Category: News from Asia & Australasia

Brisbane in Barcelona: Urban Transformation through the Olympics

A delegation led by Brisbane's Deputy Mayor Krista Adams implemented a working visit to Barcelona from 2 - 4 November 2022. Last year, the Olympic committee awarded Brisbane to host the 2032 Olympic games, an event Barcelona hosted in 1992. With this in mind, Brisbane visited Barcelona via the IURC programme to engage in dialogues with city officials, conduct site...

Improving food supply and distribution system to ensure food security and reduce environmental impact

The Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP) Secretariat and IURC Asia & Australasia co-organised the fifth webinar of their food policy training series on 18 November 2022, focusing on the topic of food supply and distribution. Over 40 participants from Asia Pacific and beyond joined the one-hour event. Pablo Gandara, Team Leader of IURC Asia & Australasia, provided a brief...

Regional Workshop for European, Asian and Australasian city experts in Brussels

More than 50 delegates from 26 EU cities and regions as well as from 6 cities from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Republic of Korea and India met on 7 November 2022 in Brussels to exchange on the implementation of the IURC programme. The workshop provided the opportunity for cross-country cooperation among the IURC thematic areas. The event was organised...

Study visit of Rome to Bandung City

25-28 October 2022 Through the IURC programme, Rome (Italy) conducted a study visit to Bandung City (Indonesia) from October 25 to 28, 2022. The delegation consisted of four officials, led by Mr. Raffaele Barbato, Director of the Strategic Planning and National Plan for Recovery and Resilience (PNRR) Department – Municipality of Rome. Representatives from other organisations joined the study visit,...

Essen – Grenoble-Alpes Métropole – Toyota – Koriyama Study visit

11-15 October 2022 The City of Essen, Germany, and Grenoble-Alpes Métropole, France, sent a delegation to the cities of Toyota and Koriyama in Japan, to explore the possibilities of urban and regional cooperation in the fields of Hydrogen and Open Innovation. The mission aimed at establishing a mutually-beneficial and future-oriented relationship between not only the four municipalities but academic and...

Second Study Visit of Ha Tinh City, Da Lat City via IURC to Stuttgart Region, Metropolitan Capital City of Rome, Colleferro and Latina

10-14 October 2022 The IURC Asia & Australasia programme's partner cities from Vietnam, including Ha Tinh City and Da Lat City, just completed their second study visit to their EU counterparts, the Functional Area of the City of Colleferro and Latina (Italy) and the Stuttgart Region (Germany). The purpose of the study visit was to: strengthen cooperation between IURC pilot...

Brisbane study visit to Hamburg’s famed Wilhelmsburg quarter (IBA)

This week the Brisbane delegation visited Hamburg, its partner city for the IURC programme. Brisbane is the proud host of the 2032 Olympic games, and began their study tour today by visiting Hamburg’s Wilhelmsburg quarter, Europe’s largest populated river island, split by two branches of the Elbe.  Today’s tour focused on a visit to the grounds of the IBA Hamburg...

Maia and Famalicão visit to Malaysia’s Penang Cities – World Habitat Day 2022

A delegation from the Portuguese cities of Maia and Vila Nova de Famalicão held several work meetings in the Penang cities George Town and Seberang Perai from 11 to 16 September 2022. As a result of the mission, three MoUs were signed for cooperation on circular economy and waste management. The mission was reflected in a video launched by the...

Kicking things off: EU-Japan Region-to-Region Innovation Cooperation

On the 13th of July 2022, 6 Regions from different Member States of the EU and 5 Japanese prefectures met online as a First touchpoint of the “EU-Japan Region-to-Region Innovation Cooperation”. This gathering provided opportunities for the EU regions and Japanese prefectures to meet, present themselves, exchange information and ideas, and establish an initial contact for collaboration. The EU-Japan Region-to-Region...

Asia Pacific cities join global network to strengthen food systems

The European Union supports the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP) within the Farm to Fork Strategy. The strategy is at the heart of the European Green Deal and aims at making food systems fair, healthy and environmentally friendly. With support from IURC Asia & Australasia, the MUFPP Secretariat organised its first regional forum in Asia Pacific in Bandung, Indonesia,...