Page 42 - THE SOUTH CHINA BUSINESS JOURNAL

SCOVERY
on international best practices in creating an
economically sustainable waste management,
monitoring and reporting system. Also worth
noting is the breadth and depth of community
engagement striving towards the program
becoming a social movement. For instance,
residents of this 3.3 million population city can
pay for a bus ride with 5 used 600-mililiter plastic
bottles (or 3 1.5-liter ones or 10 plastic cups).
Wuhan (China)One of ’s waste challenges is
dealt by transforming one of the largest landfills
in Asia into a most charming recreational park
and ecological garden. The scale of this initiative
is unprecedented in China: this is the largest
application of anerobic technology for landfill
remediation and the biggest ecological bridge
in the country. The initiative has created a
50.5 km long ecological belt for its 10 million
plus inhabitants, covering an area of over 170
sq. km and improving the living conditions of
400,000 residents living in previously adjacent
communities rendered undesirable because
of pollution. It also uses an innovative way of
crowd sourcing in raising funds in addition to the
traditional way of funding the project.
Another shortlisted Chinese city, Yiwu
(population 2.2 million), places emphasis on
creating a friendly environment for both the
foreign and domestic communities. This initiative
includes the development of several first-in-
China initiatives. These include: (i) mediation of
foreign-related business disputes by foreigners
for foreigners; (ii) a one-stop service for all
international trade examination and approval
transactions; (iii) an international family program
to strengthen communication and community
building between local and foreign residents; (iv)
the issuance of a foreign merchant card to help
foreigners gain the same to access public services
that are provided to local Chinese, among others.
The Canadian city of Repentigny is
also working to promote inclusion in the city.
The initiative contains 3 projects that takes all
of its 84,000 inhabitants into consideration. The
“Citizens and Families” project connects inhabitants
and municipal staff with information quickly and
effectively, a key characteristic of a “smart city”. The
“Youth” project focuses on a multimedia lab housed
in the city’s library, providing access to digital
technologies focusing on creativity and expression.
The “Vulnerable People” project provides assistance
40 AMCHAM SOUTH CHINA
to citizens by telephone or the web linking to a
wide range of social and community resources.
Social inclusion in Santa Ana, Costa Rica
is demonstrated by the empowerment of the local
population of 57,000. The first stage of the initiative
focuses on ways to encourage women, in particular
those within vulnerable communities, to use the
bicycle as a means for personal and economic
development. The program has a commendable
educational program that not only links mobility to
personal development, but also demonstrates ways
that women can turn the bicycle into an accessible
and dignified mode of daily transportation. Many
countries and communities could benefit from this
approach to women’s mobility and inclusion.
Mezitli (Turkey), a rapidly growing city
of just over 187,000 inhabitants in Turkey is
also working to empower its female population.
Traditionally, women in the region have tended
to be economically dependent on male relatives
and husbands. To reverse this situation, a women-
only market was established. The market is free,
which makes entry easy for women who sell a
wide range of products including farm produce
from neighboring rural areas as well as traditional
handicrafts. It has also become a gathering place
for women from different ethnic, educational and
socio-economic backgrounds, offering lessons
on production and marketing practice as well as
informing them of their rights and encouraging
them to participate in public life.
Gender is but one of the themes incorporated in
New York City (USA)’s voluntary local review
(VLR) to the United Nations on local progress in
achieving the Global Goals. By doing so, New York,
with its 9 million plus inhabitants, has become
the first city in the world to report directly to the
UN regarding the local implementation of the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The
VLR meshed the SDGs with OneNYC – the city’s
sustainable development strategy. By tapping
into existing efforts, the VLR is sending a strong
message to all local authorities: there is no need
to reinvent the wheel to start implementing the
Global Goals – work with what you already have
and fill in the gaps!
Milan (Italy)’s initiative also requires cross-
departmental collaboration, aside from cooperation
with social organizations, and the private sector.