A United Nations Expert Group Meeting was organised on October 29-31, 2009 by IAARA and UN-HABITAT as a preparatory session for the World Olympiad for Urban Design, a unique international event meant to promote urban sustainability through quality of space and design creativity.

The agenda of the EGM included:
· The Olympiads: Purpose and way forwards for the WOUD
· Defining the WOUD objectives
· Defining the Olympiad categories, evaluation criteria and   procedures
· Defining the WOUD submission format and WOUD events
· Secretarait and resourcing for the WOUD

EGM Participants (in alphabetical order):
Christine Auclair
Chief, Private Sector Unit
UN-Habitat

Michael Crofton-Briggs
Head of City Development
Oxford City Council

Debbie Dance
Director
Oxford Preservation Trust

Mat Davies
Head of Facilities
Oxford Said Business School

Iraj Etessam
Professor
University of Tehran

Gordon Feller
CEO
Urban Age

Ramin Keivani
Research Coordinator
Oxford Brookes University

Pierre Laconte
President
ISOCARP

Neil Monaghan
Head of Property
Oxfordshire County Council

Laura Petrella
UN-Habitat

Lan Phuong Phan
Director
Renaissance Urbaine

Reza Pourvaziry
President
International Art & Architecture Research Association

Shibu Raman
Oxford Brookes University

Anna Rubbo
Global Studio / University of Sydney

Cecil Steward
President / CEO
Joslyn Institute for Sustainable Communities

Marston Street
Dean of the School of Built Environment
Oxford Brookes University

John Thompson
Chairman
Academy of Urbanism

Georgia Butina Watson
Head of Department of Planning & Urban Design
Oxford Brookes University

Nicholas You
Special Advisor at the Office of the Executive Director
UN-Habitat