At the west side of Surabaya, the first in the town was held over three days, on February 25th-27th 2014. The Expo attracted distinct stakeholders and was organized in conjunction with the 5th Regional Asia-Pacific 3R Forum. It was a milestone, both for the city of Surabaya and UCLG ASPAC.
Our member, Guangzhou, that presented their international award for urban innovation; our partner, Green Purchasing Network Malaysia, that brought their energy-saving lamp company, Nitto Optotronics; our other partner, IHI Enviro Corporation, that participated in showcasing their latest green technology (more info about this company can be looked at the bottom part of this e-newsletter) were among the tenants. Other participants are coming from governmental and non-governmental sectors.
Visited by the Minister of Environment of Indonesia, Prof. Dr. Balthasar Kambuaya; Director of UN Centre for Regional Development, Chikako Takase; and Mayor of Surabaya, Tri Rismaharini, the Expo offered various youth-captivating programmes such as 3R Short Comic Competition, 3R Photo Competition, 3R Poster Competition, 3R Song Competition, and 3R Puppet Competition. As a sidebar, 3 different-themes of Talk Show were also conducted.
As for the last-mentioned programme, UCLG ASPAC presented several speakers from the Ministry of Environment of Indonesia, Mr. Agus Saefudin; the Green Purchasing Network Malaysia, Mr. Augustine Koh; and also Secretary General Bernadia Tjandradewi. The discussions centred on a waste management campaign. The speakers agreed that waste potentially possesses economic values.
Highlighting green technology and innovation, approximately 1000 visitors paid a visit during the three-day event. This Expo aims to support any sustainable development efforts and to raise public awareness on green living. “It’s a good opportunity for companies that have environment-friendly or green products. There’s government also, opportunity for investment is wide open,” said Bernadia.
Moreover, the Event was also a good opportunity for UCLG ASPAC to introduce its programmes. For the past 3 years, the organization has been focusing on environmental development, which is one of the pillars of sustainable development.
