A transformative initiative supporting the Koraga people and nine other tribal communities in Karnataka to access land was recently named a Gold Award Winner 2019 at the World Habitat Awards. Working in partnership with the Koraga Federation and Samagra Grameena Ashrama, ActionAid Association’s initiative, ‘Restoration of Dignity and Human Rights of Indigenous Tribal Community in Karnataka’, has helped secure nearly 49,000 acres of forest land and 1,000 acres of agricultural land for tribal communities. Besides, 19,000 families have obtained grants to build houses. Securing land rights has acted as a foundation for the Koraga community to rebuild their lives (read more about the initiative here).

The World Habitat Award was presented to us on February 11 during the tenth session of the World Urban Forum in Abu Dhabi. The meeting was on ‘Cities of Opportunities: Connecting Culture and Innovation’, with over 540 events and more than 13,000 participants, witnessing vibrant policy and practice exchange between urban stakeholders.

Together with the World Urban Forum, the World Urban Campaign spearheads UN-HABITAT’s efforts, working towards achieving resilient, sustainable urban communities by engaging partners from public, private and social sectors worldwide. We are pleased to share with you that Sandeep Chachra, Executive Director, ActionAid Association, was re-elected Co-Chair of the World Urban Campaign Steering Committee. This will be Sandeep’s second term in this position, where he has been actively contributing towards developing a new meaningful vision for our urban future and providing the required leadership for delivering the New Urban Agenda.