Show & Tell event brings together 60+ municipalities from across Eastern Partnership countries
August 1, 2022
STRATEGIC INNOVATION
Sreenidhi Rao, Strategic Design Fellow
Our Show & Tell event, held in Kutaisi, Georgia in July, 2022, was attended by the representatives of municipalities falling under the umbrella of the Mayors for Economic Growth (M4EG). M4EG focuses on economic inclusive growth and job creation in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries. It builds on the learnings from its first phase to enhance economic growth by designing and implementing Local Economic Development Plans (LEDPs). As a regional initiative of the EU and UNDP, it seeks to strengthen the capacities of local governments, create inclusive innovation processes for the design of investable projects corresponding to the LEDPs and invest in portfolios of projects that bring tangible benefits to its citizens.
The Show & Tell event was aimed to be regional platform for greater visibility, networking and alignment of seed funds with the identity and intent of the M4EG. Secondly, it gathered municipalities to share their journey learnings, engage and exchange deeper learnings, and outline their next steps. The event was attended in person by the representatives of 56 municipalities, while members of municipalities from Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine joined online. Representatives from the EU Delegation to Georgia, DG Near and the Georgian Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure also joined the event.
The event agenda included presentations led by 13 municipalities from the ‘Portfolio Journey’ and ‘Urban Imaginaries’ cohorts. These are two initiatives specifically designed to encourage and foster interventions aiming to reimagine key aspects of local living or urban spaces. M4EG’s key thematic focus is: deep engagement modalities with cities and ‘Urban makeover: Reimagining the city by the creation of a responsive, resilient and sustainable urban space’.
Portfolio journey
The portfolio journey addresses the complexity of development challenges by supporting the initiatives of local authorities and bringing additional capabilities to the local level. Currently, it engages with four cities in EaP countries to design and dynamically manage a municipal transformation portfolio. It is an adaptive learning and decision-making mechanism for responding to complex challenges that municipalities are facing.
Areni from Armenia on sustainable tourism The portfolio intends to attract and direct additional financial resources to the community to renew parts of its local infrastructure and diversify the local economy by exploring possibilities of interconnected value propositions. This will enable exploring new niches and alternative tourism offerings, such as eco, gastro and adventure tourism, ultimately boosting community livelihoods.
Batumi from Georgia on the start-up ecosystem The portfolio aims to support the creation of a startup ecosystem space which diversifies and broadens Batumi’s talent pool, contributes to a renewed urban identity, encourages a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation, while at the same time allowing the local government to take the lead of key co-facilitator and orchestrator.
Kutaisi from Georgia on the smart eco-city The portfolio aims to support the city in transitioning towards green & sustainable life, using nature-based urban innovation, attracting stakeholders with a sustainable agenda, promoting citizenship engagement practices, and sophisticated and responsible management practices at the municipal level.
Ceadîr-Lunga from Moldova on a resilient energy system The portfolio aims at providing strategic learning opportunities and creating new avenues for diversifying energy sources, increasing energy sufficiency, and identifying local affordable home-based interventions. This would lead to a future of inclusive and sustainable energy, with the optimization of individual household energy use as well as support for low-income households.
Urban Imaginaries
Urban Imaginaries is designed as a learning journey to support small initiatives that seek to reimagine or reinvent key aspects of local living that can become catalysts for an urban makeover. Funding and technical support are provided to selected cities to support them to become familiar with complexity-informed approaches and apply them to design place-based solutions in collaboration with residents across a wide range of issues including economic development, tourism and urban development.
Alaverdi from Armenia on cultural life The project seeks to improve its cultural infrastructure hubs to offer a more dynamic and flourishing cultural life. This will lead to a more vibrant cultural life, attracting tourists, preserving the rich cultural heritage of the region, and pushing job creation to address the challenge of migration.
Ashtarak from Armenia on public transportation The project seeks to improve public transportation services between the communities, which are not well-developed, which affects the mobility of a wide range of residents, including those who are socially vulnerable and tourists. By reimagining connectivity between the central town and dispersed communities, this will advance economic development in both the central parts of the city and those in the periphery.
Charentsavan from Armenia on urban development: The public square This project seeks to reimagine the city centre and make it more attractive for both residents and tourists by renovating its central roads, a key monument and a park, by involving the community and understanding their needs.
Rustavi from Georgia on economic development: Citipreneurship for youth This project is reimagining the role of the municipal government as a connector, convener and amplifier to help the ecosystem collaborate around a diversity of initiatives that seek to advance youth skills development, facilitate searching for jobs and provide better career planning tools.
Poti from Georgia on urban development: Central Park The project seeks to build on its earlier renovation of city’s central park by reaching out to multiple stakeholders, ranging from park visitors like parents and students to business owners and municipality teams, prioritizing the inclusion of historically excluded communities, as well as integrating ideas emerging from studies to increase accessibility, particularly for people with disabilities.
Samtredia from Georgia on urban development: Local sports facilities The project aims to reimagine the city’s sports infrastructure and activities to promote healthier lifestyles and increase regional tourism in the city, particularly by reinvigorating facilities around the municipality such as the swimming pool, understanding public health behavior and adopting sustainable and energy-efficient choices.
Tskaltubo from Georgia on urban development: Cultural sites The project seeks to create vibrant social and cultural spaces away from the capital, improve the quality of life for local people and create the conditions for local and international tourism by building better linkages between surrounding villages and towns to their local cultural hubs.
Cahul from Moldova on waste management 2.0: The project focuses on improving waste collection and disposal by building the capacity of waste collection sites and implementing initiatives such as the provision of waste bins free of charge so they can expand this service to the entire city.
Călărași from Moldova on sustainable waste collection platforms The project focuses on waste management and how to improve collection and disposal, which was identified as a priority for the city in its 2025 development strategy.
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