-To enhance new DGs in cities to be more aware of ICLEI and ICLEI KCC
-To promote the KCC work Plans and ICLEI international events during 2019-2020
-To understand the latest sustainable developments in Cities in Taiwan
-To enhance knowledge exchanges between Taiwan ICLEI members and to reach a consensus among ICLEI Members in Taiwan

ICLEI cohosted this side event “Social Innovations and Civic Engagement—City as Living Lab” at the 2019 Smart City Summit and Expo, Taipei. Participants from local governments learned about the smart city model of inclusive, ambitious climate action, mainstreaming public participation development strategies and creating new local leaders. Additionally, the event discussed how to test new ideas and co-create effective solutions in a Living Lab using agile methodologies. From idea identification to conceptualization and from rapid prototyping to testing, combining the Living Lab way of working and citizen engagement in a learning-by-doing approach shows great promise for inclusive city development.

The African Capital Cities Sustainability Forum (ACCSF) draws together mayors and technical officers from the continent’s most prominent cities to provide a guiding light for how African cities must think about the future and lead sustainability efforts. It facilitates the exchange of knowledge and learning and provides a platform for exploring how to develop truly African solutions to African problems. The event marshals the collective power of capital cities to contribute to, and influence, the pan-African and global discourse on sustainability.

ICLEI, as the co-convener of the ACCSF, is responsible for the
content development and program design of the ACCSF. By hosting the annual event, which brings together mayors and city managers of African capital cities, ICLEI facilitates the exchange knowledge and information on potential interventions, opportunities and threats that influence the potential for economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection.

ICLEI, through the AfriAlliance project, aims to support existing networks in identifying and sharing social innovations and technological solutions for key water and climate challenges. Capitalising on existing and emerging knowledge and innovation in Africa and the EU, ICLEI supports this process by contributing to the development of a social innovation database for water and climate solutions covering the following aspects: governance, capacity development, business development and technology. ICLEI also contributes to the development of project outputs such as policy briefs, social innovation factsheets, roadshows and innovation bridge events, as well as MOOCs. We also work on communication and visibility of the project, and building relationships between partners and their networks, raising awareness of the water related challenges, and opportunities related to climate change impacts with proposed adaptation measures.

ICLEI is responsible for the sharing, dissemination and valorisation of knowledge and experiences produced within the project. By this ICLEI ensures that the knowledge, experiences and results produced are not only well documented and widely shared but also relevant for local communities and policy-makers in Europe. ICLEI synthesizes results and produces key project deliverables combining established dissemination tools with more innovative, participatory activities. In detail ICLEI:
– disseminates and valorises the knowledge and experiences produced within the project
– synthesises and communicates project results in formats that underline their relevance for local communities and policy-makers in Europe
– advances self-reflective learning and stimulates public debates on social innovation through transition initiatives
– informs future implementation frameworks for sustainability and low-carbon policies on the local, national and EU level

ICLEI supports and promotes regional cooperation and collaboration and facilitates learning across member organizations and Asian countries for the Asia LEDS (Low Emission Development Strategies) Partnership (ALP), a voluntary regional network comprised of organizations and individuals from the public, private, and non-governmental sectors active in designing, promoting, and/or implementing LEDS in Asia. ICLEI assists Asian countries to advance LEDS, green growth strategy and achieve NDC targets. ICLEI offers peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and learning through online sessions and in-person regional peer learning and training workshops; access to resource materials such as issue briefs, case stories, decision tools, and training materials that enable practitioners to champion LEDS; and technical assistance to address specific technical needs and advance LEDS and NDC implementation.

The Big Buyers Initiative presents an opportunity for public authorities to engage with other authorities across Europe and to shape new innovative solutions to their procurement needs. ICLEI and EUROCITIES are currently running the initiative on behalf of the European Commission, DG Internal Market, Industry Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW). The initiative works together with existing networks and organisations active in this area. To put these goals into action, three working groups have been established, with over 40 participating cities, which meet regularly to work on relevant procurement topics. The first group focusses on electric vehicle procurement, the second on circular construction procurement, and the third on zero emission construction vehicles. The groups meet regularly and ICLEI together with EUROCITIES provides faciliation and organises market engagement for the groups to achieve their goals.

ICLEI is carrying out a baseline assessment of the ecosystems and the services they provide to the city of Gangtok. ICLEI will complete a review of the policy environment with regard to biodiversity conservation is and a natural asset map for the city, which will all help to set the baseline for the Local Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for the city. This will be in line with the State Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.

Established in 2010, CDKN is a demand-led network that helps developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean to achieve climate compatible development goals. Through this project, CDKN is shifting from knowledge generating and technical assistance to knowledge brokering. It endeavours to get the right information to the right people and create an enabling environment for implementation and scaling climate and development actions in order to drive inclusive, sustainable and climate resilient development, and enhance the quality of life for the poorest and most vulnerable to climate change. ICLEI’s role is to facilitate knowledge brokering through making information and learning on climate compatible development easier to access and use for the Asia region.

ICLEI is supporting the city of Turku in designing the Circular Turku roadmap with relevant stakeholders. ICLEI is advising on participation mechanisms and providing expert inputs across the priority sectors in the region. Learnings from local circular economy action in Turku are shared on the global stage for replication and knowledge sharing with other local governments.