Asia-Pacific Cooperation
Asia-Pacific Cooperation
The Asia-Pacific region is the main focus of the Centre's international activities. Those activities are based on four areas of cooperation:
- LOGOTRI: the Asia-Pacific network of local government training and research institutes
- CLGF: the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF), which is undertaking two major projects in the Pacific
- Direct partnerships with other organisations.
- Regional Research
LOGOTRI
The Centre has been a leading member of LOGOTRI since its inception in 1999. LOGOTRI has members in twelve countries across the region, as well as from the Netherlands and UK. For the past eight years the Centre's Program Manager, Robert Mellor, has been first the Performance Auditor and more recently a Vice President of the network.
LOGOTRI's members are both governmental, autonomous and private sector institutions and organizations involved primarily in local government training and research. It was initiated by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), which conducted the workshop on the establishment of the Network of Local Government Training and Research Institutes in March 1999 at Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. LOGOTRI is a non-profit international association.
LOGOTRI's vision is "effective and efficient local government which can meet the needs and aspirations of its people".
LOGOTRI's mission is "to build the capacities of local government training and research institutes so that these institutes can provide sound technical and managerial training and undertake research".
LOGOTRI's objectives are:
- to establish technical co-operation among local government training and research institutes in Asia and the Pacific
- to strengthen the institutional and technical capacities of local government training research institutes in Asia and the Pacific.
For full details of LOGOTRI's structure and activities, go to the LOGOTRI website.
2007 LOGOTRI Regional Seminar and Council Meeting
The annual regional seminar and Council meeting of LOGOTRI - the Asia-Pacific network of local government training and research institutes, was held in Seoul, Korea, on 14-17 May. The theme of the seminar was Local Governance and Balanced National Development, reflecting Korea's concerns with the increasing dominance of Seoul as a centre of population and economic activity. Both Centre Director Graham Sansom and Program Manager Robert Mellor both made presentations to the seminar.
Click below to view a selection of papers presented at the seminar:
- Dong Ju Kim Presentation
- Ik Sik Kim Presentation
- Marivel Sacendoncillo Presentation
- Won Sup Lee Presentation
- Robert Mellor Comments
The 6th General Council meeting of LOGOTRI was held on 16 May. It was attended by delegates from 11 countries as well as observers from UN-ESCAP and UN-HABITAT. The meeting set guidelines for a new 3-5 year business plan and elected Dr Vinay Lall of the Society for Development Studies, India, as its new President, replacing Dr Joo Hyun Kim of the Korea Research Institute for Local Administration (KRILA), whose term had expired.
Robert Mellor retired from the position of Vice President after eight years as a member of the Executive Bureau, and his contribution during that time was warmly acknowldeged by delegates. However, the Centre will remain a strong supporter of LOGOTRI's role and activities
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
LOGOTRI Regional Seminar and Council Meeting Delegates
Direct Partnerships
In addition to its membership of LOGOTRI, the Centre maintains close direct links with a number of organizations throughout the region. These include:
- the Japan Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR)
- the Urban and Regional Development Institute (URDI) in Jakarta, Indonesia
- the new Local Government Centre at Auckland University of Technology (AUT)
- the Training Centre for Elected Representatives (TCER) within the Vietnam Office of the National Assembly.
Each year the Centre conducts an orientation program for Japanese staff seconded to the CLAIR office in Sydney (the Japan Local Government Centre). Also, Centre staff are regular contributors to the annual CLAIR Forums held in Australia, New Zealand or the Pacific.
The Centre is currently exploring opportunities for a joint capacity building project in West Java with URDI.
Trans-Tasman cooperation is another key area for further initiatives and the Centre expects to work closely with the Local Government Centre at AUT on a number of projects, building on the foundations laid by the Trans-Tasman Roundtable on Local Government Finance held in 2005.
The Centre carried out initial feasibility studies into establishment of the Vietnam TCER and recently hosted a study tour in Australia for staff and elected representatives.
Study Tour for Vietnam TCER
A 10 member delegation from the Vietnam TCER visited the Centre from 26 May to 2 June 2007. The focus of the visit was to explore the Centre's operations as an education and research institution, as well as broader arrangements and methodologies for training elected representatives in Australia.
The delegation spent two days at the Centre, which also facilitated study visits to the NSWand Federal Parliaments, the Hunter Councils training centre, Port Stephens Council, the Victroian Local Governance Association and Office of Local Government, and Melbourne City Council. In addition, the delegation met with NSW Local Government Learning Solutions.
Vietnam Delegation with Graham Sansom, Centre Manager (centre), and Robert Mellor, Program Manager (right)
Regional Research
The Centre has been commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat to undertake research into local government systems and legislation in a number of Pacific island countries. This will involve a review of existing local government Acts or equivalent legislation, convening a regional workshop to discuss good practice principles, and action research projects in three or four countries.
The research will be closely linked to the Commonwealth Local Government Forum's Pacific Project, which the Centre is also assisting. It will be carried out in cooperation with Local Government New Zealand and other regional partners.
For further information contact Graham Sansom.
