South Africa to host BRICS urbanization forum

South Africa will host the BRICS urbanization forum in Durban next month, a spokesperson announced on Friday.

The meeting will be held from Nov. 25 to Nov. 27 with the theme of "Towards Sustainable Urbanization," said Durban spokesperson Khaya Sengani.

BRICS is an acronym of the five emerging economies in the world, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

"The forum will provide a platform for member countries to develop a common approach that will facilitate cooperation and exchange of information on urbanization challenges," the spokesperson said.

It will be attended by government leaders, urban development managers, international non-governmental organizations and other important stakeholders from around the world.

Sengani said,"The conference will coordinate efforts to learn from best practices and access available technologies, better manage and plan for the rapid rate of urbanization as well as better understanding of the issues identified as major urban challenges by the member countries."

Facing the rapid urbanization with a lot of people moving to towns in search of jobs, South Africa will use this meeting to learn from other BRICS countries on how to handle urbanization.

"The agenda of the meetings is intended to ensure that key issues of urbanization are placed on the global agenda of the BRICS member countries," he said. "The thematic issues will focus on building productive and sustainable urban economies and livelihood survival strategies in urban environments as well as creating inclusive urban spaces."