8 May 2010

In November 2007, at the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, States and the delegates of our Movement identified urban violence as one of the most pressing humanitarian challenges facing communities across the globe.

Urbanization is not a new phenomenon. What is new is that for the first time in history, there are more people living in urban areas than in the countryside. By 2030, in 20 years from now, urban dwellers will account for 60% of the world population, and the majority of them will be living in developing countries.

Urbanisation has brought with it a growing sense of vulnerability among many people living in congested cities, faced with insecurity and insufficient access to basic services such as water, food and health care. Such challenges are making our humanitarian work even more complex, sometimes more critical and more necessary than ever.

We have chosen the theme of urbanization for our World Red Cross Red Crescent Day as a token of our unwavering solidarity towards the Haitian people. The plight of the earthquake victims shows how vulnerable densely populated urban areas can be to the tragic consequences of disasters. But this catastrophe also gave rise to an extraordinary surge of support and aid for the survivors.

The theme also provides an opportunity to remind and inform people about how much work our Movement is already doing in towns and cities worldwide. National Societies focus on promoting diversity, opposing discrimination, and joining in efforts to provide decent social services and to ensure that adequate protection, preventive health-care, education and disaster risk reduction measures are taken. Red Cross Red Crescent volunteers are at the heart of the Movement's endeavours to strengthen urban communities.

There are many examples that show that our Movement is also an urban Movement:  
Many Red Cross Societies are addressing urban violence through a wide range of programmes:  dissemination of humanitarian values, human rights and international humanitarian law; initiatives to combat violence in schools and deprived urban areas; assistance and support to the homeless; and projects to reduce gender-based violence.
Such examples show how our Movement acts as a powerful driving force of hope, energy and creativity in the face of the humanitarian challenges of our times.

They illustrate the slogan of our campaign, ‘Our world. Your move.’ reminding us that each one of us has a role to play, so that we can live on our planet in a spirit of tolerance, solidarity and harmony.