NextGen Cities Goes Global

The first global edition of NextGen Cities organized by Zigurat Global Institute of Technology will take place on Wednesday, December 16 at 4 PM (CET).

After the success of the Spanish edition of the NextGen Cities online event that showcased innovative projects from Spain and Latin America, on December 16, the audiences will have the opportunity to get to know inside out city-changing project studies from all over the world.

Zigurat has launched this new event format to create a space for the professionals in the smart city sphere to share their success stories and bring a practical approach to concepts fundamental in the discourse about the cities of the next generation. That’s exactly why, under the slogan “From Smart Projects to Smart Cities”, NextGen Cities presents inspiring projects that, thanks to clever leadership, have made smart cities come to life.Like its preceding Spanish edition, Global NextGen Cities will offer a selection of projects from the major smart city fields, covering topics such as circular economy, air quality, knowledge-based workforce, urban mobility, energy grids, etc.

The audience will have the privilege of hearing directly from the professionals leading those project initiatives and gather useful insights for their own ventures in similar fields. Among these experts are Jordi Pascual, Marc Ottolini and Raffaele Barbato.The event will start with introducing the audience to a global strategic perspective. For that, we have invited Jorge Saraiva from Smart City Marketplace to share his insights into Horizon 2020 projects and the EU Policy Lab, in particular.

Jordi Pascual will present the work that Circle Economy does in Norway implementing innovative, practical, and impactful circular economy strategies in cities. Driven by the prospect of economic models that are more respectful towards the planet, Jordi will share with the audience the results they have obtained in the framework of the Built Environment program, redesigning the construction sector.

With the focus on creating a space of collaboration between smart cities and communities and promoting projects of clean energy, electromobility, and smart tools and services, the lineup also includes the Sharing Cities Initiative. Brooke Flanagan, the Coordinator for Environment Projects at Eurocities, will introduce their lighthouse cities program built on mentorship offering between participating cities. Eurocities is the network of 190 cities representing 130 million people that aspires to create a space of knowledge-sharing that would benefit all the stakeholders. In the second half of the presentation, one of the success stories this framework has made ground for -RemoUrban-  will also be presented. Miguel García Fuentes, the Energy Area Manager at CARTIF, will talk of the project implementation in Valladolid and how they have sought and achieved sustainable transformation through energy efficiency, electric mobility and digital platforms.

The presentation by Raffaele Barbato, Project Coordinator for Urban Innovative Actions, is a behind-the-scenes look at the UIA selection process of projects. UIA is an Initiative of the European Union that provides cities and towns throughout Europe with resources to test new solutions to address urban challenges. They support selected projects during the implementation phase and coordinate the capitalization process of the knowledge they receive from urban authorities and other key stakeholders involved.

One such project that has achieved great results is the UIA framework is that of Aveiro Steam City. Transition into a knowledge-based economy is at the center of this initiative that will also be presented during Global NextGen Cities. Thanks to a strong educational offer and integrating Arts to the domains of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths, they have managed to make Aveiro a more competitive city globally.

Marc Ottolini, the CEO of Airlabs, is in charge of the space dedicated to air quality and will introduce us to the potential of technologies in mapping, monitoring, and cleaning polluted air.

On the final note, Tania Marcos Paramio (UNE, U4SSC) will dedicate her presentation to standards and KPIs that a city leader should use to better position the industries and businesses and that enable them to grow in an innovative, supportive, and connected environment.

More speakers are yet to be confirmed, so sign up for the event on December 16 and stay tuned for updates!