Metropolis Secretariat General
Building bridges of sustainability between Asian and Iberian metropolises
From last July 10 to 12, Casia Asia organized another edition of Asia Innova, a symposium focused on the relations of the Asian continent with the Iberian Peninsula and on the inclusion of cultural, social and physical infrastructure as vital aspect of smart cities. As a knowldege partner of Casa Asia, Metropolis contributed to the event with the participation of representatives from our membership and the Secretariat General.
Asia Innova 2018 took place in Madrid Madrid (July 10th), Valencia (July 11th) and Barcelona (July 12th). The main theme of this year’s sessions was “fostering sustainable cities”. Participants discussed about the challenges of urbanisation in Asia and Europe, and about cities transformation and exchanged experiences.
Representatives from different Metropolis members actively participated in the different sessions and debates, namely : Barcelona City Council; Guangzhou, represented by the Academy of Social Sciences of Guangzhou (GZASS) ; Madrid City Council ; and New Delhi, represented by the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA).
On behalf of Secretariat General, Agnès Bickart, Senior Manager for Institutional Relations, attended the session in Madrid presenting Metropolis priorities and views. In turn, Octavi de la Varga, our Secretary General, attended the session in Barcelona where he pointed out the challenges of metropolisation and the opportunities for joint collaboration between European and Asian cities.
Casa Asia is a public consortium that was founded in 2001 by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, through the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID) ; the Government of Catalonia ; and the Barcelona and Madrid City Councils. Among its general objectives, it aims to encourage actions and projects that lead to a better understanding, and closer relationships of all kinds, between societies in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and Spain. In addition, Casa Asia promotes Barcelona and Madrid as meeting points between those societies, encouraging an institutional, business, cultural and social approach.