Global Planners Network Congress

October 31–November 2, 2008

Join the APA China Study Tour and stay an extra couple of days for the Global Planners Network Congress, which will be held immediately after the Study Tour in Zhenjiang, Friday, October 31, through Sunday, November 2, 2008.

Global Planners Network (GPN) is a network of national planning associations that came together to share planning ideas, approaches, and good practices and thereby build the capacities for planning across the globe. GPN was formed in 2005 in preparation for the World Planners Congress in Vancouver in 2006, where 13 national institutes became signatories to the Vancouver Declaration. The network is supported by other international organizations and networks such as the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) and the Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP).

The World Planners Congress in Vancouver produced a number of documents, including an action plan and the think-piece, Reinventing Planning, which outlines the changing goals and new principles that must underpin planning thought and practice today.

The GPN Congress in Zhenjiang will be held just prior to the World Urban Forum 4 in Nanjing, which is only 70 km away. The World Urban Forum begins the day after the GPN Congress on November 3 and runs through November 7.

The GPN Congress will take discussions forward to focus on lessons learned, opportunities, constraints, and challenges in applying the principles of Reinventing Planning II. The Zhenjiang Communique will be the main outcome of the Congress, outlining the agenda for planning in the future and raising critical issues for discussion with a wider audience at the World Urban Forum.

The Congress will highlight three critical global planning issues:

• Urbanization
• Poverty
• Climate Change and Hazards

Call for Papers

The three main themes of the congress are Urbanization, Poverty, and Climate Change and Disasters. Submit a paper on one of the themes and present it at the GNP Congress this fall in Zhenjiang, China.

Abstracts are due July 31, 2008. Completed papers are due October 15, 2008.

Call for Papers and details on the congress themes (pdf)

Learn more about the goals of the conference and a full program review (pdf)

Invitation to Sponsor

Becoming a sponsor of the 2008 Congress will expose your organization to key planning decision makers and allow you to showcase your products and services to a audience of hundreds of international delegates. There are a range of sponsorship options available.

Download the sponsorship prospectus and forms (pdf)