Category: News from Asia & Australasia

Exciting exchange of best practices and pilot projects to be expected from EU-Korean city-to-city cooperation

Six EU and Korean pilot cities in the IURC programme had their kick-off meeting on 30 September 2021 to introduce their interests and best practices in areas such as climate action, energy, mobility, flood resilience and healthcare. The meeting was opened by Mr. Patrick Polacsek from the EU Delegation to Korea, who congratulated Busan, Sejong, Seoul, Dublin, Rotterdam and Sofia...

Working Group Meeting on Solid Waste Management (Developments and Updates) from the Indian Cities of Gangtok, Leh and Vijayawada

On 24 September 2021, the German RETech Partnership and the International Urban and Regional Cooperation programme of the European Union together organised an exclusive webinar on solid waste management in Indian cities. This workshop is bi-annually organised by the REtech Partnership to inform its members on the ongoing and forthcoming activities and initiatives of the working group and developments in...

Warm Atmosphere at EU-Japan IURC Kick-off Meeting

On 16 September, the Japan Helpdesk, led by Mr. Hidefumi Imura, Urban Development Expert Japan, organised a kick-off meeting to welcome partner cities to a new phase of EU-Japan urban cooperation. Among the nine project countries of IURC Asia & Australasia, Japan indeed hosts the highest number of participating cities, with 13 EU cities to be paired with 10 Japanese...

Enthusiastic participation from EU and Malaysian cities during kick-off meeting

Some 20 city coordinators from Penang and Malacca in Malaysia, Maia and Vila Nova de Famalicão in Portugal, and NCI / Bologna in Italy participated in the EU-Malaysia Cities Kick-off Meeting on 15 September, marking the launch of the IURC programme in Malaysia. The meeting was opened by Mr. Francesco Floris, Head of the Economic and Trade Section, EU Delegation...

EU-New Zealand IURC Kick-off Meeting

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...

Mumbai Climate Action Plan – Stakeholder Consultation on Sustainable Mobility

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) as a part of the C40 Cities Network in collaboration with the Government of Maharashtra, WRI, Climate Voices and Waatavaran is developing the City’s first climate action plan - the Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP). To achieve this, a series of stakeholder consultations are being conducted to seek feedback and recommendations from organisations...

The Journey of “New Green Possibilities” Is Only Beginning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfJ9bGuAyvs The goal of the “New Green Possibilities” International Forum was to look at the promotion of green public space from different angles. This is why it was divided into four talks to engage four different groups of urban stakeholders. We hope you recognise the role that each stakeholder plays in developing our living environment and the interrelations among them....

IURC cooperation in Bangkok for a greener city

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T2oJXhZnwc As cities are responsible for a high level of energy consumption and around 70% of greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable urban development is a key component in the European Union’s efforts to realise the #EuropeanGreenDeal and become carbon neutral by 2050. In Bangkok, the EU Delegation to Thailand recently established a partnership with we!park through the International Urban and Regional...

Videos on climate change by Finnish and Japanese youth to be presented at COP26

When the cities of Nagano and Obuse in Japan and Turku in Finland were paired up for cooperation within the IUC programme in 2019, they were interested in tackling the issue of climate change. The Japanese cities had recently been hit by a typhoon and Turku had had experiences with unexpected flooding. The question they asked themselves was: How to...

How the private sector can contribute to more green public space

The Business Talk of the “New Green Possibilities” International Forum, organised on 30 July, marked a rare occasion where Thai corporations, particularly those in property development, came together to discuss their contributions to the promotion of green urban space and smart city solutions and offer suggestions for better regulations that could lead to better urban development. The Business Talk was...