Discover Stories from UCLG ASPAC | E-Newsletter March 2016

HEAD NEWS
Forging A Stronger Relation with Taipei City Government

UCLG ASPAC MoU with Taipei City Government
EYEING for enhanced collaborations, UCLG ASPAC and the Taipei City Government signed a Memorandum and Understanding (MoU) on 1^st March 2016 at Taipei City Hall. The MoU highlights the Secondment Programme, where the Taipei City Government will designate its official liaison to join the UCLG ASPAC Secretariat, as a way to promote a close and strong relationship between the two parties. Read more

See You in New Delhi: UCLG ASPAC Executive Bureau Meeting

GEARING up for the First Session of 2016 UCLG ASPAC Executive Bureau Meeting to be held on 5 May in New Delhi, India, the Secretariat has been mobilizing members, partners and speakers to participate. The ExBu meeting will be held in conjunction with the Third South Asian Cities Summit “Smart Cities – Aspirations and Challenges” . Read more

Environmentally Sustainable Cities:
Redesigning toward the 2030 Agenda

OVER the years, East Asia has undergone remarkable development through rapid industrialization, population expansion and urban growth. However, the current pattern of rapid urbanization in the region is economically and environmentally unsustainable – overwhelming burdens are being placed on the environment and increasingly strained urban services, causing serious environmental degradation and leaving many to subsist
in grinding poverty and abject living conditions. Under these concerns, the High Level Seminar on Environmentally Sustainable Cities (HLS ESC) returned this year with
its 7^th edition, gathering around 160 delegates. Read more

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

4^th PFD Global Meeting: Multi-actor Spaces for Development Goals

IT is recognized that the implementation of the SDGs will be a slow, gradual process, and it is widely acknowledged that the SDGs will not be achieved without the active participation of the local level. The 4^th Global Meeting of the Policy Forum on Development (PFD), held in Brussels from 14 to 16 March 2016, brought the discussion under the spotlight. UCLG ASPAC was represented by its Secretary General, Dr. Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi, who spoke during one of the sessions.
Read more

Implementing SDGs in Indonesia: are Local Governments and People Ready?

THE adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015 has raised a question of whether or not certain countries are ready in its implementation. Indonesia is not an exception. With decentralization putting local governments at the center of development planning, the success of SDGs’ implementation strongly depends on local authorities (LAs) and their collaborations with civil society organizations (CSOs) and other local actors. Read more

2016 Velo-city: Shaping a Cycling Friendly City

CYCLING is becoming a symbol of urban culture and a new lifestyle of living for better health and environment. With transport being responsible for 24% of CO² emissions, mobility without cars has become necessary in order to tackle climate change. Under these premises, the 2016 Velo-city Global Conference, held in Taipei, from 27 February to 1 March 2016, brought together various development actors to influence decision makers, and improve the planning and provision of infrastructure for the daily use of the bicycle in an urban environment.
The Conference approaches five different aspects: urban transition, moving lifestyle, sustainable economy, sharing societies and design in motion. UCLG ASPAC Secretary General spoke during the Closing Plenary session, reminding that climate change had posed many and diverse challenges to the cycling world. Read more

Cities Warming Up for Sustainable Mobility Action Plans

TAKING a step further in their plans to adopt sustainable mobility initiatives, cities and local governments gathered in the first ever Local Government Transport Officer Network’s Workshop held on 23^rd and 24^th March 2016, in Salatiga, Indonesia. participants from Salatiga, Surakarta, Jakarta, Batam, Surabaya, Tangerang, East Kalimantan, Taipei, Guangzhou and the Ministry of Transportation of Indonesia attended to discuss follow-up activities and updates on their Action Plans to adopt Seoul's best practices on transportation system. The workshop was divided into four different themes: transport demand management, bus reform, traffic management system and other sustainable mobility issues. Every delegation delivered presentations on how they have developed transport policies based the lessons learned from Seoul. Read more

WOMEN IN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Sri Lanka's New Act Gives
a New Hope to Women

AFTER decades of struggle, women in Sri Lanka have finally reached a new high within the country’s political sphere. For the first time in Sri Lanka, the need for female representation in politics is legally recognized at the local government level. A new bill passed into an act in January 2016, paving the way for more women to enter into local politics. The new act increases women’s representation in local government bodies, granting 25% of council seats for women. The seats will be awarded to female candidates nominated by political parties on a separate list – according to the proportion of the votes obtained by each party. Seats will be allocated based on the order of priority in this separate list. Read more

MEMBERS NEWS

Catbalogan Joins the Global Network of Magellan Cities

BY invitation of the Global Network of Magellan Cities (GNMC), Catbalogan City, through Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan, was among the selected cities in the Philippines that attended the 5t^h GNMC Meeting in Cebu City, on February 15-17, 2016. The GNMC is an international non-profit organization comprising several cities involved in the “First Voyage around the World,” which was launched by Ferdinand Magellan and completed by Juan Sebastian Escano. Read more

NEWS FROM THE SECRETARIAT

Welcome Onboard: New Staff, Secondee and Interns

From left: Nanda, Nora, Yakin and Maria.

UCLG ASPAC welcomed this month new staff, secondee and interns: Nanda Sihombing, Nora Wen Jun, Maria Magdalena and Yakin Rizwanul. Get to know them more here.

NEW PUBLICATIONS

UCLG ASPAC

ADB

UPCOMING EVENTS

5 – 7 May 2016 | New Delhi, India | First Session of UCLG ASPAC Executive Bureau 2016 and the Third South Asian Cities Summit "Smart Cities - Aspirations and Challenges" | Site
9 May 2016 | Phuket, Thailand|Changwon/UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Lifelong Education| Site
18-22 May 2016 | Jeju, Republic of Korea | UCLG ASPAC-CIFAL Jeju Training on Developing Capacities on Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)| Site
23-27 May 2016 | Singapore | CDIA Urban Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Training| Site
24-27 May 2016 | Jeju, Republic of Korea| UCLG ASPAC-CIFAL Jeju Training on Sustainable Tourism| Site
26-27 May 2016 | Kazan, Russia Federation | UCLG Executive Bureau Meeting| Site

This email was sent to j.pellicer@uclg.org
why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences
UCLG ASPAC · Mitra Praja Building 2nd Floor, Jl Sunter Permai Raya No.1 · Jakarta 14350 · Indonesia

HEAD NEWS Forging A Stronger Relation with Taipei City Government

Environmentally Sustainable Cities: Redesigning toward the 2030 Agenda