EuropeAid
IURC: International Urban and Regional Cooperation
The action represents a second phase of the International Urban Cooperation programme (IUC) with a view to taking forward, and developing, the first phase, 2016-2020, as part of a long-term strategy to foster urban diplomacy as an important vehicle of the EU's external relations. Reflecting the interest outside the EU in the EU’s decentralised approach to promoting competitiveness through innovation in a way that takes into account the particular specificities and potential of various territories and therefore the increasing role of inter-regional cooperation.
The countries concerned by the action are the following: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, the United States, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand.
As the second phase of the International Urban Cooperation programme (IUC) (2016-2020), IURC- International Urban and Regional Cooperation aims to lead and develop a form of decentralised international urban and regional cooperation in the fields of sustainable urban development and innovation, in key partner countries and regions in line with the external dimension of “Europe 2020”.
The project facilitates knowledge-exchange through a combination of online tools and face-to-face support such as study visits, participation in thematic and networking events or capacity building. The cooperation is developed as one-to-one pairings and/or clusters and is organized in two components: city-to-city cooperation in the field of sustainable urban development and region-to-region cooperation in the field of innovation. Furthermore, the cooperation is organized along the following Thematic Networks: Urban Renewal and Urban Poverty, Innovation, and Ecological Transition and Green Deal. Three Cross-Cutting Challenges are also tackled and these are: Smart City and Digital Transition, Post covid recovery, and Climate Change and Energy Transition.
The coordinator of IURC is ACCIONA.
EURADA’s role in the project is to act as a helpdesk for EU regions interested and taking part in the programme. Together with INFYDE, EURADA contributes to building capacities on regional innovation cooperation.
IURC is a response to Central Services to the International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC): Sustainable and innovative cities and regions, reference EuropeAid/140653/DH/SER/Multi.
Contact person within EURADA: Ivana Rae Almora irae.almora(at)eurada.org