people contribute only when they know that their voices matter because communication creates ownership.
For this reason, communication is not simply an accessory, an annex to urban policy and planning, it is a critical part of the infrastructure of resilience itself.
Is in Parliament, Member Nabev's speech reminded me and particularly this film that we have watched, arah rebuilding and resettlement is a very special case for Azerbijan and if there is one case that our international guests can take away from Azerbijan, that would be precisely that.
Now think about close to 1 million people who have been displaced for 30 years.
These days, we have liberated our territories.
They are going back and each of them have their own expectation of the place where they're coming back.
I, for one, am one of them.
My parents, my family is from the city of Agdam and if you would ask me to describe Akdam, I would probably immediately go to my childhood memories and describe to you the city that I remember But these days, when you go back to Agdam, a completely different, more than more sustainable picture will unveil itself.
And I would like to commend Azerbijani Media on that because they're doing a wonderful job in communicating what the future of Kaba will be looking.
We have separate media projects.
One of my favorites is Adam man, Akdam and me that is broadcasted on one of the local TV channels where population and particularly exiled communities are literally walked through.
They have in details explained why the picture that they are going to see when they go back to their native lands is going to be future oriented, which brings down their own sense of resilience because if you miss something for 30 years, you go back, you expect to see precisely the way that you left it.
Too often, Urban planning processes are presented to citizens only after decisions are already made, unfortunately.
This is a global phenomenon.
This is what we see everywhere.
Communities are informed, which media is doing wonderfully, but they're not engaged.
They're consulted, maybe through surveys, through asking their opinions, but they are not empowered.
Under such conditions, even well designed projects can face resilience because people feel excluded from decisions affecting their daily lives, the lives of their children.
Communication should not happen at the end of urban development.
It must exist from the very beginning.
As my colleagues pointed out, media is that driver that transforms housing and urban resilience discussions from simply technicalities, from how to build infrastructures into deeply human conversations.
A housing strategy and planning may exist on paper, but unless communities understand how it affects their lives, unless they're included in the conversation, Unless they see themselves reflected in the process, the policy risks becoming disconnected from society and eventually lack efficiency.
That is why in today's media, journalism, as conventional as it is, and public storytelling matters so much, constructive media can highlight the needs and at the same time lead to solutions because media does more than just report reality, with its agenda setting power, it influences what societies and all of its actors prioritize.
I would like to leave you at the end with the thought that the strongest cities, the most resilient ones, are not necessarily the biggest, the richest, or most AI advanced technologically advanced.
They're the ones where people feel they belong to the future that is being built around them and for them.
Thank you.
Esteemed participants now have the pleasure to extend the floor to Mr.
Raisin Bgirrov, Head of Department at the Media Development Agency of the Republic of Azbijan.
Please, Mr.
Bagarov, thank you.
Thank you very much.
Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, I'm honored and pleased to address you within the framework of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum held in Baku and devoted to the important topic of media as driver of public discourse on housing and urban resilience.
I would like to deliver my gratitude to the organizers for raising this vital aspect of urban resilience into a special event.
Today, urban resilience and housing have become among the most significant issues shaping the future of modern societies.
Rapid urbanization, environmental pressures, climate related challenges, demographic growth, migration, and evolving social dynamics require not only sustainable urban policies, but also strong public engagement and inclusive dialogue.
In this regard, the role of media has become increasingly important.
Media today is not merely a platform for delivering information.
It is an important instrument for shaping public awareness, encouraging civic participation, and strengthening communication between institutions and society.
The way urban development, housing policies, environmental risks, and social challenges are communicated directly influences public understanding, social trust, and public participation in decision making process.
Cities continue to expand and transform, resilient urban systems can no longer be built solely through infrastructure and economic investment.
Urban resilience also depends on informed communities.
Transparent communication and constructive cooperation between public institutions and citizens.
In this process, media serves as an essential bridge connecting governments, civil society, experts, and communities.
Responsible and professional media contributes significantly to more informed discussions and informed decision making on sustainable urban development, housing, accessibility, environmental responsibility, and social inclusion through Accurate balanced and fact based communication media helps citizens between better understand urban transformation processes and supports broader public participation in discussions related to the future of cities and communications.
Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbijan on deepening reforms in media in the field of media signed in January 2021, we illustrates the importance the state of Azerbijan pays to the media and its development.
At the same time, media serves as an important platform for dialogue.
Constructive communication between public institutions, civil society, representatives, local communities, and the relevant stakeholders is essential for building resilient and inclusive urban environments, inclusive dialogue strengthens public trust and helps ensure that urban development processes are aligned with the real needs and expectations of society.
The role of media becomes especially important in issues related to housing and social development.
Housing is not only a matter of infrastructure as it was mentioned before, or a matter of economics.
It's directly connected to social stability, quality of life, inclusion, and human well being.
Public understanding of housing policies and urban reforms therefore requires responsible communication, evidence based reporting, and transparent public discussion.
Media also plays a significant role in strengthening transparency and accountability in urban governance.
Objective coverage of urban urban planning initiatives, infrastructure projects, environmental policies, and public services contributes to greater institutional responsibility and reinforces public confidence in governance processes.
Furthermore, Data driven journalism and analytical reporting can help transform complex urban challenges into accessible public knowledge, enabling societies to engage more meaningfully in urban policymaking.
However, in the modern information environment, these responsibilities become even more significant alongside the opportunities created by digital communication technologies.
Societies also face serious challenges related to misinformation, manipulative narratives, and the rapid spread of unverified information.
Such factors can negatively affect public trust, weaken social cohesion, and complicate informed public dialogue, particularly during periods of urban transformation or crisis.
For this reason, reliable information, ethical journalism, media literacy, and professional standards remain essential components of resilient societies.
Communities become stronger and more prepared for future challenges when citizens have access to credible information and ability to critically assess the information environment around them.
Ladies and gentlemen, the organization of the World Urban Forum in Azerbijan for the first time in the Caucasus region creates an important opportunity for strengthening international dialogue and exchanging experiences related to sustainable urban development.
This platform contributes to broader cooperation, encourages the exchange of innovative approaches and supports collective efforts toward more sustainable and inclusive urban futures.
At the same time, modern technologies and digital communication tools continue to transform the media environment and create new opportunities for strengthening civic participation and public communication.
When guided by professionalism, responsibility, ethical standards, digital media platforms can contribute positively to public awareness, community engagement, and informed policy decisions.
We believe that discussions held within this platform will contribute to stronger cooperation, more inclusive approaches, and more sustainable urban futures.
Media in this process is not simply an observer of urban transformation, but an active contributor to public awareness, dialogue, resilience, and social inclusion.
I wish good luck to the work of the Wo 13 and thank you for your attention.
Thank you.
Okay.
Thank you, Mr.
Baguro Esteemed participants, now we have the pleasure to welcome together our international guests, miss Blanca Mujica from Peru, Director of Institute for Public Policy and Diplomacy.
Please, the floor is yours, miss Mujica over you.
Media has the power not only report reality, but also to decide which realities the world pays attention to.
Distingage delegates, panelists, representatives, and members of the media, of course, volunteers.
Good afternoon.
I am honored to participate in this discussion during the World Yoban Forum 13.
I would like to sincerely thank the Media Development Center, the Global So NGO platform, and the agency of the state support to non governmental organization of the Republic of Azerbijan for creating spaces where voices from the global source can be heard, represent, and include in the global conversations.
My name is Blanca Mujica and I represent Peru as a part of the Global NGO platform.
I'm also Director in Peru of the Institute of Public Policy and Diplomacy Research based in New York.
I'm co founder of Ica for change, an organization working with rural communities in the Peruvia Amazon.
I would like to begin with a reality that many people still don't know C.
In part of the Peruvia Amazon, there are families who must travel for hours by river become insulate.
Homes are damaged, children stop attending school and access to healthcare becomes ever more limit.
So outside those communities, nobody even hears about it.
According to the recent humanitarian reports, more than 100,000 people in Peru were affected by several flooding and heavy rainfall during recent climate emergencies.
While thousands of homes, schools, and health centers were damaged, especially in the vulnerable regions such as Loreto, my city.
That is why media matters because invisibility is also a form of vulnerability.
In re climate emergency in Peru, including several flooding in Amazon regions such as Loretto, social media, and local community reporting because essential tools for visibility.
Families share videos of loop homes damaged school and racing rivers affecting entered neighborhoods, and Sundly realities that have been ignored become impossible to overlook.
That visibility helped a public attention, humanitarian response, and institutional action.
This is the power of media, not only to inform, but to manize, to connect, and to remind the world that boundary communities should never be treated as invisible communities.
Today, conversation about human resilience cannot focus only on infrastructure or city planning.
They must also include dynity representation, access to information, and the right of communities to participate in decisions that affect their futures.
And young people are become an important part of this transformation.
Across the global, young are increasingly using digital media not only to development.
Young people today are not no longer only observers on a global change, but also to advocate for climate justice, social inclusion, and sustainable.
We are become communicators, also, but the influence comes responsibility.
I take this opportunity to issue a wake up call to municipalities across to Peru, especially in my region, Laredo.
Good practice must not remind insulate efforts, but shall be replied and will promote through the media, which is a powerful allen and encourage border silency participation.
Media should promote dialogue, not division through no misinformation, empathy, not indifference.
At the Institute of Public Policy and Diplomacy Research, together with the Word Change, our partners from the Global South NGO platform, we believe that governments, civil society, young leaders, and the media institution must work together to build more resilient and inclusive societies.
Because the future of our cities will depend not only policies, or urban development, but also on which voices are heard.
Which realities are recognized and which communities are no longer ignored.
Let us continue working together so the media becomes a bridge for cooperation, dynity and sustainable development across the global zone and beyond.
Finally, media as a driver of an resilience.
Thanks to the media for sharing the works of NGO around the world.
Let's be an alliance and work together.
Thank you, Muchisima Grass.
Thank you, miss Mojica.
Now please welcome together to have the insights from Mr.
Ud Emmanuel from Africa, co founder of the Institute for International Climate Change and Development.
Please Thank you very much.
I'm from Nigeria, Africa.
Thank you.
Let me stand on the existing protocol.
I just want to remind us that anything for us without us is not for us.
So it's my honor to speak on the topic today.
This conversation is not only important for Nigeria, but for Africa and the global community as we confront the realities of climate change, rapid urbanization, environmental degradation, and growing inadequate within our city.
Today's city expanding faster than ever before across Nigeria, from Lagos to al, from anal to Prak, from Prak to Abuja, to Africa and on all the continent.
We are witnessing rising pressure on infrastructure, housing, transportation, waste system, and public services.
Yet urban resilience is not only about roads, but drainage system or even building at its our hearts, urban resilience is about the people, it's about us.
It's about the people that are living at the receiving end, the ability of communities to survive, adapt, and thrive despite all the environmental challenges, economic we face and even social shocks.
Across Africa, urban vulnerability is growing rapidly.
Informal settlements are expanding.
Waste management systems are overstretched, and millions of people lives without reliable infrastructure.
Yet Africa is also home to extraordinary resilience, innovation.
But when you see young journalists, you'll be happy for what they are doing, using global media to document environmental challenges in their communities.
Journalists are actually exposing unsafe practices.
Community radio stations are educating local population about disaster preparedness and even environmental protection.
We must acknowledge that some of the most important urban stories are often under reported.
The struggles of informal settlement residents, waste pickers, market women, transport workers, and low income family rarely dominate headlines.
Yet, these communities are on the front line of climate and urban risk.
The experience should not be treated as invisible.
It matters to us.
At ICC the International climate change Development Initiative and the consortium looking at the global South NGO platform, what we should do moving forward? We need a stronger investment in climate and urban journalism.
Government must improve transparency and access to media and access to data.
We must strengthen collaboration between media, civil society, private sector, researchers, and even urban planners, which is very, very important for our reflection.
We need to support community center storytelling so that we can have visuals that is more related to people.
We need to have digital platform that's leverage to improve early warning system, public education, and citizen engagement.
Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, I'm from Africa, we are trying to travel harder.
We are trying to strive for excellence.
The future of our city will not only depends on infrastructure and policy, It will also depend on the story our media tells, the voices we amplify and the information we choose to prioritize.
Media has the power to influence behavior, inspire action, challenge leadership, and strengthen resilience.
Urban resilience is not simply about preparing cities for a disaster.
It is about prioritizing human dignity, how we reduce inequality, how we build community for future, and how our people can live safely and sustainably.
For me, as we reflect on this conversation and in this move we're into on this topic, let us remember that effective media is not only about our reports, it's about how the world sees the report we are putting out there, but is about also helping shaping the world that we find ourselves.
Like I stated when I started to the media people, anything for us without us, it is not meant for us.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr.
Emmanuel, and we have only a few minutes left.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the final speakers.
We have the pleasure to extend the floor to Mr.
Az Mirzav, head of Azerbaian Journalists Network, please.
Good afternoon, distinguished guests, colleagues and friends, counterparts.
First of all, I would like to thank the organizing for creating this important platform for discussion.
It's a great honor to speak about a topic that affects millions of people around the world, the role of media in shaping public discussion on housing and urban resilience.
Today, cities are facing many serious challenges, climate change, climate change, rapid urbanization, natural disasters, immigration and social inequality are changing the way people live.
In many countries, access to safe and affordable housing has become one of the biggest public concerns.
At the same time, cities are not only places where problems appear.
There are also places where solutions are created.
This is where media becomes very important.
Media is not only a source of information, media shapes public opinion, media influences discussions, and sometimes media can even influence decision makers.
When journalists, documentary filmmakers, bloggers, and digital creators speak about housing problems, people begin to pay attention in this problem.
When media shows the real stories of families, communities, and displaced people, these issues become more human and more understandable.
Good media doesn't only show buildings and infrastructure.
It shows people's lives, emotions, hopes, and challenges.
Urban resilience is also not only about construction.
It is about creating cities that are safe, inclusive, sustainable, and prepared for the future.
Media can help society understand why resilient cities matter.
It can explain why green space are important, why sustainable planning matters, why social inclusion should be part of urban development, and why communities should be involved in decision making.
Today, social media has made communications even faster and stronger.
A short video documentary film or even one powerful photo can start an international discussion.
At the same time, media also has a responsibility.
Information must be accurate, balanced, and ethical because public trust is very important.
In our region, we can clearly see how communication and storytelling help people better understand reconstruction, urban transformation, and community development.
For example, documentary films and visual storytelling can show not only physical reconstruction, but also the human side of recovery, the return of families, the rebuilding and communities of communities, and the restoration of hope.
And by the way, today, early in the morning, I had a chance to present to our guests as a media representative, the documentary film, which name it Yaradan Creator, dedicated to the revival and reconstruction of Karaba and Ersin Razan Azur, produced by our organization.
If we try to describe this documentary in just one sentences, we would probably say the story of nation creating cities from ruins a future from memories and pride from pain.
I think I made my important responsibility as a journalist and it getting me great honor.
I believe cooperation between media professionals, urban planners, public institutions, NGOs and local communities is extremely important because stronger communications creates stronger public awareness and stronger public awareness helps build stronger cities.
In conclusion, I would like to say this cities are built with concrete and steel.
But resilient socials are built with trust, dialogue, and shared understanding and media plays a key role in creating that understanding.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Thank you, Mr.
Az.
Malin.
Distinguished guest their participants.
Now we're running out of the time frame, and I just wanted to mention that firstly, let's please have our applause to our valuable speakers for their important and invaluable insights.
I would like to mention that the time frame allocated for this event was just 45 minutes and thanks for coming on behalf of the Public Union Media Development Agency Media Development Center.
So, we thank you all for joining us today.
Thank you.
Have a good day.
I