Category: News from Asia & Australasia

Portugal-Malaysia Pilot Action: Penang Eco-School Delegation to Famalicão

From 20 to 25 November 2023, Vila Nova de Famalicao (VNF) hosted the second cohort of the eco-school student exchange programme “Famalicao-Penang Youth Climate Action”, which has been awarded the support of IURC's competitive fund. The mission focused on closing the loop on food waste and other waste streams. The Malaysian delegation consisted of one principal and two top students...

Kochi-Messina collaboration leads to pilot flood management warning system in the city of Kochi

As part of the IURC Programme, five water level sensors were installed in Kochi, India from November 13-16, 2023, in cooperation with Kochi Municipal Corporation, Centre for Heritage, Environment and Development (C-HED), Kochi, City of Messina and University of Messina. The water level sensors were developed by the University of Messina and were deployed in the city of Kochi by...

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....