World Urban Forum in Katowice - this year's biggest challenge is behind us!

The MTP Group and IDEA Expo as the logistic operator of WUF11 rose to the challenge

The World Urban Forum 2022 which took place in Katowice from 26 to 30 June 2022, was a success. The event was organised by the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy in close cooperation with the UN Habitat agency.

The MTP Group was responsible for the overall organisation and service of WUF11.

The MTP Group and our IDEA Expo technical team were responsible for the design and set-up of the existing congress spaces at the MCK in Katowice, as well as the construction of temporary exhibition halls, the complex set-up of the space at the MCK, equipping the existing conference rooms and office space, among others, for the UN. We have also provided the necessary IT infrastructure, audio-video systems and catering. The MTP Group was also responsible for providing service to the exhibitors - countries and institutions present at WUF11. 93 exhibitors from 43 countries took part in the URBAN Expo event. In addition, the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy commissioned the design, construction and maintenance of the Polish Pavilion at WUF11 and the preparation of the concept for an interactive exhibition to the MTP Group.

Almost 4,000 people were involved in the preparation of the event, including almost 100 employees of the MTP Group and another 400 hired specifically for this project under temporary contracts. A group of 300 volunteers also provided great support, assisting conference participants both in the buildings of the International Congress Centre and in the conference zones located in various places in Katowice.

The event was attended by 10,626 people from 155 countries, with further 6,153 following the Forum online. The World Urban Forum takes place every two years in different countries and is dedicated to urban policy in the broadest sense. It focuses on the sustainable development of cities and regions. The meeting Katowice was similar. During WUF11, the National Urban Policy 2030 (NUP) was presented. It is a document that will set the framework for urban policy-making in Poland for the next decade. The document is based on the New Urban Agenda and has been developed in line with the spirit of the Sustainable Development Goals. Together with the “Action Plan for Cities” which is a catalogue of good practices and trends of sustainable urbanisation in local terms, NUP2030 will definitely become the WUF11 legacy for our country.

The Polish special session on rebuilding cities after war and natural disasters was extremely important on the WUF11 agenda. The voice of representatives of Ukrainian cities was a particularly important testimony during WUF 11. The discussions held will help in the reconstruction of Ukrainian cities and damaged infrastructure.

Some figures that give an idea of the challenge we faced successfully are presented below:

- 18,000 m² of outdoor temporary structures (temporary structures and connectors) air-conditioned and fully equipped with electricity and internet networks

- 8,000 m² of exhibition (93 stands) as part of Urban Expo

- 22 multifunctional fully-equipped meeting rooms with silent mode sound systems, built outside the existing MCK halls,

- 170 booths for simultaneous interpretation in 10 languages

- 6,000 headsets

- 110 meeting room entrance control points

- 764 m² of projection area, for which we used 53 projectors

- 55 km of fibre optic cables forming the ICT cable infrastructure

- 500 laptops and 120 printers

- 800 graphic designs

- 8,000 chairs and 1,200 tables

- 8 transformer stations, approximately 1.5 MW of air-conditioning equipment capacity

- 1,000 pieces of various luminaires.