Category: News from Asia & Australasia

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,...

Circular Economy and Biomining: Forging the Way

25 September 2023 As part of the IURC thematic network ‘Ecological Transition & Green Deal’, on 25th September 2023, IURC AA (India) delivered the thematic event Legacy Waste Biomining: Challenges & Solutions. The aim was to share best practices on how to manage legacy waste. Officials from Panaji, Leh, Jamshedpur, Patna, Porbandar, Gangtok, Kochi, Chennai, Trier, Messina and the Greek Cities...

Turku City, Finland, and Nagano City and Obuse Town, Japan hold an exchange and collaboration workshop

14 September 2023 Since the first phase of IURC (2019), Turku City, Finland, and Nagano City and Obuse Town in Japan, cooperated for “Integration of urban-rural circular economy in water-food-energy nexus.” Turku and Nagano shared a common interest in climate change action and renewable energies, in particular biomass.  Obuse, a small town surrounded by countryside, is interested in sustainable tourism and urban development harmonious with...

Advanced Air Mobility in the EU and Japan Webinar by EU-Japan Region-to-Region Innovation Cooperation

The EU-Japan Region-to-Region Innovation Cooperation Program’s webinar on Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) held on 28 September from 9:00-10:30 CET aimed to introduce the respective initiatives of European regions and Japanese prefectures for the development and diffusion of electric vertical take-off and landing aircrafts (eVTOLs). Mr. Jukka Savo, the Principal Administrator at the European Commission for Aviation Safety Drones, AI and...

Albacete and Gangtok: Celebrating a Year of Partnership and Progress for a Greener Future

The partnership between Gangtok, India, and Albacete, Spain, has reached a significant milestone. The cities began their partnership in 2022 and have conducted two productive exchange visits, enabling them to share insights, best practices and ideas for creating more sustainable communities, with a focus on solid waste management awareness.  Based on the learnings of this partnership, a poster on waste...