Tatsuo Yada
Chairman of AUICK
(Mayor of Kobe)

The Asian Urban Information Center of Kobe (AUICK) was established in 1989, with the commitment of the City of Kobe in collaboration with UNFPA, as an urban and information network for administrators of medium-sized cities in Asia to learn not only from the experience of Kobe, but from each others’ experiences of population and urban issues.

AUICK’s 2004-2007 program focused its activities on imparting knowledge and experience of urban development issues through research, information dissemination and the training of senior administrative officials of nine selected cities referred to as AUICK Associate Cities, or AACs.

The 2008-2009 program continued the ‘Action Plan’ system, to implement lessons learned from AUICK training workshops into the AAC administrations. It  also started a ‘two-step’ workshop system, to incorporate local academic experts and on-site training into the workshop system, and a technical support service for Kobe City specialists to assist in AAC project implementation. The program enhanced the network of North-South and South-South cooperation among Asian cities, which AUICK and the Kobe International Center for Cooperation and Communication (KIC), with the support of Kobe City Government and UNFPA, have been building for the two decades.

AUICK will continue to strengthen its ties with AACs, UNFPA country offices and AAC local academic institutions. We remain committed to working with governments, concerned local authorities, international organizations and research institutions (both in and outside of Japan), to provide information and know-how to increase capacities of city administrators, which will improve urban conditions and the welfare of citizens. We ask for your continued support and cooperation.Thank you.

1 April 2010 

Downtown Kobe photographed by Nobuyuki Morimoto on 24 March 2006
from the building of the Kobe Branch, Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.