Strategies for Sustainability: CITYNET Pre-Executive Committee Sessions

Online Pre-Ex-Com Meeting
CITYNET Executive Committee members, advisors, and observers met online to discuss strategies concerning the Network’s sustainability and in preparation for the upcoming Executive Committee Meeting in Dhaka in October, 2011. Participating members included, Mumbai, Makati, Dhaka, Kathmandu, Surabaya, and Yokohama. Members discussed issues regarding handling of membership fees, suspended members and classification of smaller cities. It was also established that members desire new criteria for individual membership applications and a new way to calculate the fees of corporate members based on scale of capital and gross revenue. The Secretariat will research these criteria further for the next meeting. Other points of discussion included the CITYNET Foundation and its by-laws. In addition it was agreed to reorganise the Foundation's Board of Trustees according to Philippine Law.

Issues raised during this meeting will be taken up in further detail at the next Executive Committee Meeting.

Pre-Ex-com Meeting at the Asia-Pacific Urban Forum
On 23 June in Bangkok a pre- Executive Committee Meeting took place with executive representatives from Bangkok, Dhaka, Kathmandu, Makati, Surabaya and SDS. Representatives from Balikpapan, Bharatpur, Jakarta, Lalitpur, Ligao, Pokhara, Sukabumi,MuAN, ASAG, CUS, HUDCO/HSMI and the CITYNET Secretariat including Secretary General Mary Jane Ortega, Aisa Tobing, Deputy-Secretary General for South-East Asia and Programme Director Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi were also in attendance.

CITYNETand Cluster objectives and challenges were outlined. Atty. Violeta S. Seva from the City Government of Makati reported on the Disaster Cluster activities and invited existing members and those at the meeting to make more active efforts in this Cluster. She also reported on upscaling of projects; safe schools and health facilities; risk profiling and expanding existing projects such as between Makati, Quito and Kathmandu.

Possible future projects with Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), Makati, Kathmandu, and HUDCO/HSMI were also proposed.

Aisa Tobing and Moniruzzaman representing Jakarta and Dhaka, respectively presented on Climate Change Cluster as well as some goals for the upcoming climate change seminar in Dhaka in October this year.

Proposals included having a joint session with Disaster Cluster and adding urban and city planning as a topic in relation to Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction.
Other presentations were made by Vinay Lall of SDS on financing disaster, Mayor Linda of Ligao City on resiliency in agricultural practices; BMA on climate change; Bharatpur on eco-friendly technology and solid waste management. The CITYNET National chapters from Indonesia and Nepal also had a chance to present their recent activities, please see the National Chapters section for the report.