Category: News from Asia & Australasia

EU-Japan Region-to-Region Innovation Cooperation: A culmination of project activities and results

The EU-Japan Region-to-Region Innovation Cooperation, launched in November 2021, focused on fostering collaboration between EU regions and Japanese prefectures. It emphasized knowledge sharing and mutual learning in policy areas of innovation, entrepreneurship, and start-up ecosystems at the regional level. It acknowledged the common objectives and challenges faced by both EU and Japanese regions, such as green recovery, decarbonisation, renewable energy,...

Japanese hydrogen energy companies visit Essen and Brussels

Three representatives of the Japanese energy company Nihon Koei from Koriyama along with city officials travelled to Europe to participate in the bootcamp on hydrogen energy offered by the economic promotion agency of Essen (an IURC pilot city).  The agenda included business meetings with several counterparts in Essen. It also included participation at the EU Hydrogen Week 2023 taking place...

Peer to Peer Collaboration Leads to a Circular Economy Pilot in Chennai

As part of the IURC Programme, Chennai (Chengalpattu district) in India, the City of Trier in Germany, the Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science (HITS), Chennai and the Trier University of Applied Sciences (TUAS) have been cooperating on a sustainable campus concept. To set the basic framework for a circular economy, a biogas pilot plant was constructed at the HITS...

EU-Japan Region-to-Region Innovation Cooperation: A Recap of the Fourth Exchange Meeting of EU Regions and Japanese Prefectures

The fourth and the final Exchange Meeting between European Regions and Japanese Prefectures took place in the premise of the Delegation of the EU to Japan on 30 October back-to-back with the High-Level Policy Dialogue of EC Directorate-General Regional and Urban Policy (DG-REGIO) and the Ministry of Land Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) of Japan held on 31 October. The...

Exchange of Global Learnings on Digital Tools for Flood Management

30 October 2023 As part of the IURC thematic network ‘Ecological Transition & Green Deal’, IURC AA (India) delivered the thematic cluster event Digital Tools for Flood Management on 30th October 2023. Officials from the cities of Panaji, Kochi, Leh, Christchurch, Semarang, Surakarta, Penampang, Melaka, Rotterdam, Messina, and Meteora/Farkadona/Trikala (Greece) attended the interactive event, as well as representatives from organisations...

Brisbane joins the Smart City Expo 2023 in Barcelona

Two delegates from Brisbane City Council visited Barcelona from 6-10 November 2023 to participate in the Smart City Expo / Smart City World Congress and to conduct bilateral meetings with several departments from Barcelona City Council. Rebecca Arnaud, Legacy and Precinct Planning Manager for the Brisbane 2032 Host City, and Juliet Alabaster, Chief Operating Officer at Brisbane Economic Development Agency,...

Melbourne City Experts meet counterparts in Barcelona and Madrid

A delegation from the City of Melbourne absolved a study visit in Spain from 23 - 27 October 2023. The delegation consisted of Jordi McInerney (Innovation Precincts), Lauren Beattie (Transportation Planning) and Kelly Hertzog (Parks and City Greening Division). They were supported by Prof. Bruce Wilson (RMIT), IURC Coordinator for Australia. The mission started in Barcelona, where delegates met with the...

Bangkok and Chennai Experts Meetings in Trier, Germany

As a follow-up of the IURC Global Event 2023 participation, a high-level delegation from the university HITS (Chennai, India) and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration held technical meetings in Trier. The delegation included Mr. Pornphrom Vikitsreth, Chief Advisor for Climate Action the Governor of Bangkok, as well as Dr Ahosk and Enind Verghese from HITS. The activity was hosted by Prof....

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

As the EU-Japan Region-to-Region Innovation Cooperation programme will conclude in November 2023, the final exchange meeting between the EU regions and the Japanese prefectures participating in the programme will take place on 30 October 2023 with Session 2 from 16:00-18:20 JST / 8:00-10:20 CET (online). The meeting will be held in a hybrid format, with participation in person from Japan...

Brisbane hosts IURC delegation at Asia Pacific Cities Summit (APCS)

Brisbane City Council welcomed a delegation from Barcelona, Melbourne, New Plymouth and Christchurch from 9-13 October 2023 on the occasion of the Asia Pacific Cities Summit (APCS). The event - which gathered more than 1,100 delegates from 171 cities, including 118 Mayors and Deputy Mayors - involved IURC delegates in several workshops within the thematic areas "Cities of Connection" (technology,...