BDB News, 2016: the Different City – Smart City conference and why it was organised

Different City – Smart City, an international conference and exhibition on the smart administration of cities, 3 and 4 November 2016, announced in October 2016. Organiser: Different Angle Cluster, whose president I was, while also co-founder and managing partner of Tremend. 40 Romanian and foreign speakers, six sessions. Topics: why the cluster organised the event, Amsterdam as an example, the partners.

§A need, and real interest

“We are organising this event after identifying an increasingly evident need for the smart development of the cities we live in, and for bringing the challenges of the future into public debate.” („Organizam acest eveniment in urma identificarii unei nevoi din ce in ce mai evidente de dezvoltare inteligenta a oraselor in care traim si de aducere in dezbatere publica a provocarilor viitorului.”)

The organisers found a real and immediate concern, from public institutions, the central administration and private companies alike, for modernising cities and administering them smartly for the benefit of their citizens.

§Amsterdam as an example, resources at home

“We have extraordinary resources here, in our country, for our cities too to become smart and easy to administer, contributing to the development of Romanian companies, of the economy in general and, not least, for the cities to become friendlier to their citizens and to the tourists we want to attract.” („Avem resurse extraordinare aici, la noi in tara, pentru ca si orasele noastre sa devina inteligente si usor de administrat, contribuind la dezvoltarea companiilor romanesti, a economiei in general si nu in ultimul rand, orasele sa devina mai prietenoase cu cetatenii sai si cu turistii pe are dorim sa ii atragem”)

Support from the Embassy of the Netherlands, with examples of how Amsterdam works, for me the most developed European city from this point of view. Solutions implemented by other European and Romanian cities, presented too.

§Who took part

Under the auspices of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Romania and the Sector 3 City Hall in Bucharest, in collaboration with the Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest and the Bucharest University of Economic Studies. At the opening: Stella Ronner-Grubačić, Ambassador of the Netherlands, Robert Negoiță, mayor of Sector 3, and four keynote speakers from the Netherlands, Greece and Italy. Representatives of Bucharest, Alba Iulia and Piatra Neamț, with municipalities from the Netherlands, Cyprus, Portugal and Greece. Tremend among the sponsors.

Smart cities: the cluster’s theme since its launch in March 2015 (GPeC).