The International Urban Cooperation (IUC) programme invites EU cities to take part in international pairing

EU cities who wish to exchange with a city facing similar sustainable urban development challenges in another global region are encouraged to apply to take part in the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) city-to-city cooperation programme.

This article was initially published on the website of the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (CoM).

The city-to-city cooperation programme

Within this round of pairings, European cities will have the opportunity to cooperate with counterparts in Japan, China, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chile and Colombia.

To date, over 60 pairings have been established between local governments in Europe and in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America through the IUC programme. The programme aims to foster international links at the local level, enabling local leaders to gain new perspectives on pressing sustainable development issues.

Barcelona (Spain) and New York City (USA), Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and Surat (India), Rome (Italy) and Yantai (China), and Almada (Portugal) and Belo Horizonte (Brazil) are among the established IUC pairings working together.

How to take part

Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants are encouraged to apply. Groups of municipalities will also be eligible to apply, but only if their total population exceeds 100,000 inhabitants.

To join the cooperation programme, local governments must fill in an online form by 22 February 2019. Chosen cities commit to cooperating intensively with their partner city for at least 18 months, developing a Local Action Plan focused on a particular area of sustainable urban development.

Further info

For more information, visit the IUC website.

The IUC programme is financially supported by the Foreign Policy Instrument of the European Union, and is coordinated in conjunction with DG REGIO, DG ENER and DG CLIMA of the European Commission.