The CONNECT University will kick off its 2021 thematic summer school programme dedicated to Digital for our planet with a special introductory session on “A European perspective on the role of digital in accelerating the transition to a green economy”, exploring the way digitalisation can help sustainability and how digital innovation and solutions can contribute to tackle climate change.

Don’t miss The European Regions for Smart Communities summit, under Portuguese Presidency of European Union, that will be held in Alentejo region (city of Évora) and online, between 3 - 9 of May, 2021.

The Summit will gather Mayors, Regional Presidents as well as other elected Politicians from across Europe, among others President of Committee of Regions, Members of the European Parliament, EU Commission representatives that will show best practices on how to involve citizens more effectively, with the support local and regional authorities.

On the initiative of Amsterdam and Florence, both signatories of the Living.in-eu movement, supported by Eurocities and the European Commission, a series of workshops will be organised to reflect on on how cities and regions can further develop Business-to-Government (B2G) data sharing and on opportunities for upscaling data sharing practices across Europe.

The next Living-in.EU signatories’ meeting will take place in conjunction with the Covenant of Mayors on 22 April as part of the European Commission’s DigitAll Public conference on eGovernment. The topic for discussion will be the twin digital and green transition, with a particular focus on the potential of Local Digital Twins.

Digital twins provide cities and communities with the opportunity to leverage the potential of several technological developments in an integrated solution. Large scale collection of data using IoT sensors and the 5G network and applying Artificial Intelligence on the data to produce insights in a representative model of cities, presents a powerful tool for cities to work towards the implementation of the green deal objectives and creating better places for citizens to live in.

Programme:

The Local Digital Twins (LDT) Technology Workshop will bring together technology providers, Research and Technology Organisations, city Chief Technology Officers and other interested players. The aim of the workshop is to raise awareness of digital technology providers and related organisations about the European Union approach regarding Local Digital Twins and discuss how to build European capacity to this end.

On January 27th, 2021, the Smart Cities Marketplace will launch its new Initiative “Citizen Control of Personal Data” within the Citizen Focus Action Cluster. We kindly invite you to join us from 15 to 17 h and learn more the initiative’s approach to handling personal data. 

Enormous changes will take place in the next few years in the field of data, moving from the current large-corporation approach, where personal data is collected for narrow commercial benefit, to an approach aiming at the greater good of society and the economy.

The EDIH GEARING UP conference is a public event organised as the first yearly European Digital Innovation Hubs conference. In coordination with the Luxembourg Ministry of Economy this first year's edition will officially kick-start the European Digital Innovation Hubs initiative all across Europe.

After a decade of successfully hosting the annual Connected Smart Cities & Communities Conference, the Open & Agile Smart Cities network (OASC) is shifting gears: The registration is now open for the very first edition of CITYxCITY Festival. Join us and take part in this celebration on 13-15 January 2021 to connect cities and empower communities.