The “100 Resilient Cities” (100RC) programme was recently launched at a workshop in Da Nang.

Initiated by the US Rockefeller Foundation, the programme is dedicated to helping cities to adopt and incorporate a resilient mindset in their planning, development, and community-building so that they are better prepared for, and can quickly rebound from, 21^st century shocks and stresses.

By late 2013, the first 32 cities had been selected to join 100RC.  Da Nang is amongst them - the only city in Viet Nam to be chosen for the network.  A key reason seems to be that the city’s socio-economic development is very vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change.  In addition, the city is a rapidly growing economic hub in the central region.

The workshop in progress (Source: baomoi.com)

Each of the cities in the 100RC network will be provided with financial and logistical guidance for establishing an innovative new position in the city government, a Chief Resilience Officer who will lead the city’s resilience efforts.  The network’s members will also receive support for the development of a 6 to 9 month resilience strategy.  In addition, they can learn from the experiences of the other members, and help each other.  They will also have opportunities to meet with service providers and experts who can help them develop and implement their resilience strategies. 

In 2014, the 100RC network received 330 applications from 94 countries worldwide for its second cohort.  The announcement of the next group of selected cities is expected to be made next month.