APRU on Associated Press: APRU partners with United Nations ESCAP on The Asia Pacific Mayors Academy to Empower Mayors as Regional Leaders for Sustainability with Training Tailored to Unique Urban Challenges for a More Resilient Future
June 24, 2021
01

Original post in Associated Press.

Co-organised with UN-Habitat, UCLG ASPAC, UNU-IAS, and IGES, the Academy helps regional city mayors to lead inclusive and sustainable future cities development and navigate challenging times in light of COVID-19

Held from November 2020 through May 2021, the second cohort of The Asia Pacific Mayors Academy recently concluded with a final module that saw 16 mayors participate from Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. For this capstone sixth module, the Academy focused on exploring future pathways to financing sustainable urban projects.

Organised by six collaborating partners, The Asia Pacific Mayors Academy was launched in 2019 by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific (UCLG ASPAC) in cooperation with the United Nations University, Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and APRU (the Association of Pacific Rim Universities).

Under the expertise of a faculty including regional experts from the APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Program, the Academy engages newly elected or appointed city mayors in Asia-Pacific to increase their understanding and application of sustainable urban development tools, resources and technical solutions. Together, this multi-stakeholder network of local leaders explores scenarios with specific challenges as well as relevant case studies to facilitate plans for sustainable solutions in their communities. For example, in the sixth module, the Academy discussed leveraging urban land value, co-creating private sector innovation, and promoting polluter-pay solutions to create long-term value for citizens, businesses, and the environment.

Chris Tremewan, Secretary General of APRU, “APRU university experts work with city leaders and multilateral organizations to strengthen sustainable city development and to develop concrete plans for urban solutions. We are honoured to be one of the partners of the Academy. These specialised training sessions and knowledge exchanges have been invaluable during COVID-19 as we collectively respond to the crisis. We need to do everything we can to put cities on the path to recovery.”

Stefanos Fotiou, Director, Environment and Development Division, ESCAP, “By drawing on multi-disciplinary members from across the Academy’s network, this unique and inclusive initiative supports mayors and the critical role their cities can play in realising the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Paris Climate Agreement. Starting local is essential to sustainability progress across the region, and it begins by addressing urban problems with smart sustainable solutions.”

The Academy offers a robust curriculum including modules on Cities 2030 – Designing, Planning and Managing Sustainable Urban Development and COVID-19 Response and Recovery in hopes to see strengthened regional cooperation and mayors applying learnings to generate positive outcomes in Asia Pacific cities.

To find out more: https://www.asiapacificmayorsacademy.org/call-for-expressions-of-interest

Related Articles
Keio University News: Keio University Launches 2023 Mentoring Program to Promote Female Faculty Member Empowerment and Leadership
more
Global Climate Change Simulation Offers USC Students New Perspectives on Worldwide Fight
more
UO Students Co-host APRU Global Climate Change Simulation
more
APRU Sustainable Waste Management Program Director Is Selected as a Highly Cited Researcher (HCR) in the Three Fields: Environment and Ecology, Engineering, and Biology and Biochemistry in 2022
more
APRU Sustainable Cities & Landscapes Conference Helps Shifting Toward Well-prepared and Resilient Urban Societies
more
The APRU Climate Change Simulation- Preparing Students to Lobby Leaders for Vital Actions
more
APRU on Bloomberg: APRU Readies for Looming Book Launch with Springer on Safety and Resilience of Higher Educational Institutions
more
APRU on The Fiji Times: FNU Students Join Global Climate Change Simulation
more
APRU Global Sustainability: Waste & The City Seminar Course Helps Graduate Students Shape Green Leadership Concepts
more
APRU on SJTU News: Shanghai Jiao Tong University Successfully Held the "Resilient Urban Landscape – APRU SCL Webinar & Landscape Architects’Forum"
more
APRU on Bloomberg: APRU Launches The Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Cities and Landscapes in the Pacific Rim
more
APRU on AAAS EurekAlert!: Sustainability in Times of COVID-19: Converting Face Masks into Valuable Fuel
more
APRU on AP, AFP, Yahoo! Finance, Morningstar, BusinessWire, NBC & FOX channels, NHA & 200+ pieces of coverage: APRU launches The Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Cities and Landscapes in the Pacific Rim
more
APRU on The Jakarta Post: A Mounting Battle that Starts at Home
more
Ideas from the interface between habitats
more
APRU Student Global Climate Change Simulation Tackling Climate Change Head-On
more
APRU on SCMP: Banning Plastic Cutlery Is Only One Part of Hong Kong’s Sustainability Challenge
more
APRU on World Economic Forum: Universities can be 'living labs' for sustainability
more
ASPIRE Science Prize Spotlights Diverse Knowledge for a Sustainable Future
more
APRU on Nature: A Private University with a Global Outlook
more
APRU Sustainable Waste Management Program Records Fruitful 2020 And Enters 2021 With Many Events
more
4th SCL Conference mastered shift from face-to-face to virtual, new survey shows
more
Civic Resilience and the COVID-19 Crisis (Part 1 of 2)
more
Civic Resilience and the COVID-19 Crisis (Part 2 of 2)
more
COVID-19’s unsustainable waste management
more
APRU’s Sustainable Waste Management Program highlighted in Nature’s May issue
more
Asia-Pacific Mayors Academy concludes first cohort
more
APRU Sustainable Cities & Landscapes Experts Develop Curricula for Asia Pacific Mayors’ Academy
more
UNU-IAS and Partners Launch Asia-Pacific Mayors Academy
more
Cities and Refugees – 2019 Global Student Design Ideas Competition
more
Sustainable Urban Development Mayors Fellowship
more
APRU Inaugural Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Design Field School
more
Invitation to the 6th APEC Conference on Cooperation in Higher Education
more
1
33