From Vision to Visibility: ICRS Launches First UN-Registered Initiative on Climate, Culture and Gender

In July 2025, the Istituto Italo-Cinese per le Relazioni Sostenibili (ICRS) officially registered its first transnational initiative on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals platform. Titled “Resilient Cities in a Changing Climate”, this project redefines sustainability not merely as a technological challenge, but as a cultural, gendered, and narrative imperative.

Led by President Xie Yihan Maggie and developed through a multi-year groundwork across Europe and Asia, the initiative brings together city governments, clean energy enterprises, academic institutions, and cultural leaders. It focuses on four key dimensions: climate transition, urban symbolism, gender inclusion, and energy equity.

Unlike conventional development programs, the ICRS initiative emphasizes symbolic infrastructure—projects that combine visibility, legitimacy, and system continuity. It proposes an innovative collaboration between the cities of Genoa (Italy) and Harbin (China) as a prototype for multilateral climate action grounded in local culture and urban transformation.

With its formal entry into the UN SDG system, ICRS is no longer just a think tank or cultural platform—it is now a recognized actor shaping future governance through visibility, meaning,

and translocal presence.