The Cities Learning Together conference was convened in Hong Kong in November 2013, by the EU Centre at RMIT in conjunction with PASCAL International Observatory and the Hong Kong Institute of Education. Together with seven other partners, the conference was designed to focus on major challenges facing cities and communities within cities, and to explore the ways in which learning can assist in addressing those challenges. The concept of ‘learning cities’ has been the focus of this kind of thinking for some time, initially in Europe, with strong support from the OECD and the European Union, and more recently in Asia. The PASCAL International Exchanges (PIE) program has been one site where these ideas have been explored directly, while UNESCO conducted the International Conference on Learning Cities in October 2013 in Beijing, China.

Cities Learning Together sought to facilitate a dialogue between east and west, specifically focusing on economic, green, health and social issues. In order to maximise the opportunities for conversation, people were encouraged to share their thinking on one or the other aspects of these topics in advance. The written contributions were designed to be relatively short and sharp, hopefully encouraging participants to read in advance. The structure of the conference was built around plenaries and workshops: ‘whole Conference’ discussions about the challenges facing cities, and four parallel Strands which explored the specific initiatives that have been taken in regards to Learning Cities, Green Cities and Healthy Cities.

This book brings to a public audience the ‘Conference Precedings’ which were shared prior to the conference. Over 60 papers on various aspects of Learning Cities and each of the Strands are included. We trust that you will find them to be as interesting as did the conference participants, and that they will facilitate ongoing discussions about cities, learning, and the action which is needed, to which all of us must contribute.

Professor Bruce Wilson
Director, EU Centre at RMIT University
Melbourne
November 2013