This calls for the development of a culture of civic engagement in its partner cities, the improvement of women’s participation, the enhancement of the public realm of cities and the promotion of investment in community assets. [close]

This hopes to build leadership and capacity for good urban governance and within its partner cities through education and organizational change processes, with the end view of creating an enabling environment for change. [close]

This entails building a body of knowledge on good urban governance, urban sustainability and renewal of the public realm of cities through applied research, urban symposia and creation of information and toolkits. [close]

The program endeavors to make the Metro Iloilo Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC) become operational and effective, and develop collaborative initiatives using a partnership approach to enhancing the public realm and urban sustainability. This aims to make MIGEDC a “beacon for change” as the Philippines embarks on a new Mega Region Economic Development Strategy. [close]

By helping MIGEDC become a core knowledge centre and by partnering with the Department of Interior and Local Government, it reaches out to other urbanizing centers across the region through networking, and the sharing their expertise, know-how and approaches. [close]

New ideas for sustainable urban development generated within the region would be scaled up to the national level to influence frameworks and in turn share these with other cities across the country. [close]

This involves creating the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras city region as a means of addressing big issues with collective decisions. It is also a practical approach in striking a balance between local pride and regional need. [close]

This calls for the pursuit of a collective agenda aimed at investing financial, social, and institutional capital towards the improvement of the public realm and development of community assets through activities like convening “Ideas for the City” forums and “Show-What-You-Mean” model projects. [close]

This entails rethinking opportunities to create wealth and to establish new strategies for the MIGEDC to succeed. It also seeks to build a strong economy-environment relationship. [close]

This bridges the widening gap of trust and relevance between the government and the governed and fills the “democratic deficit” – the growing disconnect between what matters to most citizens and what political institutions including political parties have to offer – through “civic grounded” urban improvement where all the levels of government are working for the improvement of the public realm, the building of the regional city and the regeneration of the local economy. [close]