More than 25 participants actively participated in a two-day workshop on heritage conservation on 15 & 16 of February, 2021. The workshop was jointly organized by Leuven and Gwalior with the support of IUC India. The objective was to introduce the importance of heritage conservation and examine related initiatives. The first day focused on prevailing challenges in Gwalior and the types of policies and projects in place to address those challenges. In addition, there were discussions on best practices in Europe. The representatives from KU Leuven University presented a variety of successful case examples as well as the principles of conservation. On the second day of the workshop, a detailed discussion took place regarding the challenges, solutions and activities in Gwalior making use of the experience of Leuven and other European cities. The possibility of a pilot project in a specific location in Gwalior will be explored by the two cities.

Over 220 city and associated representatives from 18 States attended a series of 10 webinar trainings that were jointly delivered from October 2020 to February 2021 by the European Union International Urban Cooperation (IUC) project, ICLEI South Asia and World Resources Institute India within the framework of the Global Covenant of Mayors. The objective was to build the capacity of urban local bodies to develop their own greenhouse gas emissions inventory and climate action plans, demonstrate leadership and increase awareness. A concluding workshop with the active participation of the European Commission’s Joint Research Center was delivered on 25th February, 2021 focusing on pragmatic mitigation, adaptation and energy access measures that can be adopted by cities in India.

These presentations were made by representatives of Vilnius city as part of the training program on solid waste management, sustainable tourism and urban planning delivered on December 17th 2020. This training program was part of the ongoing cooperation between Vilnius and Kochi under EU-International Urban Cooperation program. The objective was to share best practices in the areas of waste management, urban planning and sustainable tourism. The presentations covered the waste management cycle in Vilnius (e.g., waste quantity, characteristics, collection and transportation, treatment and final disposal), tourism management (e.g., statistics, challenges, strategy, COVID-19 response), etc. A number of additional Indian cities attended the event

IUC India in collaboration with TERI India delivered in September and October 2020 a capacity building programme on 'Mainstreaming Urban Climate Action'. The programme was based on four short webinar modules focusing on building the capacity and knowledge of practitioners in urban local bodies (ULBs), state representatives, policy experts, researchers, scholars, and university students. For more information, including the videos visit the webinar website at https://www.teriin.org/project/webinars-series-mainstreaming-urban-climate-action

The webinar on contract development and management of PPP projects was conceptualised and delivered under the IUC/India program. The main objective of the webinar was to build capacity of urban local bodies towards PPP procurement and management, understand the complexities, improve contract development and management and develop better projects. The webinar covered the benefits of PPP projects, lifecycle, key features, risk management, bidding, case studies, etc.

One of the greatest challenges we face today lies in mobility. Sustainable urban mobility requires a mind shift: where transport in private cars and trucking give way to different modes of public transport, like bicycle lanes and pedestrianised areas, electric vehicles, car sharing and rail freight. More and more cities around the world are rising to the challenge. Creating solutions that ensure the vital flow of people, goods and services, while mitigating climate change and creating healthier cities with better air quality and more inclusive development.

The scale of the action necessary to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to tackle climate change requires local action. Adequate financing is vital to ensure the feasibility of local sustainability projects, yet at present there is a significant gap between the level of funds available for sustainable urban development and the level of funds deployed. This webinar, the first of three on the topic of financing, shared an overview of the information needed to successfully access financing for sustainable urban development activities. Through presentations by experts, the webinar helped to cut through the complexity of international finance to provide participants with practical information on the requirements to access funding, as well as the best financing schemes available.

Water is and has been crucial in designing urban spaces and informing urban planning. Approaches towards flood management have changed over time, with the previous focus being on keeping water out of the city, and the more recent approach turning towards natural water management and integrated strategies for dealing with flood risks and promoting urban resilience. Crucial to this process of adapting to floods is the knowledge transfer and cross-cultural exchange of best practices in integrated water management amongst cities. It is with this purpose of encouraging inter-city learning that the IUC programme presents the practical experience of three cities in dealing with different kinds of flood risk through nature-based solutions and other innovative measures.

Managing wastewater is becoming increasingly challenging with urban populations growing at an unprecedented rate and infrastructure development often not keeping up. This requires government authorities and public utilities to become more creative and innovative in their approach to wastewater management and in developing solutions that are locally fit for purpose, ecologically sound and that meet the needs of the residents as well as those of the relevant technical and political stakeholders. Innovation in this sector requires a mind shift away from viewing wastewater as ‘waste’ and rather seeing and treating it as a valuable resource. To demonstrate this, the webinar presents two municipal examples from Aarhus (Denmark) and Nagpur (India), as well as an inspiring example from Japan.