CityNet and Lalitpur Metropolitan City convened city mayors, administrators, civic leaders and international experts in Lalitpur for the 2019 CityNet Executive Committee Meeting. The event was held on November 6-8 and provided an opportunity for members to discuss the activities held by CityNet in 2019 and the Network’s direction and strategy moving forward. As the highest governing body of CityNet, the Executive Committee meets once a year to address urban challenges faced by its members. The meeting provided a platform for CityNet to connect urban actors and deliver concrete solutions for cities, through its capacity building programs, technical expertise and city-to-city cooperation.
The members of CityNet’s Executive Committee formulate the Biennial Work Program for the Network in accordance with the Medium-Term Plan, approve new members, and set policy guidelines for the Secretariat. In this year’s Meeting, CityNet approved twelve new member cities across Asia from Indonesia, the Philippines, Nepal, and the Republic of Korea. In addition, five organizations were also admitted to join the network. This is part of the network’s strategy of expanding regional cooperation in order to optimize the results of its work.
This year’s gathering was attended by more than 120 participants representing over 50 different cities and organizations. In conjunction with the Executive Committee Meeting, an International Seminar on “Heritage and Sustainable Tourism” was also held.
The International Seminar brought together leading high-level decision makers and urban practitioners to share their experiences on sustainable tourism. It also provided a meaningful knowledge exchange platform to discuss the most recent trends, challenges and unique contributions to sustainable urbanization.
Lalitpur represented an undeniable location for this seminar as the oldest City in the Kathmandu Valley and given current projects in Lalitpur on Sustainable Tourism and Green Growth for Heritage Settlement of Kathmandu Valley. In this perspective, presentation by Mr. Padma Sunder Joshi, Head of UN-HABITAT Nepal about the Bungamati reconstruction project was especially enlightening for participants. Other panellists coming from Clean Air Asia, the Urban Planning Institute of Engineering of Tribhuvan University, UNESCO Nepal, ADB and the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology were also featured.
International perspectives and cases on sustainable tourism were also introduced. Denpasar’s case was introduced by the Mayor of Denpasar, Mr. Ida Bagus Rai Dharmawijaya Mantra while Taipei was presented by Mr. Gordon Ching-Huei Yang, Executive Director, Taipei City Government. Cases on Malaysian cities were also covered by Mr. Matt Benson, Programme Director, Urban Solutions, Think City.
Finally, the Meeting was also the opportunity to unveil the host of CityNet 39th Executive Committee Meeting, which will be held in Jeju, Republic of Korea, on April 23-25, 2020 in conjunction with the 2020 Sustainable Development Jeju International Conference. CityNet is looking forward to welcoming all of its members to Jeju in what promise to be an enriching experience for all participants.
