News from Secretariat
UCLG ASPAC Secretariat in Jakarta recently welcomed two new members from Guangzhou and Surabaya, who will be support UCLG ASPAC’s work in various fields in the coming months. VICTORIA Liang (LIANG Baoling) is a secondee from Guangzhou city government. Throughout her six-‐month secondment period, Victoria will assist in the works of UCLG ASPAC Committees, particularly those chaired by members in China. She will also assist in mobilising members’ participation in many upcoming activities during the first half of 2020. Having strong background in English major, Victoria has dedicated her skills in China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT Guangzhou) since 2017. Her main responsibility is to support the promotion of bilateral trade and cooperation between Guangzhou and foreign countries. Her works include conducting business matchmaking and assisting in various trade fairs. Becoming a secondee, she hopes to improve her abilities to work with people from various cultural backgrounds under the regional/international contexts. She also expects to enhance her research abilities. She has a particular interest in city diplomacy, women and children development and education. Asked about her first impression when arriving in Jakarta, she said, “What impresses me most in Indonesia is the enthusiasm of its people. I feel so close in Jakarta by the heartfelt welcome and support from the Secretariat, the sunshine smiles, and the readiness to offer help for those in need.” LAURA Andretha is our new intern, with educational majoring in Urban and Regional Planning, at the Institute of Technology Sepuluh, Surabaya. When applying to intern at UCLG ASPAC Secretariat, she expects to learn about urban planning and integrated interdisciplinary design. In addition, she would like to gain wide experience in public sector on a range of development fields, particularly in resilience aspect of growing cities. Currently, Laura is assisting UCLG ASPAC’s Coordinator Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in data processing and conducting analysis for project beneficiaries as part of Palu rehabilitation. She has also been expanding her horizons on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by supporting UCLG ASPAC’s LOCALISE SDGs programme at a Multi-‐Stakeholder Partnership for SDGs and New Urban Agenda Implementation Forum, held in cooperation with Indonesia’s National Planning Agency, the Association of Indonesia Municipalities and the European Union (EU). In the future, Laura is
planning to carry on her knowledge and experience gained from UCLG ASPAC to her future work on infrastructure development. ********************