EU-New Zealand IURC Kick-off Meeting

Categorized as News from Asia & Australasia

First Kick-off Meeting for IURC in Asia and Australasia

The International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme kicked off its first partnerships between European and New Zealand cities in an on-line meeting on 13 September 2021.

Participants included the city coordinators from the participating cities: Lemvig, Denmark; Malaga and Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain; Vilnius, Lithuania; and Nelson, Christchurch and New Plymouth in New Zealand. Giving everyone a warm welcome to the cooperation was H.E. Nina Obermaier, EU Ambassador to New Zealand, while Dr. Ronald Hall, Senior Advisor to the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy of the European Commission, introduced the IURC.

For the next two and a half years, all the cities will be learning from one another and sharing best practices on topics such as ecological transition and urban renewal to tackle climate change and other pressing issues. They will be working in pairs as well as in thematic clusters based on their interests. There will be opportunities for coaching from the project team and for visiting their city’s counterpart.

Here are the city pairings.

  1. Christchurch – Malaga and Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
  2. New Plymouth – Vilnius, Lithuania
  3. Wakatū Incorporation and Nelson – Klimatorium and Lemvig, Denmark

For information on the participating cities/organisations, check out their presentations.