The world’s prime movers from the housing, construction and related industries will converge on September 7 to 9, 2009 for the premier regional industry conference – the 2nd Asia-Pacific Housing Forum. This year’s forum, co-organized by Habitat for Humanity International in partnership with principal sponsor, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, is centered on the theme “Maximizing Urban Poverty Housing Solutions for Greater Results.”

In line with this year’s theme, one of the aims of the Asia-Pacific Housing Forum is to highlight the private sector’s role in addressing urban poverty housing concerns in the region. “As the private sector is often cited as the vehicle for growth and development for countries and communities, vast opportunities are available for its involvement in housing-related fields, such as urban planning, slum redevelopment, and housing microfinance, hence contributing to more meaningful solutions for urban poverty housing,” said Rick Hathaway, Asia-Pacific Vice President of Habitat for Humanity International.

Interesting convergences will take place during the three-day seminar among the local and international delegates who will come from different global organizations. These include a plenary session on “Addressing the Problem of Urban Slums,” which will tackle issues and multi-stakeholder solutions in redevelopment programs of depressed communities.

Among the featured topics for this plenary session is “Making Cities Slum-free: The Role of the Private Sector in Addressing Urban Poverty Housing” by Mukesh Mehta. Mehta will share his experiences and challenges in the redevelopment of Dharavi, one of Asia’s largest and most notorious slums located in Mumbai, India. He will also discuss his strategy for “Slum-Free Cities,” where he explains in detail how urban areas in the developing world can be made slum-free in a sustainable manner with little or no investment from the government.

Arch. Felino “Jun” Palafox, Chairman of Palafox & Associates, Philippines will discuss his company’s experiences in dealing with slum rehabilitation initiatives in his presentation on “Urban Planning and Slum Redevelopment.” David A. Smith, founder of Affordable Housing Institute, USA, will also impart related responses to the issue through his presentation on “Slum Redevelopment as Urban Poverty Housing Solution.”