The Eastern Regional Organisation for Planning and Housing (EAROPH) is a
non-governmental
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...
multi-sectorial organisation encompassing the
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
,
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
and
academic sectors. The organization was established to foster the exchange of insights and experiences among countries in the EAROPH region, which has been acknowledged as the most dynamic in the world in terms of economic growth, magnitude of urbanization, population size and ethnic diversity. The EAROPH region covers all countries in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
,
Australasia
Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...
and the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
region.
EAROPH promotes a better understanding of Human Settlements and encourages excellence in planning, development and management to improve the
quality of life
Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...
and
sustainability
Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...
of human settlements.
[EAROPH Website]
About
History
EAROPH was founded at a Congress in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, in 1954. The formation of EAROPH was a response to a movement among emerging third world nations to recognise and protect their socio/cultural identities and traditional values in the face of rapid
urbanization
Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
.
Urban planning
Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
and the provision of housing for the masses were of particular interest to the new organization, which sought solutions grounded in local understanding by those “culturally in-tune” with the countries involved.
EAROPH was officially inaugurated under its new constitution at the second EAROPH International Congress in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
in 1960 and gained its NGO status from the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
(UN) through its then parent organization, the
International Federation for Housing and Planning
The International Federation for Housing and Planning (IFHP) is a world-wide network of professionals founded in England representing the broad field of housing and planning. Its membership is drawn from corporate organisations, professional ind ...
(IFHP). The EAROPH Secretariat was moved from New Delhi, India to
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, in 1978.
[EAROPH Website]
History
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629031933/http://www.earoph.info/earoph%20/history.html , date=2007-06-29
Goals
The goals of EAROPH are;
* to consolidate and promote expertise in Human Settlements in the EAROPH Region.
* To provide a forum for continuous
collaboration
Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...
between governments, private sectors and people in addressing Human Settlements issues.
* To promote personal professional development of its members.
* To provide expert technical support for members.
* To provide expert technical consultancy services on a commercial basis.
* To facilitate the exchange of information, experiences, ideas and insights among members.
* To foster links with organisations with similar interests in other regions.
Activities
Activities and projects carried out by EAROPH include and have included the following:
* Arranging technical exchange programmes between countries;
* Organising international conferences and regional seminars;
* Running short-term technical training programmes;
* Conducting technical field visits to member countries;
* Promoting joint-venture urban development projects;
* Facilitating funding arrangements for project between donor agencies and beneficiary countries in the EAROPH region;
* Hosting public forums for key policy makers to highlight current issues, publishing bulletins and journals.
References
Earoph Australia Chapter
Professional planning institutes