The Virtual Policy Studio on Urban Governance
These are challenging times for urban professionals in Asia. There is a
critical need for equipping ourselves and others in the urban profession
with the knowledge, skills and information, that enables effective
management of our cities. With this is the need for developing and
elaborating existing processes, procedures and partnerships between
different organizations and sectors to respond to urban conditions and
situations today. Learning and sharing experience, discussions and
debates have tremendous value. They can lead to productive partnerships
and set a common platform of understanding and interpretation of
technical terms and new ideas in urban management. This process requires
a conducive platform, which The Urban Governance Initiative (TUGI) of
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) offers you by
introducing the TUGI-Virtual Policy Studio (TUGI-VPS).
What Is TUGI-Virtual Policy Studio?
The TUGI-VPS is an interactive Internet - based platform for discussion
and debate and exchange of experiences between various stakeholders on
urban governance and other urban issues. It is an online resource
facility that offers online resource, discussion room, online expertise
on various urban issues and a networking room. It allows you to express
your views and ideas at the same time broaden your perspective by being
part of a global community working on urban governance and other urban
issues.
What does the TUGI- Virtual Policy Studio offer you?
It is a virtual resource facility, which brings you an online resource
room. There are documents on urban governance and other urban issues
available at the TUGI-VPS site, there are links to documents available
at other web sites and there are links to organizations working on urban
issues. The resource room will be continually updated and subscribers
are encouraged to submit additional relevant resources. There is also a
separate section for subscribers to put up their own
published/unpublished work.
A general discussion lounge where issues for discussion will be put up
periodically. A stimulating piece either in the form of a short article,
photograph or quote will be used to initiate discussion and dialogue
between subscribers. After a given period the stimulating piece and the
ensuing debate will be archived. Experts on various issues will be
invited to serve as guest moderators from time to time.
The TUGI-VPS also offers you the networking lounge, which will have
individual space for each subscriber where you can post your short
resume and contact details. Subscribers can carry out individual or
group discussions aside from the general discussion lounge here and are
encouraged to use this space for getting to know each other and share
experiences and ideas.
Who is the TUGI-Virtual Policy Studio team?
The TUGI-VPS is an initiative of The Urban Governance Initiative (TUGI)
of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It works
collaboration with the Urban Management Centre (UMC), Asian Institute of
Technology, Thailand, the Center for Education in the Built Environment
(CEBE), University of Wales, Cardiff and the Human Settlements Section
of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific (ESCAP), Bangkok who jointly designed the VPS.
The key contact persons for the TUGI-Virtual Policy Studio are Sri
Husnaini Sofjan (TUGI) Radhika Savant Mohit (UMC), Chris Webster (CEBE)
and Yap Kioe Sheng (ESCAP).
The TUGI-Virtual Policy Studio was launched on Tuesday 15 May 2001. The
first round of discussion concentrate on conceptual issues and is titled
"What is good governance?" The guest moderator for this first session
will be Yap Kioe Sheng. We will also have inputs from Szilard Fricska, a
governance expert periodically.
The TUGI-VPS is available at <http://cebe.cf.ac.uk/tugi/> or
<http://t062.cpla.cf.ac.uk/wbimages/tugi/intro/intro.html>
Regards,
the TUGI-VPS team
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