At the annual Awards Gala of the
Consortium for Sustainable Development (CSU) held in New York, the incoming CSU
President, Mr. Nichola Hamilton and other speakers paid glowing tributes to Dr.
Talal Abu Ghazaleh as a global visionary for human development and peace.

  
Speakers praised Dr. Abu Ghazaleh, a founder of the CSU and long-time
Chair of its Board, for his clear-eyed and effective leadership which had
played a seminal role in growing the CSU into a global professional
organization  and network of architects,
urban designers, policymakers and practitioners across six continents,
committed to promote sustainable, equitable and resilient urban development in
the world pursuant to Goal 11 of the UN SDGs and the ‘New Urban Agenda’ adopted
at the UN Habitat  Conference in 2016 in
Quitto, Ecuador.

 
The CSU was launched as an initiative of the UN Global Alliance for ICT
for Development (UNGAID) under the leadership of Dr. Abu Ghazaleh in 2009
following a UNGAID Conference on ‘Our Common Humanity’ held at the United
Nations Headquarters in New York in May 2009.

   The CSU
Awards Gala of 2024 attracted wide participation by leading architects, urban
designers, UN Ambassadors, university professors and students, policymakers,
business leaders and local government officials from around the world.