VII. AUICK Presented New Project Proposal for the years 2004-2007 to UNFPA

The coming four-year period represents an important strategic turning point for AUICK, and the new strategic project proposal for this period (2004-2007) was submitted to UNFPA on January 22, 2004. Under the new project, together with UNFPA, AUICK aims to create a number of viable "critical masses" of trained personnel within nine selected Asian medium-sized cities called AUICK Associate Cities (AACs) in nine countries of Asia: Chittagong (Bangladesh), to be decided (China), Chennai (India), Surabaya (Indonesia), Kuantan (Malaysia), Faisalabad (Pakistan), Olongapo (Philippines), Khon Kaen (Thailand), and Danang (Vietnam).

AUICK shall work to build organizational capacities to deal with major urbanization and related issues so as to meet ICPD POA (the Programme of Action adopted at the International Conference on Population and Development) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), focusing on HIV/AIDS; poverty; education, particularly for girls and women; the conditions of slum dwellers; reproductive health among adolescents; water and sanitation; the environment; and ageing. AACs will then be model cities in their own countries from which successful projects/activities can be disseminated to other cities. Concentrating on the selected nine cities will also facilitate AUICK's efforts to promote, the South-South exchange of ideas and experiences, as well as promote partnerships with academic organizations and NGOs/NPOs.

To initiate the new strategic project, AUICK will organize a conference in Kobe from July 30 to August 2, 2004, under the title "The 2004 AUICK Associate Cities Conference on ICPD Tenth Anniversary Review: The Current Status and Future Challenges of Asian Medium-sized Cities." This inaugural conference is expected to be a catalyst for the further development of activities through the network of international cooperation among Asian medium-sized cities that AUICK has been nurturing, in collaboration with the UNFPA and the City of Kobe, over the last fifteen years.

Brief Outline of AUICK Project Proposal for the years 2004-2007

1. Future Directions

(1) Continue to serve as a forum for sharing information among developing medium-sized cities.
(2) Focus on the network of nine AUICK Associate Cities (AACs)
(3) Develop models of good urban planning that integrate development issues through research and training of city professionals in each city.
(4) Developing linkages among these cities to build South-South cooperation, and between cities and universities / institutes / NGOs
(5) Focus on training programs that could help achieve the MDGs and the ICPD POA goals.
(6) Disseminate information on the successful experiences to other cities (beyond the model cities)
(7) Prepare case studies of successful strategies of urban planning in different sectors and share results with trainees and other urban administrators everywhere
(8) Continue to publish newsletters and develop the user-friendly website for effective dissemination of information/knowledge to other planners and administrators.

2. Goal

Improved welfare and quality of life of the population in medium-sized cities and towns in line with national development goals and the attainment of the MDGs and of the goals contained in the ICPD POA.

3. Purpose/Outcome

(1) Enhanced understanding of the linkages between population and sustainable development and commitment among senior city planners and administrators to address them.

(2) Better planning and policies for sustainable urban development.

(3) Improved design, and increased access to and utilization of urban services for reproductive health, health care, water and sanitation and HIV/AIDS prevention.

4. Outputs and Activities

(1) Output:

Improved knowledge, awareness, and understanding of senior city planners and administrators on the issues of population, reproductive health and gender faced by medium-sized cities and towns in Asia and of the constraints and challenges in addressing them.

Activities:
AAC mayors conference during 2004
To collect baseline / endline data and conduct a situation analysis on issues facing selected medium-sized cities and towns
To develop case studies of good practices in implementation of the urban services for use in training and for dissemination

(2) Output:

Improvement of linkages with the UNFPA country programs and national policies in the AUICK associate cities in a phased manner during the duration of the project.

Activities
To meet with UNFPA representatives, at least once a year to discuss progress in the implementation of the project. To request the participation of UNFPA Representatives from the nine countries with the AACs during the mayors conference in 2004.

(3) Output:

Enhanced capacity of planners of medium-sized cities and towns to incorporate population, reproductive health and gender issues in urban planning, in particular the planning of urban services in conformity with the goals and recommendations of the Millennium Declaration and the ICPD POA.

Activities
To organize and conduct one workshop for senior urban planners and administrators in 2004 on the inter-linkages of population and sustainable development focusing on reproductive health needs of urban poor and youth, population ageing, gender, water and sanitation, and the provision of other urban services.

To organize and conduct a second workshop in 2004 and two workshops in each of the following years on special topics for planners and other technical staff of urban planning units

To develop a plan (during the training period) for implementation on return to their work situation for improvement of urban services and increasing their quality and access.

(4) Output:

Improved access to information, knowledge sharing, and networking on issues that are specific to medium-sized cities and towns.

Activities
To publish the newsletter, two issues each year, and disseminate to city planners and administrators across Asia.

To publish the newsletter and other relevant articles and information, including the reports of inter-city comparative studies and success stories, on the internet, and update the information on a regular basis.

To develop and strengthen a user-friendly web-based database on medium-sized cities in Asia, on an incremental basis for planners, administrators, students and research workers to use.

5. Execution and implementation modalities

The project will be executed and also implemented by AUICK with technical support sought as appropriate from UNFPA/CST and partner agencies. Action Plans prepared during the training courses will be implemented by AACs to improve services.

6. Monitoring and Evaluation

The progress of the project will be supported through ongoing monitoring and evaluation by the International Advisory Committee (IAC), Domestic Advisory Committee (DAC) and the (EC) Executive Committee.