New RDI Partner: ICLEI Southeast Asia Secretariat

ICLEI- Local Governments for Sustainability Southeast Asia Secretariat (ICLEI SEAS) and the Resilience Development Initiative are proud to announce their partnership towards delivering unparalleled support to local  governments in Southeast Asia as they achieve their sustainable development goals.

ICLEI SEAS is a part of a global network of more than 1750 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. The Secretariat, which is based in Manila, Philippines serves members and network partners in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Lao PDR. ICLEI SEAS assists local governments in the region by designing, promoting, and drawing external support for programs and campaigns that develop local resiliency and sustainability. They also provide linkages to support local governments in accessing assistance from experts, industry leaders, academics, and international development organizations.

Meanwhile, Resilience Development Initiative is a leading think tank in Indonesia that focuses on knowledge building around community, environmental changes, and sustainable development. RDI is composed of a dynamic group of individuals that create ideas to surface innovative solutions to resilience issues. Touching on different topics such as renewable energy in remote and urban areas, RDI aims to strengthen the sustainable policies and also emission reduction in Indonesia. Climate change and disaster resilience are also part of RDI's work as RDI strives in spreading more awareness and resiliency to reduce risks towards different existing hazards.

Through this partnership, ICLEI SEAS and RDI hope to provide science-based, grounded, and tailored solutions to assist Southeast Asian local governments in addressing development-oriented issues and challenges. With ICLEI SEAS expertise working with local and regional governments as well as RDI's proven approach of harnessing research to uncover innovations, this partnership envisions to promote the realization of the sustainable development goals in Southeast Asia, one city or municipality at a time.

Expressing optimism about this partnership's potential, Regional Director of ICLEI SEAS, Victorino Aquitania notes, "is with great pleasure to share with you this newly-formed unity with RDI. I believe that uncovering innovative solutions to today's challenges should be rooted with a robust and scientific approach and RDI can ensure that all of our assistance and support are backed with the latest research and scientific knowledge".

Likewise, Elisabeth Rianawati, M.Eng, Director of RDI, stated, "On behalf of RDI, I am immensely glad to know that our primary work as a think tank aligns with ICLEI SEAS which is further solidified under the signage of MoU. Hopefully, through this partnership, we can strengthen and extend the scope of our research work within Southeast Asia".

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed by both parties to signal the official commencement of the partnership