Since the World urban forum WUF12 in Cairo, the 5 November 2024 UN-Habitat and Uni Eiffel implement a common partnership between the world of research and the socio-economic world. The partnership between UN-Habitat and Gustave Eiffel University reflects the growing need for innovation in urban sustainability. The Chair will serve as a platform for research, training and the development of practical tools applicable in cities around the world, particularly in vulnerable regions facing rapid urbanisation and environmental challenges. Its name is chair « ISCI MENA, Innovating Socially for Cities livability In the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA region). The collaboration is implemented with a focus on discovering new areas of cooperation in the Arab region, under the UN -Habitat Regional Office for Arab States (ROAS) mandates – through an open science approach as defined by UNESCO – tomorrow’s economic, social and environmental innovations and support innovative training courses and/or create spaces for interaction and dialogue between science and society, technical cooperation and capacity building for 18 countries across the Arab region.
On the other hand, Gustave Eiffel university has launched the PIONEER European universities alliance since the 1rst January 2025 with 10 universities partners focused on SDG11 (and countries). This alliance runs European projects and aims at disseminating the results at the international level.
Among the European partners of the PIONEER alliance, 5 who have launched and implemented their common InCITIES project agreed to disseminate InCITIES results during an international event of the ISCI MENA chair hosted in Paris (EIVP/university Gustave Eiffel) the 3rd September 2025. The sharing of the ongoing project of the chair ISCI MENA and of the InCITIES project led to interesting discussions on SDG11 covering education and ecosystems connections, research topics sharing in local contexts.
Among the 60 participants to this event, 35 belonged to French, Tunisian and Egyptian universities whereas 14 belonged to ONU-Habitat (14), AFD and the SNIT.
