Learning from each other is critical for survival in today's world. In 1987, CITYNET (The Regional Network of Local Authorities for the Management of Human Settlements), based in Yokohama, Japan, came into being with the vision of bringing cities together - to learn, to flourish. Since then, the organisation has taken bold strides in bridging the gap between local governments, their national counterparts, non-governmental and international organisations.

With an aim to help local governments provide better services to citizens, CITYNET is committed to capacity-building at the city level. Every year, it organises around 25 activities, including seminars and training programmes, which address burning issues in urban planning and development.

The flagship activity is the TCDC (Technical Cooperation between Cities in Developing Countries) programme, which helps create affiliations between cities in the Asia-Pacific. CITYNET's facilitation results in partnerships that foster best practices in urban governance and city development. Over 40 local governments have benefited from the TCDC programme in the last decade.

With every passing year, the relevance and need for a facilitating organisation such as CITYNET has heightened. The Network has grown to 107 members, most of whom are city governments and non-governmental organisations.

In 2002, CITYNET's endeavors were recognized by UN-HABITAT in the form of the Scroll of Honour, for facilitating city-to-city cooperation and networking among local governments and other urban stakeholders.

With the firm belief that people-friendly cities are the need of the hour, CITYNET is tirelessly working towards its goal of making cities environmentally sustainable, economically productive, politically participatory, globally connected, culturally vibrant and socially just.