"The congress is expected to generate new breakthroughs that could be references to the mayors in preparing priority programs in the future," the committee chairperson of Indonesian Chapter Eastern Regional Organization for Planning and Human Settlements (Earoph) Bernardus Djonoputro said.
Bernardus noted that the theme of the conference was "Toward Resilient and Smart Cities: Innovation, Planning, and Managing Determination in Major Cities of the World."
He added that the event has invited practitioners, governments, academia, as well as observers of urban planning to look for new ideas to manage future urban development.
The conference will also be a medium to exchange experiences among the development actors, in particular the prominent mayors.
"Through the conference, we expect to gather fresh ideas, at conceptual and practical levels, based on city management technology and resilience," Bernardus, who also serves as chairman of the Indonesian Association of Planning (IAP), said.
In the citys stakeholder meeting, Indonesia Most Livable City Index will be released by IAP. In addition, Mayors Caucus will also be presented.
"The Mayors Caucus leader has been planned to be presented to the vice governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, or familiarly called Ahok," Bernardus revealed.
Mayors Caucus has been planned to produce a view of the attitude and position of mayors in the city governance in converting into smart and resilient cities.
The domestic leading mayor who will attend includes the Mayor of Surabaya (East Java Province) Tri Rismaharini and the Mayor of Bandung (West Java Province) Ridwan Kamil.
Meanwhile, the dignitaries invited from abroad are the Mayor of Bilbao (Spain) Ibon Areso and the CEO of Iskandar Regional Authority (Malaysia) Dato Ismail Ibrahim.
The congress is scheduled to inaugurate the Deputy Minister of Public Works of Indonesia Hermanto Dardak as the President of Earoph for the period 2014-2016.
"Indonesia is an important part of the regional system of cities committed to support genuine efforts in planning and development of resilient cities," Bernardus added.
(T.KR-LWA/INE)
EDITED BY INE.
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
