Circular Economy Urban Centres (CoP 8)— Completion of UCAP with proposed Pilot Projects

Kick-off CoP Meeting on 16 January 

The first Community of Practice (CoP) kick-off meeting for CoP #8 Circular Economy Urban Centres was held on 16 January with Ms. Jacqueline Chang, CoP Manager welcoming participants and requesting camera-on introductions (tour de table) and a warm welcome was delivered by Mr. Pablo Gándara, IURC Team Leader. The first CoP meeting for Circular Economy Urban Centres brought together representatives from six (6) pilot cities from the EU: Bologna Metropolitan City, Italy (CoP Coordinator) and member cities from Sofia, Bulgaria and Riga, Latvia and the AA: New Taipei (Taiwan), Gangtok (India) and Seberang Perai (Penang, Malaysia) to discuss progress and collaboration opportunities in circular economy urban resources centres and the network hubs on repair culture initiatives.

The meeting included presentations from Bologna and Riga on proposing a list of pilot projects and the accompanying activities and deliverables, with discussions focusing on fostering repair culture and establishing Circular Economy Hubs which are multifunctional. 

Mr. Marino Cavallo, Head of the Department Research, Innovation and Management of EU Projects, Bologna Metropolitan City shared best practices on “Repair Hubs and the Circular Economy – The experience of MCBO” with possible activities and proposals for pilot projects in 2026.

Ms. Anna Ance Rusova Lūse, Circular Economy Expert, Riga City Municipality Agency “Riga Energy Agency” shared best practices presentation on “Circular Economy Hubs” on possible activities and proposals for pilot projects in 2027.

The session concluded with details about a competitive fund for pilot projects by the IURC Team Leader Mr. Pablo Gándara and Ms. Jacqueline Chang gave a briefing on established timelines for submitting the Urban-Cooperation Action Plan (U-CAP), and the opportunity for Horizon Funding related to application of circular economy solutions for the construction sector and buildings (call opens 4 Feb 2026 and closes 8 October 2026).

In summary, the meeting served as a strategic platform for the pilot cities to meet and begin exploring the purpose and potential of building a shared understanding of long-term vision and goals.

Second CoP Meeting on 10 February

From 16 January until 10 February, CoP member cities were able to collaborate in open dialogues around mutual priorities and key urban and regional challenges. By the second CoP meeting, the six pilot cities worked together in successfully completing their Urban Cooperation Action Plan (U-CAP) with two pilot projects in Section 9 of the UCAP involving European and Asian cities in this Community of Practice.  

Mr. Marino Cavallo, CoP Coordinator (Bologna Metropolitan City) presented the Pilot Project 1: Hub And Services To Promote Repair Culture (April to December 2026) and he invited the cities to express their interest in specific areas of focus by providing three options: designing an innovative repair hub or a network of repair centres, developing a project with a European country (collaborating with another Erasmus project) and replicating it in an Asian city, or focusing on consumer awareness. 

Ms. Anna Ance Rusova Lūse from Riga presented the Pilot Project 2 which involves EU–Asia Policies on Circular Economy Urban Centres and Citizen Engagement (January to July 2027) and it involves policy dialogue(s) in Lisbon, where this Community of Practice will be able to collaborate with their partner city who is part of another EU funded project URBACT Let’s Go Circular! Project. More updates will be shared after a project meeting in March.

The CoP member cities during the second CoP meeting, agreed to formalize their approval of the UCAP and decided on the format for their upcoming study visits. 

The first one by Bologna Metropolitan City (23 to 27 May) and  Ms. Katie Liu, Outreach & Research, International Affairs Division, Secretariat presented their preliminary outline of Study Visit 2 (9 to 14 June). Gangtok will be proposing a third study visit between July to November 2026.

We would like to thank the following city government officials in this CoP for their hard work and dedication since January 2026:

• Bologna Metropolitan City (CoP Coordinator)
  • Mr. Marino Cavallo, Head of the Department Research, Innovation and Management of EU Projects
• Riga
  • Ms. Anna Ance Rusova Lūse, Circular Economy Expert
  • Ms. Leva Kalnina, International Project Manager
• Sofia
  • Ms. Petya Dimitrova, Chief Expert, Digitization, Innovation and Investment Unit 
  • Ms. Sofiya Yovcheva , Junior Expert, Digitization, Innovation and Investment Unit
• New Taipei
  • Ms. Katie Liu, Outreach & Research, International Affairs Division, Secretariat
  • Ms. Shelley Lu, Section Head, International Affairs Division, Secretariat
  • Ms. Wendy Chang, Officer, International Affairs Division, Secretariat
  • Mr. Hung-Yi, Liu,  Technical Specialist, Department of Environmental Protection
  • Mr. Hao-Jhong Wu, Deputy Chief Engineer, Public Works Department
  • Ms. Fang Shen, Business Manager, Ennowell, New Taipei’s partner in this cooperation
• Gangtok
  • Dr. Shri Dadi Ram Dhakal, Municipal Engineer 
  • Mr. Tsewang Bhutia, Assistant Municipal Engineer 
• Seberang Perai
  • Ms. Rachel Teh, City Councillor
  • Mr. Chew Eng Seng, Head of Education & Promotion Environment Unit

The EU-funded International Urban and Regional Cooperation for Asia-Australasia’s Circular Economy Cluster currently has five (5) Communities of Practice (CoP) consisting of 24 cities from 11 countries/territories.

For more information you can email the Cluster | CoP Manager jchang@iurc.eu and IURC Helpdesk Team helpdesk@iurc.eu

CoP #5 Team 1: Smart Circular Cities 

EU: Debrecen, Sofia

AA: Iskandar Malaysia, Pimpri Chinchwad, Cuttack, Jabalpur

CoP #5 Team 2: Smart Circular Cities

EU: Madrid, Granada

AA: Beijing, Zhengzhou, Guangzhou 

CoP #6: Circular Carbon Economy – Research & Innovation

EU: Trier, Bremen

AA: Chennai, Cuttack, Jabalpur

CoP #7: Food Policy & Circular Food Solutions

EU: Milan, Vicenza, Košice

AA: Seberang Perai, Melaka, Kuala Lumpur (observer), Zhengzhou

CoP #8: Circular Economy Urban Centres

EU: Bologna Metropolitan City, Riga, Sofia

AA: New Taipei, Gangtok, Seberang Perai