1995 September, Huairou village, near Beijing, China

At the Grassroots Tent, multi-country leadership teams present their practices and strategize to ensure issues of housing, sanitation, safe, and successful communities are included in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The Secretary General of the UN Centre for Human Settlements, Dr. Wally N’Dow, recognizing the power of the coalition of grassroots leaders and their organisations, initiates the Huairou Commission to advise in the design of the 1996 Habitat II and to mainstream grassroots women’s development priorities.