The United Nations Center for Human Settlements (UNCHS) best practices program consists of an awards program and database. The awards recognize and create awareness of outstanding and sustainable achievements. The database makes information on best practices available via internet or CD Rom to an international audience. JCI is a member of the Best Practices and Local Leadership Program (BLP). One of 27 partners worldwide, the Institute is the designated Thematic Center of Architecture and Urban Design.  JCI helps to evaluate submissions for the awards program and develops the database by encouraging submissions that highlight the benefits of sustainable design. Information on Best Practices in Improving the Living Environment is on the internet at http://www.bestpractices.org JCI Stimulates New Northern Hemisphere Organization The  2nd session of the World Urban Forum in Barcelona on September 13-17 2004, will mark the first global meeting for community and city leaders from "Winter Cities." The goal of the Winter Cities meeting is to offer enriching and on-going exchanges on knowledge, methods, practices and results of innovations for sustainable urban environments.  A new UN-HABITAT related organization is being proposed:  "The North/North Network for Urban Sustainability and Leadership". For definition and convenience purposes all global urban jurisdictions above the 35th Latitude are potential participants in the North/North Network.. The Founding Partners of the North/North Network include: Far Eastern State Academy of Economics and Management (Vladivostok, Russia), Joslyn Castle Institute(JCI) for Sustainable Communities (Nebraska, USA), other Universities of USA, Japan and People’s Republic of China, also NGOs and academic institutions as its co-founders. JCI President and CEO, W. Cecil Steward was elected as Chairman of the North/North Network. Dr. Sharon Kuska, JCI Research Associate, was appointed as Associate Director and Chief of the Secretariat of the North/North Network. The objective of World Urban Forum is to foster dialogue between the public, private and community sectors on sustainable urbanization and to strengthen existing partnerships and forge new ones for meeting the Millennium Development Goals. The programme of the World Urban Forum is available at: http://www.unhabitat.org/wuf/2004/default.asp For additional information on the North/North Network for Urban Sustainability and Leadership  or the World Urban Forum see: New Opportunities for the Exchange of Best Practices Article Aide Memoire and Draft Agenda for Winter Cities World Urban Forum Final Document of Internation Workshop North/North Network for Exchanges of Best Practices for Sustainable Development Agreement for creating non governmental organization "North/North Network within the bounds of the Un-Habitat program Decisions of "North/North Network" of United Nations – HABITAT Program Beijing Organizational Meeting Minutes ====================================================== B E S T  P R A C T I C E S  N E W S L E T T E R ====================================================== November 2003 Edition The Best Practices Newsletter Apologies for cross-postings ====================================================== IN THIS ISSUE: ====================================================== - Best Practices Steering Committee Meeting - Dubai International Awards 2004 - Universal Forum on Cultures, Barcelona 2004 - Best Practices Feature - Partners' Profile - Call For Papers - What's New - Other Sustainable Development Awards ============================================================== Best Practices Steering Committee Meeting , 3-5 December ============================================================== The Best Practices and Local Leadership Programme is governed by and reports to a Steering Committee comprised of its partners. The goal of the Steering Committee is to partnership endeavours for improving the living environment. The Committee establishes the policies and procedures which guide the substantive work and activities of the network. The Steering Committee meets annually and this year's meeting is being hosted by the Municipality of Santiago de Compostela, Spain - a laureate of the 2002 Cycle of the Dubai International Award for Best Practices. The meeting is expected to result in an expanded work programme for 2004 to respond to growing demand for best practices, good policies and enabling legislation. ============================================================== Dubai International Awards 2004 ============================================================== The BLP is currently accepting submissions for the 2004 Cycle of the Dubai International Awards for Best Practices. The purpose of the awards is to recognise and enhance awareness of outstanding and sustainable achievements in improving the living environment as per the basic criteria established by the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and the Dubai Declaration. Submissions received before 31 January 2004 will benefit from substantive feedback. The submission guidelines for the Award are available at http://www.sustainabledevelopment.org/awards/2004/guide_en.html More information: mailto:bestpractices@unhabitat.org or mailto:info@dm.gov.ae ============================================================== Universal Forum on Cultures, Barcelona 2004 ============================================================== Preparations for the Best Practices City exhibition at the Universal Forum on Cultures are proceeding. Exciting ideas and suggestions on how practices dealing with various issues in sustainable development can be represented are being discussed in collaboration with the implementers of the practices and with Forum designers. The exhibition is designed to bring best practices to the general public and an estimated 5 million visitors. The stand-alone exhibition will be iconographic and will make extensive use of sight and sound. Contact: mailto:bestpractices@unhabitat.org More information: http://www.barcelona2004.org ============================================ Best Practices Feature ============================================ This month's edition will feature Santiago de Compostela - an award winner from the 2002 Cycle of the Dubai International Award for Best Practices. Protection and Rehabilitation of the Historical World Heritage, Santiago de Compostela, Spain The  City  of  Santiago  de  Compostela  has a population of 120,000 and is located in the Galicia region. The historical centre had deteriorated owing to  out-migration  of  inhabitants from the area, leaving 16% of the houses empty,  an  aging  population, traffic congestion and abandoned river beds. 40%  of  the  houses  required  rehabilitation  to  be  made safe for human occupation and open space was not well maintained. In 1994, the Municipal Council approved the Special Plan of Historical City Protection  and Rehabilitation focusing on affordable housing, the creation of  green  spaces  and  the  development  of  a  new traffic system to ease congestion.  The  Plan  initially  faced  opposition  from  the public. The reintroduction  of traditional building materials and the use of low-energy technologies  met  with  strong  resistance  due  to deep-rooted habits and special  interests  from  the  real  estate  sector.  Many shop owners also opposed  the  construction  of  pedestrian  lanes  and car parks. Extensive public consultations and debate eventually overcame this resistance and led to  a  partnership  between  state,  regional  and  local  administrations, residents  and  local  business to finance the Plan. Housing rehabilitation projects also became eligible for support from the general housing fund. This  initiative demonstrates how rehabilitation of historical heritage can result   in   inner   city   revival   without   necessarily  resulting  in gentrification,  while  improving the esthetical value of the city, tourism and   local   economci   development.   More  than  650  houses  have  been rehabilitated since 1995 with 80% occupancy. The Programme has reversed the systematic  destruction  of the wooden interiors of considerable historical value.  Following  the  success of the Plan, a further 400 rehabs have been initiated  exclusively  by the private sector - a trend that bodes well for the  goal  of comprehensive rehabilitation. Despite shortage of land, 23 ha have  been converted into new public parks. There has been a notable change in the resident's attitude towards their natural environment with resulting in  financial  and  technical support from civil society organisations. New fields  of  specialisation  and  employment  have  been  created  for small businesses,  professionals and technicians. The city is currently a partner to  the  Finestra  (Recite II) programme for the exchange of public-private collaboration experiences with other cities in Europe. ============================================ Partners' Profile ============================================ The focus of this month's newsletter is El Agora located in Argentina. El Agora is a platform for action and reflection on public safety. The organization's vision is to eliminate social exclusion, violence and discrimination. Strategies include strengthening of existing social networks and promoting new networks to reduce crime, violence and exclusion. El Agora organizes public dialogues in bars, cinemas, legislative bodies, university classrooms, museums, schools and public squares to help improve the safety of public meeting places. El Agora offers technical assistance to public and private bodies in the planning and implementation of programmes and projects related to public affairs and safety. It promotes research in the field of civic participation, human resources development and the transfer and dissemination of knowledge in the field of public participation. For further information: http://www.elagora.org.ar or http://www.sustainabledevelopment.org/partners/index.html ============================================ Call For Papers ============================================ The European Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production (ERSCP) 2004 will be held in Bilbao, Spain, 12 - 14 May 2004. IHOBE, the Environmental Performance Agency of the Basque Government, is hosting the roundtable which will focus on the problems (demand) and solutions (supply) to achieve more sustainable businesses and societies. The ERSCP 2004 will serve as a platform to review prevailing and emerging trends and issues in sustainable production and consumption. The results of the workshops and the open space discussions will be developed into a final document to be forwarded to the European Commission, the United Nations Environment Programme and National Sustainability Programmes. More information: http://www.erscp2004.net. The International Research Foundation for Development (IRFD), will host a series of events to contribute to the World Summit on Information Society. The Digital Divide, Global Development and Information Society conference will be held from 8 -10 December 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland. The focus of this conference is on critical issues and considerations in the context of information technological revolution, global transformation, and marginalisation. Inter and intra regional disparities will be examined in terms of information infrastructure and dissemination, knowledge generation and management. Limited opportunities remain to present papers at this important conference. More information: http://www.irfd.org/events/wf2003/intro2.html ============================================ What's New ============================================ The International Conference, Sustainable Safety: Municipalities at the Crossroads will be held in Durban, South Africa from 25 to 28 November 2003. The conference is organized by the Safer Cities Programme of UN-HABITAT and eThekwini Municipality with the objective of strengthening the understanding and the importance of urban safety in the context of good governance, poverty reduction and community mobilization. The Conference will review and promote the exchange of experiences and practices of mayors, city councilors, municipal managers and other key partners. One of the expected outcomes of the Conference will be to develop an integrated action plan for Safer Cities in Africa and other regions for 2004-2006 and to foster the Safer Cities approach and city-to-city co-operation in the NEPAD initiative.  More information: http://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/safercities and eThekwini Municipality website: http://www.durban.gov.za/ The UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) will be held from 10 to 12 December 2003 in Geneva. A feature of this Conference will be the ICT for Development Platform where 16,000 m2 are devoted to showcasing programmes, projects, approaches, best practices and innovations in ICT4D and to present an overview of emerging trends and lessons learnt. For more information: http://www.ict-4d.org/ Megacities III will be held in Schloss Eichholz, Netherlands, 24 ? 26 November 2003. This international conference is a follow up to two conferences in 2002, in which the many and varied dimensions of the megacities issue were highlighted. The conference will focus on models of action and strategic solutions to four central issues, namely manageability, sustainability, mobility, and urban development. More information: mailto:katharina.aubermann@kas.de An executive course on good urban governance a will be held in Bangkok, 24 January to 7 February 2004. This two-week course is designed and implemented by the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) Rotterdam, a Best Practices Partner, and its regional offices and representatives in Thailand, India, Indonesia and Australia. The course is targeted at managers, policy makers, officials and professionals responsible for urban planning, development and management, especially those involved in the provision of services such as water and sanitation, solid waste management and transportation. More information and/or registration: mailto:ihsasia@5q.com ================================================ Other Sustainable Development Awards ================================================ Stockholm's international information technology prize will be awarded for the 6th time and submissions reached a record high. Almost 900 initiatives were entered for the Stockholm Challenge Award 2003/2004, and of these 694 have been forwarded to the jury. The initiatives come from 107 countries and form a unique set of examples of the role and contribution of IT in development. An international jury assesses the submissions using four criteria: innovation, user benefit, transferability and accessibility. This year's finalists will be announced in January and the award ceremony will be held in May 2004. More information: http://www.challenge.stockholm.se/ ===================================================== B E S T  P R A C T I C E S  N E W S L E T T E R ===================================================== This newsletter is published by the Best Practices and Lessons Learned Unit of the Urban Secretariat of UN-Habitat. It is designed to inform and to stimulate exchange between local authorities, civil society organisations, policy makers, researchers and urban practitioners for making our cities and communities more livable. For more information on the BLP, please visit: http://www.sustainabledevelopment.org/blp If your organisation would like to announce an event, publication or other news, please contact: mailto:bestpractices@unhabitat.org If you would like to stop receiving this electronic newsletter, please send a short message to: mailto:bestpractices@unhabitat.org ================================================== OUR ADDRESS: ================================================== Best Practices and Policies Monitoring Systems Branch UN-HABITAT, P.O. Box 30030, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: (254-20) 624981, Fax: (254-20) 623080 Email: mailto:bestpractices@unhabitat.org