Connected Smart Cities & Communities 2020: Highlights

Lea Hemetsberger

Jan 30, 2020

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News & Events

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Scale With Us‘ was the theme of Connected Smart Cities & Communities 2020 (CSCC20) – the annual conference organised by Open & Agile Smart Cities. And the community, from cities to businesses and research, came together to pave the road for sustainable scale-up of urban digital solutions and to prepare for impact.

The message from CSCC20 is clear: It’s time to work together to achieve a better quality of life for citizens in our cities & communities around the world and make use of the tools that digital transformation provides to reach this goal.

European Cities and Communities Join Forces to Scale

Minna Arve, the Mayor of Turku, Finland, stressed in her keynote speech how important open data and interfaces are for the city. A well-maintained digital ecosystem based on open standards for data exchange strengthens the local digital economy and, in the end, leads to better applications and services for all citizens.

Following her opening keynote speech, Mayor Arve signed the Join, Boost, Sustain Declaration to emphasise her city’s ambition to work together with others around the world to make the sustainable digital transformation a reality.

In her keynote speech, Mayor Arve said that cooperation between municipalities is beneficial for all cities. This has become clear in the Finnish Six City Strategy. The figures from the programme confirm the impact of cooperation: One third of the Finnish population and nearly 4,000 companies benefit already from the joint activities of the Six City Strategy.

Cooperating is Key to Share Data with Trust

Anna Lisa Boni, Secretary-General of EUROCITIES, underlined in her keynote the importance of third way for digital transformation that highlights cooperation and puts citizens at the centre of smart cities & communities.

Khalil Rouhana, Deputy Director-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, European Commission, said with regards to the on-going digital transformation: “The main work will be done by cities & communities as well as companies”.

However, Rouhana announced that the European Commission will provide strong support to further develop data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities.

The main objective of the upcoming programmes is to ensure data sovereignty and thereby providing a third way for digital transformation; complementing the Chinese and US-American approach to data re-use and Artificial Intelligence.

Rouhana underlined that the European Commission’s main ambition in relation to AI is to ensure that “the development of capabilities is in line with our values”.

The Global View: Joining the Third Way

Concluding a day full of knowledge sharing and inspiring talks, Takehiko Nagumo, Executive Director of Smart City Institute Japan and coordinator of the Japanese OASC chapter, stressed that in times of global challenges, the key to successfully deliver on the promise of digital transformation is cooperation: “Together, we can move forward”.

Watch the plenary sessions on YouTube featuring the keynote speakers:

  • Martin Brynskov, Chair, Open & Agile Smart Cities
  • Khalil Rouhana, Deputy Director-General, DG Connect, European Commission
  • Anna Lisa Boni, Secretary General, EUROCITIES
  • Minna Arve, Mayor, City of Turku
  • Takehiko Nagumo, Executive Director, Smart City Insitute Japan
  • Agata Krause, Consultant, UNECE
  • Miguel Eiras Antunes, Global Smart City, Smart Nation & Local Government Leader, Deloitte

Programme and Conference Presentations

All presentations given during CSCC20 are available for download below:

Morning Plenary: Scale With Us: A Global Digital Market for Cities & Communities

Minna Arve Mayor, City of Turku Slides
Martin Brynskov Chair, Open & Agile Smart Cities Slides
Khalil Rouhana Deputy Director-General, DG Connect, European Commission No slides
Anna Lisa Boni Secretary General, EUROCITIES No slides

Green Track: Climate – Neutral & Smart Cities

Cristina Martinez Deputy Head of Unit, Smart Living & Mobility, European Commission Slides
Jo Deketelaere Founder, Greenbeat Slides
Nicola Graham Smart City Operations Manager, City of Dublin Slides
Tanguy Coenen Application Prototype Manager, imec Slides

Green Track: Cities on the Frontier – Building Better Environments

Monique Calisti CEO, Martel Innovate Slides
Mieke van Schaik Advisor CIO Office, City of Eindhoven Slides
Jarmo Eskelinen Executive Director Data Driven Innovation Programme, Unversity of Edinburgh No slides
Alexandre Chaffotte Innovation & Smart City Manager, City Saint-Quentin Slides
Ricardo Vitorino Cities R&I Manager Ubiwhere Slides

Economy Track: Marketplaces for Smart Cities & Communities

Dana Eleftheriadou Head of Advanced Technologies Team, European Commission Slides
Cristina Brandtstetter Chief Marketing Officer, FIWARE Foundation Slides
Davor Meersman CEO, Open & Agile Smart Cities No slides
Alex Gluhak Head of Technology, Digital Catapult Slides
Miguel Eiras Antunes Global Smart City, Smart Nation & Local Government Leader, Deloitte No slides

Economy Track: Joining Forces for Innovative Procurement

Frans Jorna Executive Director Digital City and Innovation, City of Almere Slides
Anja de Cunto Funding and Financing Coordinator, EUROCITIES Slides
Nathan Pierce Programme Director Sharing Cities, Greater London Authority Slides
Joao Rodrigues Frade CEF Digital Building Blocks, European Commission Slides

People Track: Privacy, Trust, and Security

Maria Malho Consultant, Demos Helsinki Slides
Antonio Kung CEO, Trialog Slides
Kimmo Karhu Head of Data, City of Helsinki Slides
Irina Shklovski Associate Professor, IT University of Copenhagen Slides
Sarah Medjek Chair, MyData Global Slides

People Track: Fair Artificial Intelligence

Tamas Erkelens Data Innovation Programme Manager, City of Amsterdam Slides
Mikko Rusama  Chief Digital Officer, City of Helsinki Slides
Jose A. Ondiviela Smart Cities Solutions Director, Microsoft Slides
Katja Bego Principal Researcher, Nesta Slides
Bart Rosseau Chief Data Officer, City of Ghent No Slides

Tech Track: Operating Urban Platforms Based on Minimal Interoperability

Christophe Colinet Smart City Project Manager, City of Bordeaux Slides
Jaime Ventura Head of Urban Platforms, Porto Digital Slides
Nikolay Tcholtev Senior Researcher and Project Manager, Fraunhofer Fokus Slides
Monique Calisti CEO, Martel Innovate Slides
Thomas Kruse CIO Office, City of Utrecht Slides
Marcel van Oosterhout Assistant Executive Director, Erasmus Centre for Data Analytics Slides

Tech Track – Standards for Tech & Governance

Omar Elloumi Nokia Bell Labs / AIOTI Slides
Lindsay Frost Chief Standardisation Engineer, NEC / Chair, ETSI ISG CIM Slides
Hakima Chaouchi   Professor, Telekom Sud Paris Slides
Svetoslav Mihaylov   Policy Officer, Smart Mobility & Living,  European Commission Slides

Closing Plenary – A Global Policy Framework for Technology Governance

Agata Krause Consultant, UNECE Slides
Miguel Eiras Antunes Global Smart City, Smart Nation & Local Government Leader, Deloitte Slides
Takehiko Nagumo Executive Director, Smart City Institute Japan Slides