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Dear ISOCARP Member,
You followed the Big Debate during the elections for President last year, when Martin Dubbeling and Dushko Bogunovich shared big ideas and outlined bold policies.
Dushko is now General Rapporteur for this year’s fantastic Cool Planning World Planning Congress in northern Norway (1-5 October) asking the big questions.
Martin and VP Milena Ivković are organising UPATs in China and South Africa, and Martin is preparing to begin his term as President at the Congress.
And you?
Like me, you might like to help our Society become an even bigger, better and bolder professional network for city and regional planners.
If so, you will want to click the link at the bottom of this message.
An international association of city and regional planners exists to connect planners everywhere, to share knowledge and experience of city and regional planning, and to promote excellent planning.
There is so much to do, needing the expertise that our members can provide.
Here are some of the exciting possibilities.
City and regional planners are internationally-minded and action-oriented. They want to overcome present challenges and help make the world a better place.
Since ISOCARP has members in 80 countries, our congresses, communications, publications and digital platforms are dynamic channels for supporting the work of planners everywhere, for exchanging knowledge and experience of planning practice, and for building up a unique wealth of planning resources – networks, documents, databases and live interactions.
Let’s see what this requires.
The ISOCARP website needs to expand into fresh, active and attractive channels for news, events, information, conversations, databases, services, products and promotions. We need member teams working on:
- pathways to a new multi-purpose website
- platforms for social-media style interactions
- platforms for receiving payments and hosting crowdfunding
- mechanisms for an attractive, user-friendly online shop selling publications and subscriptions
As we make these improvements, the website and social media become more dynamic and interactive. But just as importantly, we need to progressively build up more content. For this, we need member teams working on:
- adding to our database on planning practice around the world
- adding to the world’s first active database of statutory planning instruments
- in this way building a kind of Wikipedia of planning practice
And we need members who are able to contribute regular reports on planning in their country, or write items for ISOCARP’s international planning events database, or edit a column on planning news, or collect short articles on innovations in planning, or conduct debates on planning issues…
Here’s a quote from Martin during the Big Debate: every week ‘we could publish on our website a short interview with one of our members from one of the 80 countries. Just imagine how interesting this would be. This requires a group of active members that form a team of editors.’
Are you one of these members?
Finally, ISOCARP has three priorities that I’d love members to get involved with:
- We want to form partnerships with the best international planning firms: let’s form a small team to develop a strategy and begin to make contact with them.
- We need to urgently acquire software and services to enable members to ‘attend’ this year’s ISOCARP online, and to participate and vote, online, at this year’s Annual General Meeting: we need advice and assistance from those of you interested and experienced in such things.
- We need one or two members to help us set up systems making it easy to support ISOCARP through gifts and legacies, and through funding scholarships, etc.
So, is this you?
You support your international society of city and regional planners, and the society needs your help to reach out to our colleagues everywhere.
If you can help, or want to know more, just click this link and let us know how you wish to be involved.
Best wishes, happy planning, and let’s keep in touch.
Jeremy Dawkins
Vice President Members and National Delegations |
