In early October, ICMA members and their staffs hosted fourteen Climate Change Fellows from four Asian/Pacific countries as part of a two-way exchange with U.S. professionals. Countries represented are China (two Fellows); Indonesia (six), Australia (three), and New Zealand (three).
The exchange was made possible by a grant to ICMA from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State as part of the State Department’s Professional Fellows Program.
During their first week in the United States, the group visited ICMA headquarters in Washington, D.C. While they were in the D.C. area, ICMA member Robert Agee, former city administrator in Annapolis, Maryland, arranged a site visit to Annapolis, where the group learned about the Chesapeake Bay, historic preservation, and storm water management as they contribute to the creation of a sustainable city. The trip included a tour of the U.S. Naval Academy, a “must” on any visit to Annapolis.
The visit to the Bay included a tour of Hart Miller Island, site of a reclamation project in the water east of Baltimore. The Port of Baltimore is being dredged to accommodate large oceangoing vessels, including new mega ships that will soon be coming through a widened Panama Canal. The dredge material is being used to restore island habitat that has been gradually degraded over the years through erosion, rising water levels, and unsustainable uses.
The group heard about the continuing redevelopment of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, got a bird’s-eye view from the observation deck of the city’s World Trade Center, and learned from the director of state planning how decisions made decades ago have helped shape the Inner Harbor and the surrounding neighborhoods.
The Fellows then departed for their host communities and organizations, where they learned what others are doing in terms of climate action planning and adaptation. U.S. hosts were Palo Alto, California (James Keene, Jr., city manager); Dubuque, Iowa (Michael Van Milligen, city manager); Ann Arbor, Michigan (Steven Powers, city administrator); Alachua County, Florida (Randall Reid, county manager); Mission, Kansas (Michael Scanlon, city administrator); and the Metropolitan Washington (D.C.) Council of Governments (David Robertson, executive director).
Early in 2012, professionals from the U.S. will spend two weeks in the country whose Fellow(s) they hosted.
Fellows were selected in cooperation with ICMA’s affiliate organizations: Local Government Managers Australia (LGMA), the New Zealand Society of Local Government Managers (SOLGM), the Association of Indonesia Municipalities (APESKI), and the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL), with which ICMA is forming a working relationship.
In April and May 2011, ten professionals from China, Australia, and New Zealand completed the first phase of the program, visiting Palm Bay, Florida; Austin, Texas; Dubuque, Iowa; Tallahassee, Florida; Park City, Utah; and El Paso, Texas. They captured their experiences and shared photos in a lively blog, which now includes posts from the new participants as well.
The Professional Fellows program promotes local government partnerships, establishes networks and international relationships, and leads to creativity in identifying locally appropriate solutions for creating more sustainable communities within the panorama of a changing climate. Its overall objectives are to:
- Provide opportunities for professional development and cultural exchange
- Promote partnerships on climate change and sustainable communities at local governance and community levels between key local government practitioners and professional associations in the United States and their counterparts in other countries
- Actively engage the fellows in exploring local government policies and adaptation strategies for dealing with climate risks and for creating more sustainable communities
- Develop and implement a long-term plan of engagement between exchange fellows and other local governance stakeholders that will continue after the grant program has ended
- Increase opportunities for local government professionals to network and develop solutions for impending climate risks by helping them create more sustainable and resilient communities.
The program receives financial assistance from ECA under the authority of the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961, as amended. For additional information about the program, see the website for the Office of Citizen Exchanges at the State Department. Visit the ICMA website for information about ICMA’s Center for Sustainable Communities, and see the "Air, Climate, Water" topic area in the Knowledge Network.