8, 25, 26 November 2021 | UCLG ASPAC teaming up with UCLG Learning and collaborating with the Platforma, UN Habitat and UN ESCAP organised and facilitated a roll-out of Module 4 on Decentralised Cooperation (DC) and SDGs localisation in a three-day Training of Trainers (ToT) sessions targeting UCLG ASPAC members. The training was delivered online and engaged 30 participants from local governments and local government associations from Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Nepal, Maldives and India.
The training is expected to create local champions to serve as a trainer. It is designed to empower and build the capacity of dedicated local government apparatus in charge of DC to become focal points in promoting and anchoring DC and SDGs Localisation.
The ToT combined a lecturing class with group discussions and group exercises. Given the practical nature of the training, participants were given opportunities to share their experiences, discuss stakes, challenges, opportunities, and good/best practices of DC. Case studies were presented from the experiences of selected Indonesian cities namely Surabaya and Jakarta. Surabaya has been running the DC with Kitakyushu and resulted in the waste management programme, and Jakarta has developed the cooperation with Berlin and produced the smart change project to empower smart city and urban innovation ecosystems.
UCLG ASPAC Secretary General in her opening remarks emphasised the importance of having mutual cooperation with foreign cities and local governments as part of knowledge exchange and capacity building initiatives for the local governments and their associations in the Asia-Pacific region. The cooperation will facilitate the knowledge sharing and learning for the cities to accelerate local development towards achieving SDGs targets at the local level. UCLG Learning Manager, Sara Hoeflich, also welcomed participants and highlighted the benefits of DC for SDGs mainstreaming into development planning to improve local development policies. “The ToT will help increase local governments and their associations’ knowledge and capacity to link the decentralised cooperation with SDGs localisation, which will contribute to local development for the best interest of the citizens.”
The ToT was facilitated by trainers from UCLG Learning Team, UCLG ASPAC Secretariat, Platforma, UN Habitat and UN ESCAP with guest speakers from IAP2, Surabaya City and VNG International. The training was closed by UCLG ASPAC Secretary General, Director of Platforma and UCLG Learning Manager highlighting the necessity to follow up training to streamline the linkage of DC and SDGs localisation.
At the end of the training, participants discussed the way forward where cities and local governments will actively take part in follow up training and initiate themselves as local champions to facilitate the training. A participant from Jakarta City volunteered to be a local champion that will serve as a trainer to facilitate the DC training. UCLG ASPAC is committed to continuing this initiative and will organise follow up training in 2022 focusing on Indonesia and another one for the Asia-Pacific region.
