| Imagining tomorrow, today |
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Imagine Durban
is a council-led project on integrated, long-term planning. It is being
implemented in conjunction with Sustainable Cities, an NGO from Vancouver,
Canada and the PLUS Network (a network of 35 cities sharing experiences
in sustainability planning) who have received funding from the Canadian
International Development Agency to support the project.
Imagine Durban is a process
about mobilizing each of us (from government to non-government, civil
society organizations, faith based groups, tertiary institutions, business
organizations and ordinary folk) to imagine where we want to be in the
future. It is also about realizing that the choices we make today will
affect our children and grandchildren tomorrow. So if we are committed
to handing down a safe, healthy and prosperous world to future generations,
we need to make the right decisions today. Of course the best way to
make the right choice is to make an informed choice, and this is where
the ideas and the knowledge of the people of Durban come in. The Imagine Durban process began by asking some key questions of people from all walks of life about what they do and don’t like about their neighbourhoods and the city. Using the answers as a basis the Imagine Durban project identified six themes that capture the main aspirations people have for the city: 1. Creating a SAFER city 2. Ensuring a more ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE city 3. Promoting an ACCESSIBLE city 4. Creating a city where all enjoy SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS 5. Fostering a CARING and EMPOWERING city 6. Celebrating our ARTS, CULTURE and HERITAGE
While Imagine Durban
is about capturing the imagination of the people, it must also be about
taking action, as there is no point in daydreaming if this does not
result in positive change. To that end, the team at Imagine Durban will
be working hard to take the ideas of the people and turn them into action.
This will be accomplished
with the help of municipal staff, representatives from the private sector,
academia, non-governmental organizations, faith-based organizations,
and a variety of people from civil society. These actors were invited
to series of theme workshops that took the ideas of the people
and turned them into goals, strategies and programs. Imagine Durban
has also be hosting regular Open Forum discussions on some of the key
themes to provide everyone with an opportunity to enter
into debate and discussion about solutions to some of Durban's challenges. Imagine Durban is now in the process of putting together a first draft of an Action Plan. More than a set of principles, the Action Plan will be the driver of change for the municipality to ensure that all its plans are now aligned with the spirit and goals of Imagine Durban. Similarly captains of industry and leaders from academia and civil society organizations will be invited to ensure that their programmes are in concert with the Action Plan. Additionally, the average citizen will have a role to play too: the opportunity to get informed, get involved, and to live in a way that does not inhibit the ability of future generations to also enjoy a high quality of life. For more information, please visit www.imaginedurban.org and think about all of the ways that we can build a better city, a better country, and a better world for tomorrow. Just Imagine!
The Imagine Durban project is funded by:
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Canadian International Development Agency
eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality is a Metropolitan Municipality that was created in 2000. eThekwini Municipality is the Local Authority for Durban City. It is the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal and is famous as the busiest port in Africa. It is also a major centre of tourism due to the city's warm subtropical climate and beaches.
