Report on Visits to Candidate Cities for AUICK Associate Cities Network

At the International Advisory Committee (IAC) Meeting held in Kobe on 28 June 2003, Dr. Hitofumi Ando, AUICK President, presented AUICK's concept paper of the new strategic project for the years 2004-2007 (dated 16 June 2003) to the Committee. Since then, AUICK had actively engaged in drafting a formal project proposal to UNFPA, and securing the commitment and agreement of relevant organisations as well as preparing for the 2004 AUICK Associate Cities Conference.

Visit to Kuantan Municipal Council

On 6 February 2004, Mr. Kazutoshi Sasayama, Chairman, Mr. Toshiaki Baba, Director, and Mr. Nobuyuki Morimoto, Manager, visited the Kuantan Municipal Council in Kuantan, Malaysia, and met with Dato’ Haji Hashim Bin Abdul Wahab, President of Kuantan Municipal Council.

After discussing the new project and the planned AACs Conference, the Kuantan President asked why AUICK had chosen Kuantan as the AAC for Malaysia, when there were many other medium-sized port cities in Malaysia, and when AUICK had only ever invited one Kuantan official to a training course in December 2003. The AUICK Secretariat explained that President Dr. Ando and IAC Member Dr. Ness had visited Kuantan many time earlier as researchers, and had strongly recommended Kuantan as an AAC. Dato’ Haji Hashim expressed his willingness to join the AACs network, but noted that AUICK should understand Kuantan’s limited autonomy: for example, Kuantan has no authority in education and the Municipal Council could not increase school enrolment.

The Dato’ Haji Hashim indicated that the official who had been to the AUICK training had gained a lot of knowledge and experience and presented details of his training to their management committee. The President also thanked the Kobe delegation for selecting Kuantan as an AAC and for inviting him to attend the planned AACs Conference. Dato’ Haji Hashim then appointed Mr. Alias Mohd. Salleh, Director of Planning and Development, and the first AUICK trainee from Kuantan, as the Liaison Officer for AUICK activities.

Visit to Danang People's Committee

On 9 February 2004, Mr. Sasayama, Mr. Baba, and Mr. Morimoto visited the Danang People’s Committee in Vietnam and met with Mr. Nguyun Hoang Long, Vice Chairman of Danang People’s Committee.

Mr. Nguyun Hoang Long was a participant of the 2002 Workshop on Population and Sustainable Development and was therefore familiar with AUICK’s activities. At the workshop he expressed his hope to be involved in capacity building through the Kobe City initiatives.

Mr. Nguyun Hoang Long then gave a background information on the city; the Central Government of Vietnam recognises Danang as a city of strategic significance and spends a considerable amount of budget on the development of Danang because the city is located not only in the centre of the country, but also in the centre of Asia. The city had an airport which is located within a 15-minutes drive from downtown and it will become an international airport in the very near future, with direct flight connection to Hong Kong and Singapore. Mr. Nguyun Hoang Long stressed that Danang is therefore likely to become a highly developed model city and would be a most suitable candidate for the AAC network. With his forward-looking attitude, Mr. Sasayama promptly expressed welcomed Danang City as the AAC in Vietnam.

Visit to Surabaya

On 20 February 2004, Mr. Masayuki Ishitsubo, Executive Director, and Mr. Nobuyuki Morimoto, Manager, visited Surabaya, Indonesia. Dr. Haryono Suyono, an IAC member in Indonesia, guided the group to see the local initiatives. The delegation visited a senior high school which is making strong efforts to fight HIV/AIDS through education; a community where activities for the elderly are actively promoted; and a flower market which had Dr. Haryono established to promote the local economy at the time he was Minister for Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation.

The AUICK delegation also visited Airlangga University, and discussed a city-university partnership with the University President Dr. Puruhito, and other faculty members of the University. The President expressed his willingness to make a 10 minute presentation on a city-university partnership with Surabaya City Government if invited to the AACs Conference. The AUICK delegation promised to consider his proposal when they returned to Kobe.

Then, the AUICK delegation visited the Guesthouse of Surabaya Municipality, and had a meeting with Mr. Bambang DH, Mayor of Surabaya.

Dr. Haryono explained the outline of AUICK and its new project, and invited Mr. Bambang to join in the AACs Network and to attend the AACs Conference. Dr. Haryono concluded his explanation with his expectation that as a medium-sized city in Indonesia, Surabaya has a great possibility to become a model city, and that is why AUICK chose Surabaya as a candidate city for AAC.

The Mayor of Surabaya expressed his hearty welcome to AUICK group and hoped that this visit would give Surabaya a great benefit. He stated that Surabaya also faced various urban issues such as transportation, employment, housing, waste treatment, water management, and slums, and he was trying to solve them in the most appropriate ways and in a humanistic approach. The Mayor of Surabaya pointed out, “Though an urban development plan is made, a sufficiently concrete action programme is not implemented. That is a problem. The reason is that the plan is not made from the bottom-up.” He also referred to decentralization: “In Indonesia there goes on a transition from centralization to decentralization. This trend causes to remarkably widen the gap between the capital and the other cities. I hope that the other eastern cities are to be developed more equally so that urbanization may not be concerned in larger cities like Surabaya.

The Mayor of Surabaya stated, “It is our great honour that AUICK chose Surabaya as a candidate city in Indonesia for AACs. We would like to fulfil our responsibility so that we are not accused that the selection of Surabaya was a mistake.” Regarding the AACs Conference, the Mayor of Surabaya said that he himself could not attend the conference because a conference on urbanization would be held in Surabaya from 31 July to 2 August, inviting Mayors from Indonesia, however he promised to dispatch his representative to attend the AACs Conference.

Visit to the Chittagong City Corporation

On 24 February 2004, the AUICK delegation composed of Dr. Prem P. Talwar, an IAC member in India, Mr. Masayuki Ishitsubo, Executive Director, and Mr. Nobuyuki Morimoto, Manager, and Dr. Rafiques Sultan visited Chittagong, Bangladesh and met with the Mayor of Chittagong City Corporation, Mr. A.B.M. Mohiuddin Chowdhury. All of the city senior officials and divisional directors were present during the meeting. The Mayor was very familiar with the activities of AUICK as he had attended a conference which AUICK organized in 1999.

The Mayor expressed thanks to AUICK for building the capacity of his staff members. He took pride in telling AUICK that his staff had returned from AUICK training with new ideas and increased motivation. These officials that AUICK had technically trained had since implemented several new projects for better planning and management of the services they were responsible for Mr. Chowdhury expressed his hope that similar AUICK activities will continue in the future, and will thus help Chittagong in improving its services. After describing the new project and its strategy, the Mayor was requested to (1) initiate action to formalise the relationship between AUICK and the city of Chittagong, and (2) nominate a Liaison Officer who could be kept informed of AUICK activities. The Commissioner assured the delegation that action in regard to both of these requested would soon be taken. He also assured AUICK of the necessary support to achieve the goal outlined in its new project.

Visit to Corporation of Chennai

On 28 February 2004, Dr. Talwar, Mr. Ishitsubo and Mr. Morimoto visited Chennai, India, and discussed the new project and the AACs Conference with Mr. M.P. Vijayakumar, Commissioner, Corporation of Chennai.

Mr. Vijayakumar thanked AUICK for its assistance in training his staff. He expressed hope that such activities of AUICK would continue in the future as well and would further help Chennai in improving its services.

The AUICK delegation outlined the new strategic project and then asked the Commissioner to (1) initiate action to formalise the relationship between AUICK and the city of Chennai, and (2) nominate a Liaison Officer who could be kept informed of AUICK activities.

The Commissioner agreed to these requests. He also assured the delegation of his support and thanked AUICK for choosing Chennai to become a model city in urban management and planning, and looked forward to the prospect of improving the work done by the 20,000 employees of the Corporation. He also expressed appreciation for the change in strategy which concentrated resources on a few cities as he felt this would help AUICK to achieve better results. Mr. Vijayakumar appreciated emphasis of training on MDP and ICPD POA goals as these are the problems that require focused attention in Chennai. Chennai’s Annual plans have taken into consideration the goals that were highlighted in the strategy of the AUICK proposal.

Mr. Vijayakumar explained that the city has limited resources and that it is imperative that money be spent effectively. The city has a committed staff; it is a matter of making them more effective. The training of AUICK will help in this regard as training did not only give skills but also create increased motivation. Thus he asked if the training curriculum could incorporate attitude change and motivation.

Mr. Vijayakumar also told AUICK that if his staff members, after training, could justify a need for a budget increase to strengthen services, he would find the resources, but the challenge is to improve access and quality of the city services within these limited resources.

The Commissioner further said that the forum which AUICK provides for the exchange of experiences in planning and management is commendable. He pointed out that his officers could learn a good deal from the useful experiences of Bangladesh and China, but that an opportunity should be provided for trainees to learn from good practices wherever they are found.

The Commissioner concluded that working closely with UNFPA was a very good idea this AUICK project would be better coordinate activities.

As the position of Mayor in Chennai is vacant, the AUICK team made a courtesy call on Mr. Katate R. Thiagarajan, Deputy Mayor who warmly welcomed the team AUICK is activities and the new project were described to the Deputy Mayor, and he also assured the team that he would support the project at the political level. Three serious concerns for Chennai were mentioned by the Deputy Mayor: Emergency Management as Chennai is located on a high risk belt; HIV/AIDS; and Aging.

Dr. Iqbal Secures Faisalabad Affiliation

AUICK had an eminent IAC member in Pakistan, Dr. M.A. Kareem Iqbal, former Federal Secretary Member, Sindh Local Government Commission. AUICK entrusted him to negotiate with Faisalabad Tehsil Administration, UNFPA Pakistan Office and an appropriate academic institute to be involved in the new project.

On 25 May 2004, Dr. Iqbal visited Faisalabad with Ms. Shaheda Fazil, UNFPA Assistant Representative in Pakistan. They met with Mr. A.M. Mumtaz Ali Cheema, Tehsil Nazim of Tehsil Municipal Administration Faisalabad. Prior to his visit, AUICK obtained the written agreement of Faisalabad’s affiliation in the AACs Network. Dr. Iqbal then consulted with Mr. Cheema on an academic institute for the city-university partnership. They agreed to request University of Agriculture Faisalabad to appoint a faculty as an academic collaborator to conduct studies on behalf of AUICK.

Dr. Iqbal and Ms. Shaheda Fazil visited University of Agriculture Faisalabad, and discussed the city-university partnership with two academics: Dr. Bashir Ahmad, Vice Chancellor; and Dr. Asghar Cheema, Dean & Head of Department of Sociology.

Then, all four parties - UNFPA, AUICK, Faisalabad Administration, and the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, reached an agreement to work together in collaboration and in accordance with UNFPA-AUICK guidelines.

Dr. Krasae Took Care of Khon Kaen Affiliation

AUICK has another eminent IAC member in Thailand. Dr. Krasae Chanawongse, Advisor to the Prime Minister, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs for Thailand. AUICK entrusted him to talk with the Mayor of Khon Kaen Manicipality and the President of Khon Kaen University about the new project and the AACs Conference.

On 17 May 2004, Dr. Krasae visited Khon Kaen and met with Mr. Peerapon Pattanapeeradej, Mayor of Khon Kaen Municipality. He expressed his pleasure and pride to join in the AACs Network, and that he was also willing to attend the conference.

Dr. Krasae then met with Associate Professor Dr. Sumon Sakolchai, President of Khon Kaen University. Dr. Sakolchai promised to cooprerate in AUICK's activities in Khon Kaen, and expressed his appreciation for being invited to the AACs Conference.

Candidate City in China was Finally Settled - Weihai

AUICK had been searching for a medium-sized city suitable for its activities in China since its meeting with the UNFPA Representative in China on 22 October 2003. At that time AUICK had requested the Representative to recommend a candidate city. The Representative then kindly requested that the National Population and Family Planning Commission (NPFPC) of China, recommend a city. Ms. Zhang Yang, Director of International Organization Division, acted as a go-between, and recommended three candidates. After due consideration, AUICK entered into an affiliation with Weihai.

Visit to NPFPC

On 31 May 2004, Mr. Sasayama, Mr. Ishitsubo, and Mr. Morimoto visited Beijing, China, and met with two senior officer officials of NPFPC: Dr. Ru Xiaomei, Deputy Director General; and Ms. Zhang Yang, Director, Division of International Organizations, Department of International Cooperation.

The both sides actively exchanged opinions and ideas on various matters including urban planning and population dynamics and also the productive relationship between Kobe and Weihai.

Dr. Ru remarked as follows:
We are very pleased to have a cooperative relationship with AUICK. Since the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, it has been strongly recognized that population and urban environment dynamics is a serious issue in China. Upon this realization, it was imperilling that our organization changed our name from Family Planning Committee to National Population and Family Planning Committee to ensure we focus more on the issues of population and development.”

“Although Chinese cities are developing dramatically, the disparity between the city centre and rural areas becomes a subject of discussion. We are expecting to resolve urban issues through cooperative exchange.” “As for population and urbanization, Japan is often referred to. Since we believe that Weihai City resembles Kobe City, they are very pleased to have close relationship with Kobe. We are expecting AUICK to have a strong relationship, not only with Weihai city but also with the Chinese Government. We would like to resolve the issues on population and urbanization in Weihai in cooperation with the Chinese Government, UNFPA, the City of Weihai and AUICK.”

“China is currently facing various urbanization issues. Since environmental issues are regarded as a priority, we will consider investigating the experiences that other countries have faced.”

At the conclusion of the meeting it was proposed that Ms. Zhan Yang will facilitate as a mediator at a meeting with the Mayor of Weihai the following day.

Meeting with Mayor of Weihai

On 1 June 2004, Mr. Sasayama, Mr. Ishitsubo, and Mr. Morimoto had  a meeting with PhD Song Yuanfan, Mayor of Weihai, and some senior officials at a hotel in Qingdao, China, where Mayor Song was staying to attend the 3rd APEC Medium & Small Enterprises Technology Conference & Fair. The Kobe delegation was accompanied by Ms. Zhan Yong, Director of NPFPC, and Mr. Yu Yu, National Programme Officer of UNFPA China Office.

The Chairman of AUICK, Mr. Sasayama briefly explained the purpose of their visit and invited the Mayor of Weihai to the AACs Conference.

The Mayor of Weihai responded as follows: “There is an enormous amount of merit in information exchange and cooperation with Asian cities. I am very pleased to build a relationship and friendship with AUICK through NPFPC.”

Mayor Song briefed the City of Weihai and referred to the policies on population and development:

“The City of Weihai is putting more emphasis on the balance between population and economics. The City of Weihai was the first model city of the sanitation. The city has been awarded the First National Hygienic City, China’s First Model City of Environmental Protection, First Outstanding Tourism City, and the UN International Award for the Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment.”

“Since China has a high population volume, it is focusing its policies on growth planning. As a consequence of implementing these policies themselves, Weihai’s population has decreased 6 years in succession. This has been a wonderful feat. The educational level is also high. Weihai City has exceeded Chinese Government expectations in all areas of development policy. Weihai City has many high volume bilateral trading partnerships with countries all over the world. Japan and Korea are two significant partners.”

“The future plan for Weihai City is to continue to focus more on the balance between population and economic development following the policies of the central government. In addition, we are not only focusing on economics but also developing and promoting culture and society in the region. The City Government is promoting reform policies concurrently alongside AUICK, so we expect we can learn a lot of things from AUICK.”

He expressed it is a great pleasure for Weihai City to become a partner of the AAC Network, and promised that he would make every effort to meet the expectations from the Chinese Government to promote Weihai at a national level, in various areas as well as the economy.”

The last Mission - Visit to Olongapo

The last city to negotiate the affiliation in the AACs Network was Olongapo City in the Philippines. Since Olongapo City was scheduled to hold a mayoral election in May, AUICK decided to visit Olongapo City soon after a new mayor was to be in office on 1 July.

With the help of Dr. Zahidul Huque, UNFPA Representative in the Philippines, who attended, as the keynote lecturer, the 2004 First Workshop on UNFPA Goals and Urban Policies, held in Kobe from 13 to 19 June 2004, the AUICK mission visited Manilla on 2 July 2004. The mission was composed of Mr. Sasayama, Dr. Ando, and Mr. Baba.

Dr. Ando visited the National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG), University of the Philippines, to discuss their academic collaboration in the baseline/endline survey and the city-university partnership between NCPAG and Olongapo City. Dr. Ando met with Dr. Alex Brillantes Jr., Dr. Joel V. Mangahas, and Dr. Batista. Dr. Brillantes was appointed as an academic collaborator for research and the city-university partnership with Olongapo City.

On 3 July, guided by Dr. Zahidul Huque, Mr. Sasayama, Dr. Ando, and Mr. Baba visited Olongapo City and discussed the new project and the AACs Conference with Mr. James “Bong” Gordon Jr., who became Mayor of Olongapo on 1 July. Mayor Gordon agreed to join the AACs Network and to attend the AACs Conference.