Official Launch of the Water Sensitive City Partnership
Meeting Highlights
Alexandru Matei and Jonas Scholze welcomed the members of the Thematic Partnership on behalf of the European Urban Initiative (EUI), and Anton Schrag from the European Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) provided an overview of the Urban Agenda Partnerships. He outlined the objectives of the Water Sensitive City Partnership and the role of DG REGIO in supporting its activities.
Following this introduction, Jorge Brito, Executive Director of the Intermunicipal Community of Coimbra Region (CIM-RC), took the floor to present the organisation, which serves as the Coordinator of the newly launched Thematic Partnership. He emphasized its focus on driving sustainable territorial development through inter-municipal projects and the implementation of regional and EU policies. Additionally, he highlighted key planning instruments and projects related to climate and water management in the region.
Jorge Brito also shared insights from CIM-RC’s previous participation in Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU) Thematic Partnerships—‘Culture and Cultural Heritage’ and ‘Sustainable Tourism’—and reaffirmed their commitment to addressing urban water challenges through collaboration and knowledge exchange.
After the introduction of the Thematic Partnership Officer, partners were invited to present their organisations and share their motivations and expectations for the Water Sensitive City Thematic Partnership. They also used the opportunity to highlight relevant projects related to the topic and their experience in addressing critical water sector challenges collaboratively, paving the way for impactful results.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to briefly present the processes, support service package, and infrastructure of the Urban Agenda Partnerships, along with the envisaged timeline for the coming years.
Next steps for the Partnership
In this initial phase, efforts will be concentrated on drafting the Orientation Paper, a strategic document that will define the Partnership's main challenges, objectives, and methodologies based on the Ex-Ante Assessment. This document will serve as a reference for structuring future actions and initiatives.
As the next step, a proposal for possible dates and locations for the first in-person meeting was shared. Discussions at this meeting will focus on refining the Orientation Paper and shaping the next steps for the Partnership’s activities.
Further updates on the Partnership’s progress will be shared as work advances. In the meantime, the full list of members is available on the Thematic Partnership Page.