Narratives of Urban Resilience: A Cultural Approach to Climate Transitions
ICRS – Istituto Italo-Cinese per le Relazioni Sostenibili
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Non-governmental organization (NGO)
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#SDGAction58128
Description
In the face of escalating climate disruptions, this initiative calls for a reimagining of urban futures through the lens of resilience, energy transformation, and cross-cultural solidarity. Anchored in the twin cities of Genoa and Harbin, it proposes a framework for climate-responsive urban collaboration—where technological shifts in distributed energy systems are paired with civic participation, inclusive governance, and shared cultural consciousness.
Rather than presenting energy as an isolated technical domain, the initiative views it as a lived, relational infrastructure that reshapes the rhythm of everyday life. It mobilizes public imagination through visual storytelling, encourages policy dialogue between Eastern and Western municipal actors, and documents the tangible effects of clean energy adoption on social cohesion, climate resilience, and gender equity.
At its heart, this is not merely a technical partnership—it is a cultural proposition: that cities can be laboratories of planetary hope, where energy becomes the common ground of climate ethics, collective learning, and intergenerational care.
The initiative unfolds through a multi-track methodology designed to integrate technological deployment, cultural mediation, and civic imagination.
At the infrastructural level, clean energy systems—such as distributed solar and storage—are implemented in selected urban or peri-urban communities, in coordination with local municipalities and corporate partners. These deployments are not merely functional, but act as points of cultural observation: each site becomes a case study of how energy reshapes space, rhythm, and perception.
Concurrently, these transformations are documented through immersive visual ethnographies, soundscapes, interviews, and public co-creation processes. This archive will serve as the foundation for educational exhibitions and knowledge-sharing formats, both locally and internationally.
In parallel, dialogue platforms—including roundtables, school interventions, and women-in-energy assemblies—will ensure the inclusion of often-marginalized voices in climate discourse. The methodology privileges co-production, relational knowledge, and situated understanding over top-down implementation.
Ultimately, this approach affirms that climate transition is not only a technical or political imperative, but a deeply cultural, ethical, and civilizational challenge. In this spirit, the project seeks to align with the UN 2030 Agenda by treating energy not as commodity—but as a collective medium for planetary justice and intergenerational solidarity.
This initiative adopts an ecosystemic approach to capacity-building, emphasizing not only technical knowledge but also cultural literacy, civic agency, and ethical engagement in the context of climate transition.
Technical partners—including clean energy companies and municipal agencies—will co-develop context-specific modules to share expertise on decentralized energy systems, local grid integration, and maintenance protocols, particularly targeting community-based actors, youth collectives, and women-led initiatives.
Parallel to the technical layer, the project fosters capacity through cultural instruments: shared visual archives, public storytelling platforms, and educational encounters that enable participants to articulate, localize, and co-create their climate response narratives. This dual-track model—technological and cultural—is designed to ensure that knowledge transfer is not extractive, but reciprocal and locally adaptive.
Between Genoa and Harbin, a long-term “twin cities observatory” will be established, allowing for iterative knowledge sharing across urban contexts, including practitioner residencies, multilingual toolkits, and peer-to-peer learning ecosystems.
This initiative is coordinated by the ICRS – Istituto Italo-Cinese per le Relazioni Sostenibili, acting as a transnational civic platform bridging energy, culture and urban governance. The governance model is intentionally multi-scalar: local municipalities in both China and Italy participate in co-designing urban frameworks; private-sector actors contribute technical and infrastructural insights; and civil society actors—including women-led organizations—guide the initiative’s ethical, educational and communicative orientation.
An advisory council composed of representatives from clean energy firms, cultural institutions and academic partners will oversee the strategic direction, while on-the-ground activities will be coordinated by local implementation cells. All components are synchronized via a shared digital governance interface, and monitored through periodic reporting, peer review and open civic feedback mechanisms.
The initiative values transparency, reciprocity and distributed authorship, reflecting the kind of systemic collaboration needed to address the climate crisis at both planetary and human scales.
This initiative adopts a multi-layered evaluation framework designed to balance qualitative depth with operational accountability.
At the foundational level, all activities are tracked through a shared reporting system managed by the coordination team, with periodic documentation from local implementation nodes. A central observatory—shared between Genoa and Harbin—will synthesize field data, stakeholder feedback, and media/public response into iterative learning cycles.
Beyond metrics, the evaluation process will embed critical reflection: cultural impact, inclusivity of voice, shifts in civic perception, and ethical resonance are treated as core indicators. The initiative emphasizes “narrative feedback” and “relational intelligence” alongside standard impact reporting.
An annual open review will be held with partners and civic observers, and outcomes will feed into both policy dialogues and cultural archive construction. Evaluation, in this model, is not a final check—but an integral part of the civic pedagogy that drives the initiative forward.
Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd.,
Esysunhome New Energy Technology GmbH,
Genoa Municipality (TBC),
Harbin Municipality,
China Academy of Art,
Harbin Normal University,
Communication University of China (TBC), Women’s Energy Alliance (TBD),
BASE Milano (TBC),
Fondazione MAXXI (TBC),
Fabbrica del Vapore (TBC),
Artistic Climate Coalition (TBD)
SDGS & Targets
Goal 5
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
5.1
End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
5.1.1
Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce and monitor equality and non‑discrimination on the basis of sex
5.2
5.2.1
Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age
5.2.2
Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by age and place of occurrence
5.3
5.3.1
Proportion of women aged 20-24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18
5.3.2
Proportion of girls and women aged 15-49 years who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting, by age
5.4
Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate
5.4.1
Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location
5.5
Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life
5.5.1
Proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governments
5.5.2
Proportion of women in managerial positions
5.6
Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences
5.6.1
Proportion of women aged 15-49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care
5.6.2
Number of countries with laws and regulations that guarantee full and equal access to women and men aged 15 years and older to sexual and reproductive health care, information and education
5.a
Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws
5.a.1
(a) Proportion of total agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex; and (b) share of women among owners or rights-bearers of agricultural land, by type of tenure
5.a.2
Proportion of countries where the legal framework (including customary law) guarantees women’s equal rights to land ownership and/or control
5.b
5.b.1
Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex
5.c
Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels
5.c.1
Proportion of countries with systems to track and make public allocations for gender equality and women’s empowerment
Goal 7
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
7.1
By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services
7.1.1
Proportion of population with access to electricity
7.1.2
Proportion of population with primary reliance on clean fuels and technology
7.2
7.2.1
Renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption
7.3
7.3.1
Energy intensity measured in terms of primary energy and GDP
7.a
7.a.1
International financial flows to developing countries in support of clean energy research and development and renewable energy production, including in hybrid systems
7.b
By 2030, expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States, and land-locked developing countries, in accordance with their respective programmes of support
7.b.1
Installed renewable energy-generating capacity in developing and developed countries (in watts per capita)
Goal 11
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
11.1
By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums
11.1.1
Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing
11.2
11.2.1
Proportion of population that has convenient access to public transport, by sex, age and persons with disabilities
11.3
11.3.1
Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate
11.3.2
Proportion of cities with a direct participation structure of civil society in urban planning and management that operate regularly and democratically
11.4
Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage
11.4.1
Total per capita expenditure on the preservation, protection and conservation of all cultural and natural heritage, by source of funding (public, private), type of heritage (cultural, natural) and level of government (national, regional, and local/municipal)
11.5
By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations
11.5.1
Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population
11.5.2
Direct economic loss attributed to disasters in relation to global domestic product (GDP)
11.5.3
(a) Damage to critical infrastructure and (b) number of disruptions to basic services, attributed to disasters
11.6
By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management
11.6.1
Proportion of municipal solid waste collected and managed in controlled facilities out of total municipal waste generated, by cities
11.6.2
Annual mean levels of fine particulate matter (e.g. PM2.5 and PM10) in cities (population weighted)
11.7
11.7.1
Average share of the built-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all, by sex, age and persons with disabilities
11.7.2
Proportion of persons victim of non-sexual or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 months
11.a
Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning
11.a.1
Number of countries that have national urban policies or regional development plans that (a) respond to population dynamics; (b) ensure balanced territorial development; and (c) increase local fiscal space
11.b
By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels
11.b.1
Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030
11.b.2
Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies
11.c
Support least developed countries, including through financial and technical assistance, in building sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials
Goal 13
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
13.1
Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries
13.1.1
Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population
13.1.2
Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030
13.1.3
Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies
13.2
Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning
13.2.1
Number of countries with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
13.2.2
Total greenhouse gas emissions per year
13.3
Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
13.3.1
Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment
13.a
Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible
13.a.1
Amounts provided and mobilized in United States dollars per year in relation to the continued existing collective mobilization goal of the $100 billion commitment through to 2025
13.b
Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities
13.b.1
Number of least developed countries and small island developing States with nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, national adaptation plans and adaptation communications, as reported to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Goal 17
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
17.1
Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection
17.1.1
17.1.2
17.2
Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries; ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries
17.2.1
17.3
Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources
17.3.1
Additional financial resources mobilized for developing countries from multiple sources
17.3.2
17.4
Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and address the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress
17.4.1
Debt service as a proportion of exports of goods, services and primary income
17.5
Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries
17.5.1
Number of countries that adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for developing countries, including the least developed countries
17.6
Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism
17.6.1
Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by speed
17.7
Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed
17.7.1
Total amount of funding for developing and developed countries to promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies
17.8
Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology
17.8.1
17.9
Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the Sustainable Development Goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation
17.9.1
Dollar value of official development assistance committed to developing countries
17.10
Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization, including through the conclusion of negotiations under its Doha Development Agenda
17.10.1
17.11
Significantly increase the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developed countries’ share of global exports by 2020
17.11.1
Developing countries’ and least developed countries’ share of global exports
17.12
Realize timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting basis for all least developed countries, consistent with World Trade Organization decisions, including by ensuring that preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from least developed countries are transparent and simple, and contribute to facilitating market access
17.12.1
Weighted average tariffs faced by developing countries, least developed countries and small island developing States
17.13
Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and policy coherence
17.13.1
17.14
Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development
17.14.1
17.15
Respect each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development
17.15.1
17.16
Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries, in particular developing countries
17.16.1
Number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring frameworks that support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals
17.17
Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships
17.17.1
Amount in United States dollars committed to public-private partnerships for infrastructure
17.18
By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for least developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts
17.18.1
Statistical capacity indicators
17.18.2
17.18.3
Number of countries with a national statistical plan that is fully funded and under implementation, by source of funding
17.19
By 2030, build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product, and support statistical capacity-building in developing countries
17.19.1
17.19.2
Proportion of countries that (a) have conducted at least one population and housing census in the last 10 years; and (b) have achieved 100 per cent birth registration and 80 per cent death registration
SDG 14 targets covered
| Name | Description |
|---|
Deliverables & Timeline
Resources mobilized
Partnership Progress
| Title | Progress Status | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| Narratives of Urban Resilience: A Cultural Approach to Climate Transitions - Sat, 08/23/2025 - 05:03 | On track |
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Geographical coverage
Other beneficiaries
Urban communities in Genoa and Harbin, municipal policy actors, women professionals in clean energy, youth engaged in sustainability, cultural institutions, energy technicians, educators and civic organizers, SDG-aligned private sector actors, cross-cultural practitioners, climate communicators and public audiences.
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Contact Information
Maggie, President, ICRS Institute