Metropolis International Training Institute embarks on a new era for Metropolis training
Last Thurday, March 13th, the headquarters of the Metropolis International Training Institute (MITI) were formally opened in Seoul, by the Honourable Mayor of the city, Mr. Park Won Soon, and the Secretary General of Metropolis, Mr. Alain Le Saux, along with administrative representatives of Cairo, Mashhad, Mexico City and Paris Île-de-France.
With the theme "Sharing Cities", the MITI Opening Forum marked a historic step for Metropolis to take global responsibilities in promoting international training and capacity building among the major cities of the world. The occasion served for the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) to establish bilateral memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the MITI Regional Centres of Cairo, Mashhad, Mexico City and Paris Île-de-France. The bilateral MoUs were overseen by the Metropolis Secretariat, Barcelona.
The event in Seoul also included a workshop with the method "Peer Review Process", promoted by the Metropolis Initiative on Integrated Urban Governance led by Berlin. The workshop served the Seoul Human Resources Development Centre (SHRDC), which hosts the infrastructure of MITI HQ, to build the upcoming international training programs of Metropolis with the inputs of MITI Regional Centers.
The MITI Opening Forum was attended, among other representatives of Metropolis member cities and partner institutions, by Mr. Paul Moon, President of SHRDC, Mr. Ki Yong Park, Director of SHRDC, Mr. Alain Le Saux, Metropolis Secretary-General, Mrs. Frederique Roussel, from the Direction of International Affairs of Paris Île-de-France, Ms. Azza Sirry PhD, Mr. Hamid Isfahanizadeh, Mr. Leon Aceves and Mr. Victor Said - respectively, the directors of MITI Regional centers in Cairo, Mashhad, Mexico City and Paris Île-de-France -, as well as the representatives of the Metropolis Secretariat General Mr. Sunil Dubey (Adviser and Director for India), Agnès Bickart (Manager for International Relations) a and Lia Brum (Project Officer).
Click at the links below to view more photos of the event:
- Day 1: MoU signing ceremony and PRP workshop for MITI stakeholders
- Day 2: Public opening of MITI - Signboard unveiling and Sharing Cities forum
MITI background
Metropolis has been working closely with its members, international partners and urban institutions in identifying the focus areas for global cities to collaborate, exchange and developing mutual learning platforms. Since 1996, the international training and capacity building programs of Metropolis have been highly recognised and demanded by major cities of the world, initially from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
In 2008, Metropolis followed the strategic vision of advancing its training and capacity building programs to include wider stakeholders of member cities and partner organisations.
In 2012, at the Metropolis annual meeting in Guangzhou, the Board of Directors accepted the application of the city of Seoul to take the responsibilities of international training headquarters and work in conjunction with the cities of Cairo, Mashhad, Mexico City and Paris Île-de-France, aligned with the Metropolis Secretariat in Barcelona, in promoting the Metropolis training programs and working with other member cities.
In May 2013, the honourable mayor of Seoul, Mr Park Won Soon, took the global leadership of hosting the Metropolis International Training Institute headquarters in Seoul, through the signature of a MoU with the Metropolis Secretary General.