Workshop on Cities, Science and Sustainability

Institutions and individuals from developing countries are invited to take part in a UNsponsored international workshop examining successful approaches that address issues related to cities, science and sustainability. The workshop is planned for 20 to 22 September 2007 and will be held in Trieste, Italy.

The aim is to highlight initiatives where the application of science, technology, innovation, knowledge and/or research has made a positive difference to sustainable development in large urban areas in the developing world; and also to connect the knowledge community with those involved in city planning and administration.

The initiatives could include (but will not be limited to): access to safe drinking water, sanitation, reducing air pollution, improving housing and construction, reducing crime, improving energy, access to healthcare, land use planning, transport, greening urban spaces, creating jobs in sustainable-development, waste disposal, etc.

The case studies can also include initiatives that were not successful in reaching their goals – in part so that the lessons learned can be conveyed to a wider audience. City-wide environmental or sustainable-development master-plans will also be considered.

The abstract deadline is 15 July 2007 (see attached Doc A); institutes will be invited to prepare a full case study (Doc B: guidelines) based on the selection of abstracts made by the Advisory Board. Full case study deadline is 28 August 2007.
Those chosen to present a full case study in the conference receive an economy roundtrip flight to Trieste and free accommodation during the conference.

More details can be found at: http://www.twas.org or contact: Shelia Khawaja at [email protected] or +39 040 2240 685.

The project 'Cities, Science and Sustainability' is a collaborative effort among four international partners: TWAS, the academy of sciences for the developing world, the Consortium for Science, Technology and Innovation for the South (COSTIS), which is attached to the G77 group of countries, the United Nations Development Programme’s Special Unit for South-South Cooperation (UNDP-SSC), and the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS).

Participants from developing countries who are chosen for presentation at the workshop will also be included in an accompanying book: 'Cities, science and sustainability' to be published in 2008. The book will be the 14th volume in the acclaimed series: 'Sharing Innovative Experiences' that is published jointly by TWAS and UNDP. See http://tcdc1.undp.org/SIE/sharingsearch.aspx.