Dipane Hlalele has sent the report below on the annual Sustainable Rural Learning Ecologies Colloquium held on 29-31 October 2014 at the Qwaqwa campus of the University of the Free State. This is the third time the colloquium has been held at the Qwaqwa campus.

The Indian Government announced in June 2014 that 100 Smart Cities will be funded in India at a cost of US$1.2 billion.in cities with populations over 100,000 people. The program aims to improve methods for engaging citizens and addressing their needs, building capacity in cities and progressing e-governance through the use of technology..

Izmir University of Economics (IUE) has become the first Turkish university to participate in the PASCAL Learning Cities Networks (LCN) program. Located in the third city of Turkey which is the second biggest port in turkey after Istanbul, IEU was established in 2001 by the Izmir Chamber of Commerce Education and Health Foundation.

This paper has been prepared to provide some background and short overviews of selected issues with a set of questions for discussion at the Rolling Workshops which will be held in the period February to May 2015 in Ostersund, Glasgow, Catania, and Pecs to discuss how cultural policies and activities can be developed so as to contribute to sustaining learning cities and regions.

Participants in the Harnessing Cultural Policies in Building Sustainable Learning Cities Network will collaborate in a rolling Workshop to be held at venues in four countries in the period February-May 2015. The venues will be in Östersund, Glasgow, Catania, and Pecs.