The 2004 AUICK Associate Cities Conference
AUICK Associate Cities Kobe Declaration

PREAMBLE

We, the Mayors and the Representatives of nine Asian cities, designated as AUICK Associate Cities (AACs), and the Asian Urban Information Center of Kobe (AUICK), Assembled in Kobe, Japan from July 31 through August 1, 2004, to deliberate in the 2004 AUICK Associate Cities Conference, organised by AUICK with the sponsorship of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Kobe City Government, and Agreed to collaborate with AUICK and UNFPA for the realization of the 2004 - 2007 program to the extent that the administrative and financial resources of each of the AUICK Associate Cities would allow, so as to contribute to the achievement of national development goals in accordance with the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Program of Action (POA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations.

WE HEREBY ISSUE THE FOLLOWING DECLARATION

1. We, mindful of the role of medium-sized cities in providing valuable linkage between mega cities and small-sized cities with regard to national development, in particular in attaining the ICPD POA and the MDGs, shall strive to continue playing such a critical role.

2. We shall build a critical mass of expertise within each of our Associate Cities through collaborative effort with AUICK, so as to foster effective and driving forces capable of reflecting UNFPA goals in municipal policies.

3. We shall strive to establish an organisational capacity within our Associate Cities to monitor population, socio-economic and environmental issues, and to formulate and implement appropriate policies and programs accordingly.

4. We shall concentrate our efforts particularly on issues such as reproductive health, including that of the youth; HIV/AIDS; poverty; education, especially for girls and women; housing situations in slums; environment, including water and air pollution; and ageing.

5. We shall strive, through the activities mentioned above, to serve as models of successful medium-sized cities in our respective countries, so as to spread projects yielding positive results for other cities.

6. We shall strive to construct international and domestic inter-city networks in collaboration with national/regional programs of UNFPA and collaboration with the central government of each of our respective countries.

7. We shall strive to establish closer collaborative relationships with UNFPA, national governments, local academic and research institutions, non-governmental organisations and non-profit organisations, so as to further strengthen the capacity of our Associate Cities.

8. We shall strive to collect and provide information pertinent to population, socio-economic and environmental issues and related good practices by supporting the expansion of the AUICK web-based database.

9. We shall strive to promote South-South cooperation among ourselves and with other medium-sized cities in Asia, by sharing our information and experiences in population, socio-economic and environmental issues.