Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Mick Finn, is speaking at two important conferences this week in the powerhouse of China, the Lower Yangtze Basin, on foot of invitations from the Wuxi Municipal People’s Government and Shanghai University.
In Wuxi, the Lord Mayor met the Mayor of Wuxi, Mr. Qin Huang and witnessed the conclusion of an agreement between Jiangnan University in Wuxi and University College Cork in the area of food science. He also delivered a keynote speech on Green Urban Development.
The delegation included Pat Ledwidge, Deputy Chief Executive and Jean Brennan, Arts Officer with Cork City Council. Frank O’Mahony, Principal of Wilson Architecture also joined the delegation. Wilson Architecture have important projects in China.
They met companies and education institutes from Wuxi that want to work with Cork companies and educational institutes. The delegation was also briefed on developments related to China’s One Belt, One Road project in Wuxi.
“Cork will continue to mitigate global climate change by playing its role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while at the same time, adapting to the unfolding impacts of climate change. The need for action is clear. Cities have a key role to play and must be leaders by example and in the innovative methods they employ in guiding development. The Irish Government’s Project Ireland 2040 programme clearly addresses this agenda of Green Urban Development," the Lord Mayor said.
Today, the Lord Mayor will speak at the One Belt, One Road Summit at Shanghai University on the subject of City and University.
“Cities will play a huge role in the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. Universities will generate many of the ideas, innovations and people that will flow along it. Universities, through their research and investigation, will also assist us to understand and benefit from the project as it develops. Thus, the relationship between universities and cities is important," he will say.
He is also discussing some of Cork city’s green initiatives including Drive4Zero, a multi-partner initiative designed to promote and stimulate the up-take of electric cars in Cork, which saw a near three fold increase in electric cars in Cork as well as 30 new charging points at 15 employers. Cork City is also a key player in ‘Ireland’s Greenest Bus Fleet’ which is proposing the procurement and deployment of over 120 low-emission buses (hybrid/EV or Compressed Natural Gas).
The Lord Mayor also met the Shanghai Writes Association and the Mayor of Shanghai Huangpu District, Mr. Chao Kejian and senior officials from Shanghai Huangpu District.
