11th PASCAL International Observatory Conference

Organised by The EU Centre at RMIT and hosted by The Hong Kong Institute of Education, the 11th PASCAL International Observatory Conference will take place in Hong Kong, 18-20 November 2013 with fieldwork to test approaches in different Hong Kong settings on 19 November

Cities Learning Together - Local Communities in the Sustainable and Healthy Learning City

• Can integrated effort and partnership within and between sectors, organisations and urban centres lead to a viable and sustainable future for the urban majority who now inhabit the planet?
• How can city administrations, voluntary bodies, business and universities work together to overcome the multiple crises facing us and develop healthy cities that can survive and self-improve?
• Does city learning really matter? How do cities really learn?  How can we create learning spaces and processes that encourage people to learn and plan consciously as groups linking up with other learner-actors across all sectors and institutions in the city?  How and where does devolution really work? How can local responsibility and wisdom be engaged to meet global and national ecological and economic priorities? How is high-level intent translated into practical action?
• What is the role of local communities and neighbourhoods in addressing the big issues confronting cities?

These questions are vital to the health and survival of people in towns and cities -especially in the multiplying mega-cities growing up in all continents.

Decades-old environmental and resource challenges now combine with persisting global financial and economic crises to make ‘the end of growth’ a new and fearful nightmare – acknowledged by some, denied by others. What do we mean by learning cities, community, and cross-sector partnership in this high-risk world? How to build futures for all that are economically viable, socially cohesive, culturally inclusive and environmentally constructive?

Cities have become the primary site in which these challenges and the associated debates are being played out. In the emergent and powerful economies of East Asia, some world-leading cities seek solutions via new ‘learning city’ approaches; meanwhile in western economies some city leaders are looking beyond earlier learning city initiatives, recognising the importance of knowledge and capability in balancing economic and social goals with environmental protection. The Conference targets all city and business leaders, as well as non-government organisations and academics who believe that these are crucial issues for cities in the next twenty years.