The European Union (EU) launched the World Cities Indonesia, a project to promote the exchange of experience and best practice on regional and urban development policy. Two Indonesian cities – Makassar and Semarang – are being paired with two European cities – Seville (Spain) and Zagreb (Croatia). The project launch was held on 22 May 2017 in Jakarta.

The event was officially opened by Mr Charles-Michel Geurts, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Indonesia, followed by city presentations and discussions on the theme “Innovation for Smart and Green Cities”, including by representatives of the Indonesian National Development Agency (BAPPENAS) and Association of Indonesian Municipalities (APEKSI); as well as representatives of the cities of Makassar, Semarang, Seville and Zagreb.

World Cities is a project of the EU managed by the Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium. The project originates in a Preparatory Action of the European Parliament to promote the exchange of experience and best practice between the EU and non-EU countries on the theme of territorial development with particular reference to sustainable urban development.

The project facilitates the exchange of information and good practices on regional and urban development policy issues. Cooperation is based on the identification of pilot cities and the development of concrete actions, for implementation in the short-term, in areas including urban innovation (smart-city) and green technologies (energy efficiency, low carbon development). Intervention areas will be decided by the involved cities/regions, with strong support of the project team, and in coordination with the EU Commission (DG REGIO), the EU Delegations in the respective countries and national authorities where relevant.

Actions will be designed to increase so-called ‘triple-helix cooperation’ between governments, research and business. Therefore, the project team will support cities involved in the development of concrete action plans for the short-term implementation. World Cities ultimate goal is to strengthen market opportunities and job creation while pursuing the sustainable economic development of the cities involved, thus fostering win-win cooperation.

Besides Indonesia, the World Cities project also runs in Australia, South Korea, South Africa and Vietnam. The programme will also launch a collaborative online platform to facilitate the exchange of information and good practices between EU and non-EU cities.

More info on World Cities: http://world-cities.eu/