INTRODUCTION

More than 1 billion people live in slums and inner cities. If present trends continue, this number could rise above 2 billion by 2030. The urbanisation of poverty and social exclusion is one of the most alarming trends of the 21st century. It is estimated that 72% of the urban population in Africa, 37% in Asia and 26% in South America live without adequate shelter, clean water or sanitation. While these figures average about 6 % in developed countries, inner cities are witnessing persistent levels of unemployment way above the national average. In both cases the consequences include crime and violence, urban decay and pollution, loss of economic opportunity and productivity.

THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The world’s leaders committed themselves at the United Nations Millennium Summit to attaining the Millennium Development Goals. These goals include: reducing abject poverty and HIV/AIDS prevalence by half by 2015; improving access by the poor to health and education; and improving the living conditions of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. UN-HABITAT is the lead UN agency for housing and urban development. It is a small agency. It plays nonetheless a strategic role advocating for more sustainable urban development. It also fulfils a pivotal role in the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, as decent shelter and access to clean water and sanitation are pre-requisites for efforts to succeed in health care, education and local economic development. One of UN-HABITAT’s key entry points is to serve as an “honest broker” to forge effective partnerships between the public, private and community sectors - to agree on a common set of objectives and action plans - and to mainstream lessons learned from experience.

YOUTH AND THE ROLE OF HIP-HOP

One of the key issues, and perhaps the least-empowered group, is urban youth. Of the 1 billion slum dwellers, approximately 50% are under 24. Without access to adequate education or training, they have no prospects for meaningful employment. They have no say in policies and decisions that affect their livelihoods. They are victims of a vicious cycle of poverty and social exclusion and are particularly vulnerable to crime, drug abuse, prostitution and HIV/AIDS.

In recent years, disenfranchised urban youth have, however, given birth to a powerful voice. This voice is Hip-Hop. Originating from the inner cities of North America, Hip-Hop is becoming the most popular form of expression of urban youth worldwide. A recent study undertaken by UN-HABITAT reveals that Hip-Hop is more than a genre of music or dance. It is a social movement. It is both a product of and a reaction to globalisation and represents a strong political statement. The most popular artists/groups are often those who rap about critical social, economic and environmental issues and who play an active role in their respective communities.

Based on these findings, UN-HABITAT decided to take advantage of the first Universal Forum on Cultures to be held in Barcelona 2004 to organise a Global Hip-Hop Encounter and Concert. These events were designed to bring up to 10 socially committed Hip-Hop artists and youth groups from Africa, Asia and Latin America to raise awareness of the Hip-Hop movement and to provide a platform for urban youth to be heard by political leaders.