Deputy BMA governor Tavida Kamolvej outlined the city’s visions for urban development at the 2023 Meeting of Governors/Mayors of Asean Capitals (MGMAC) and the Asean Mayors Forum (AMF), held from July 30-August 3 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The annual meeting, which had as its theme “Catalysing Regional Growth through Sustainable Development”, focuses on promoting cooperation among Asean mayors in urban development for the benefit of the public.

Tavida explained that the BMA’s approach was to promote cooperation from related parties in all urban-related campaigns to strengthen people’s trust and confidence in government agencies.

Tavida highlighted the “Open Data, Open Bangkok” initiative that allows residents to monitor and inspect BMA’s operations in all steps to prevent corruption and ensure transparency and impartiality of benefit provision programmes.

BMA has also organised Innovation Hackathon activities that invite young generations to propose innovations to solve problems in the city and improve people’s quality of life, then tested those innovations out in its sandbox programmes before actual implementation.

Originally conceived in 2011, the MGMAC and AMF serve as a platform to share experiences and deliberate on joint priorities, ideas, and collective actions for sustainable development of cities in Asean and beyond.

Laos’ capital Vientiane will host next year’s MGMAC and AMF in November.