Category: News from Asia & Australasia

Maia Circular Economy Cooperation – EcoSchool Videos

The City of Maia and its communication partners Biorumo have completed six (6) "Do-It-Yourself" videos on circular economy waste management. These videos were shared with Kuala Lumpur City Hall during the Climate Change Seminar on 21 September which attracted 270 pax in-person attendance. Susana Pinho, Senior Technician from Maia City Council was instrumental in executing this with Mr. Carlos Mendes,...

Bangkok launches first food policy in cooperation with Milan and the European Union

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has reached a significant milestone with the introduction of the Bangkok Food Policy 2023-2027, aimed at enhancing the sustainability and inclusivity of the city’s food system. The policy is a result of Bangkok’s cooperation with the European Union (EU). Under this policy, Bangkok envisions itself as “the city of food with sustainability, equity and quality”....

Thematic Webinar Series – Closing Modules

Thematic Webinar Series - Closing Modules Monday 11 December - 22 December 2023 08:00 am Brussels time (CET) Venue: Online (Zoom link will be sent after registration) The IURC Asia and Australasia team will be running a series of thematic webinars dealing with: EU Funding: Opportunities for possible pilot / follow-up actions Tactical Urbanism – Deep Dive and Pilot Actions Smart...

City resilience at the forefront of EU-India city partnerships

The International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) Programme was formally launched in India in February 2022 and worked with 14 Indian cities and 9 European cities, through 9 city pairings and five single cities. The programme focused on exchange of best practices, thematic cluster workshops, exchange visits, bi-lateral meetings, etc. For three city pairings it was possible to design and...

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...