Between 16 and 18 November, several Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) cities made their way to Barcelona in Spain to participate in the Smart Cities Expo World Congress.
The Smart Cities Expo World Congress is an annual event that brings together cities, citizens, and a wide range of stakeholders such as innovators, businesses and more. This year marked its 10th edition and took place in a hybrid format, with nearly 15,000 in person attendees and 21,210 online attendees from 120 countries.
The Congress sessions were divided into several tracks, which were: Economy, Enabling Technologies, Energy & Environment, Governance, Infrastructure & Buildings, Living & Inclusion, Mobility and Safety & Security. Many ‘hot topics’ that are highly relevant to ICC cities were discussed during the Congress, such as the future of education and work, cities for all, city-to-city cooperation, Digital Twins and city ethics and privacy.
The ICC was able to offer passes for several cities to attend the Congress. The following cities took advantage of this, including: Aarhus (Denmark), Brno (Czech Republic), Gavà & Castelldefels consortium (Spain), Heidelberg (Germany), Ioannina (Greece), Leuven (Belgium), Ulm (Germany) and Trikala (Greece).
Representatives from the Gavà & Castelldefels consortium participated in a round table organised by the European and International Office of the Barcelona Provincial Council, titled ‘Initiatives of the European Union in digital matters. Examples in the local world’. The consortium used this opportunity to explain the ICC initiative and outline their experience with it.
The ICC cities attending the Congress joined together to enjoy a face-to-face meeting during a walk-in session. The session enabled conversations and feedback on the ICC initiative. The opportunity to learn from one another and collaborate was highlighted as strength of the ICC.
The ICC is already making its plans for the 2022 Smart Cities Expo World Congress and looks forward to bringing together more ICC cities for the occasion!