Category: News from Asia & Australasia

Call for Companies to enter the Joint Open Innovation Online Pitches on New Energy Technologies and/or Hydrogen

Companies (large, middle-sized or SME) from our IURC partner cities of Essen (Germany), Grenoble-Alpes Metropole (France), Toyota or Koriyama (Japan), looking for solutions on new energy technologies and/or hydrogen to address climate change challenges, are eligible to participate in the Joint Open Innovation Online Pitches. Participants will benefit by being connected to 4 innovative energy ecosystems of the partner cities....

Nurturing Start-ups and Driving Innovation in Gwalior and Leuven via Joint Actions

As part of the cooperation between Gwalior, India and Leuven, Belgium, Leuven MindGate and the Flanders Business School co-funded with IURC the participation of 3 Gwalior start-up representatives and a representative from G.Incube, Mr Paritosh Goel in the And& Connect event in Leuven from 2-5 May 2023 to promote innovation, connectiveness and inspiration. The And& Connect festival brought together professionals...

A Case of Mutual Enrichment between an Indian and European City

A three-member delegation from Alto Minho, Portugal visited Jamshedpur, India from 18 – 21 April, 2023 as part of the ongoing cooperation between the Intermunicipal Council of Alto Minho (CIM Alto Minho) and Tata Steel Utilities and Infrastructure Services Limited (TSUISL) Jamshedpur. The focus of cooperation is solid waste management.  Post meetings with MD Brainstorming sessions with technical team Meetings with...

Karlsruhe and PMRDA Exchange Best Practices on Urban Planning

The high-level exchange visit of the City of Karlsruhe to the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) focused on best practices for the mutually beneficial pilot projects of (i) the Eco-Industrial Township (EIT) design development and (ii) the establishment of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Urban Planning. The 3-day exchange visit agenda from 24th – 26th April 2023 was planned to...

EU-New Zealand: IURC Cities participated at Sustainable Cities Dialogue

The Delegation of the European Union to New Zealand has launched a new seminar series entitled Policy Futures: EU-Aotearoa New Zealand. The purpose is to deepen policy dialogue on issues of mutual relevance, such as climate action, digital policy and the future of multilateralism. The series will support exchanges between New Zealand and EU researchers, practitioners and decision-makers across government,...

Greek Cities & Leh Strengthen Relations on Urban Issues

A 3-member delegation from the Greek cities of Trikala, Farkadona and Meteora visited the mountain city of Leh in India from 5–8 June, 2023 as part of the ongoing cooperation between the two regions. The focus of cooperation is urban planning, while the delegates shared their commonalities and challenges in terms of location, potential for tourism, funding, etc. The delegates...

A Model Cooperation Between Various Stakeholders on Flood Warning

A water-based city, Kochi has 48 km of waterfront development, a water transport system that converges with other modes of transport. Being a city that lies near sea level, any change in ocean levels will affect the city. The city faced one of the worst floods in 2019. Critical assets like main power substations and arterial roads were flooded. Flash...

Bangkok draws food policy inspiration from Milan

An 11-member delegation from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) visited Milan from 22-24 May for a cooperation dialogue with the Municipality of Milan, which includes the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP) Secretariat, to discuss cooperation progress and goals within the IURC programme. The 3-day event consisted of meetings, workshops and site visits in which the Bangkok delegates, led by...

Food Tech in the EU and Japan Webinar by EU-Japan Region-to-Region Innovation Cooperation

The EU-Japan Region-to-Region Innovation Cooperation Webinar webinar on Food Tech held on 24 May from 9:00-10:30 CEST aimed to introduce the respective initiatives of European regions and Japanese prefectures on food innovation. From this perspective, experiences, and support on food industry in regions in Europe and Japan were presented and discussed. The rationale of the webinar lays on the fact...

Asia & Australasia: Webinar on Tactical Urbanism – Part 2

Over the past decade, the concept of tactical urbanism (also known as “urban prototyping”) has gained a strong pace in many cities around the globe. Pedestrian plazas, pop-up bike lanes, pop-up parks and innovative playgrounds are just some of the examples developed by city authorities and civil society to improve the liveability of their cities. Actions are piloted in the...