Category: News from Asia & Australasia


Japan: Delegates from Koriyama and Toyota visted Essen and Grenoble

Koriyama and Toyota completed the study visit to Essen and GAM (Grenoble-Alpes Metropole) from 22-29 June. During their visit, Koriyama and Essen were able to see Essen and GAMs’ action to promote a “hydrogen-based society” and their utilization of “open innovation” platforms to support innovation for industrial transitions. The delegation from Japan was membered by municipality officials responsible for the...

EU-Japan Region-to-Region Innovation Cooperation: The First Exchange Meeting of EU Regions and Japanese Prefectures

The EU-Japan Region-to-Region Innovation Cooperation is a project of the European Union managed by the Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) and the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) of the European Commission, and implemented in cooperation with the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). Its overall aim is to contribute to sustainable urban development and innovation...

8th Thematic Webinar – Circular Food Waste Community Hubs: Preparing the Pilot Models for Circular Neighbourhoods

IURC cities engaged in Circular Food Waste Community Hubs discussions and recommendations for Southeast Asia cities The IURC Asia & Australasia’s 8th thematic webinar on 21 June 2022 attracted 134 registered participants from 25 countries, namely Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Thailand, Mongolia, New Zealand, South Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Vietnam, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands,...

EU and Vietnamese cities organise their first study visit

Delegates from Stuttgart Region and the Colleferro-Latina Functional Area made the first visit to Vietnam to meet with their counterparts in Ha Tinh and Da Lat. The objectives of this kind of study visit within the IURC programme are to strengthen cooperation between the paired cities or clusters, explore collaboration opportunities with other stakeholders and identify joint pilot actions. The...

First group of EU city delegates visit Malaysia

Study Visit to Melaka City (Malaysia) by Nuovo Circondario Imolese (NCI) Bologna Delegation (Italy), 16 May to 19 May 2022 IURC Asia & Australasia organised its second study visit to Melaka in May 2022. The Nuovo Circondario Imolese (NCI) Bologna government delegation was led by Mr. Marco Panieri, Mayor of Imola, President of NCI Nuovo Circondario Imolese and Deputy Mayor of...

Malaysia takes the lead in study visits

Study Visit to Portuguese cities cluster (Maia, Famalicão, Braga) by George Town Delegation from Penang (Malaysia), 25-30 April 2022 IURC Asia & Australasia commenced its first study visit to Europe in the beginning of Q2 2022. The George Town government delegation was led by Honourable Phee Boon Poh, Penang State Minister for Environment and Welfare, and consisted of three other...

How Cities Achieve Sustainable Diets and Nutrition

After the success of the previous food policy training on governance in April, the second MUFPP and IURC webinar was held on 24 May 2022. The webinar presented how cities can promote sustainable diets, better consumption, and nutrition patterns in their communities through a variety of public services such as school canteens, child nutrition, and food assistance programmes. Cécile Michel,...

Study visit of Japanese delegation to Sweden and Italy

A delegation from Kamakura, Japan visited Umeå, Sweden and Venice, Italy from 13-23 May 2022 via the IURC programme. Kamakura's main interest in the first portion of the European visit was to see first-hand how Umeå manages the guiding of tourists and citizens toward more sustainable consumption. The second half of the trip focused on how Venice manages sustainable tourism...

DEADLINE EXTENDED: EU-Japan Region-to-Region Innovation Cooperation – APPLY NOW!

5 Regions from different Member States of the EU and 5 Prefectures from Japan will soon be selected to exchange best practices and knowledge to improve and to internationalise their respective regional innovation strategies while promoting international value chains. The EU-Japan Region-to-Region Innovation Cooperation is a project of the European Union managed by the Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) and the...

Busan and Rotterdam gear up for upcoming visits

Before their scheduled study visit in July, IURC partners Busan and Rotterdam sat down for another bilateral meeting in May. As Busan will be hosting Rotterdam in July, Busan shared their upcoming study visit plan, while Rotterdam narrowed down their interests and potential topics of cooperation to explore during their study visit. Rotterdam opened with a presentation sharing about Rotterdam’s...