The City of Kigali is hosting a three-day workshop that has brought together experts in urban planning from 20 cities in Africa, to discuss the future of green cities.

The Urban Shift Kigali City Academy is a three-day in-person workshop funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and organised by C40 Cities and the World Resources Institute (WRI) in collaboration with the Government of Rwanda, World Bank, and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

The training will combine expert and participant presentations, interactive exercises, sharing of best practices, and a site visit to Nyandungu Wetland Park to demonstrate the climate adaptation efforts being implemented in Kigali. 

Diego J. Riaño the Head of C40 Urban Shift cities said that, "We chose to have the workshop in Kigali because the city has shown itself as a great example of a green sustainable city.”

Riaño added that for the three days, cities will learn from each other, solutions to address climate change, and plan ahead for sustainable urban development with clear targets in 2030.

Participants will hear from regional and local technical experts about urban climate risks, mitigation and adaptation strategies, and share their own experiences planning projects that address issues presented by the climate crisis and rapid urbanisation.

Pudence Rubingisa, Mayor of Kigali city highlighted the importance of raising urban climate ambition and the role of nature-based solutions in delivering climate-resilient urban infrastructure.

He said, "Kigali is hosting this workshop during a period when the world is facing extraordinary climate change issues. It is a wake-up call for us to adopt nature-based solutions, the climate adaptation and resilient planning measures in urban and infrastructure development projects.”

He added that, although Green projects are considered a solution to sustainable development, and they are the priority for the global world climate change issues, there are still gaps in their financing mechanism.

It is therefore our responsibility to advocate and solicit funds for their implementation since they are climate-resilient and able to solve the issue of climate change faced by the whole world, the mayor added.

This development follows the launch of Rwanda Urban Development Project (RUDP II) that took place on May 4, a five-year project that aims to improve access to essential services, enhance resilience and strengthen integrated urban planning and management in Kigali.