Valencia projects itself as a global epicenter of future smart cities. This has been demonstrated at Future Innovation Cities, the event organized by Startup Valencia that has brought together leading global experts in this field. This forum took place this morning at the iconic Veles e Vents building as part of the parallel program for VDS2024. This is the first time that VDS, one of the reference international tech events in Southern Europe, starts with a special forum on cities as part of its parallel program.
The day began with a discussion among Margot Roose, Deputy Mayor of Tallinn; Felipe Carrasco, Secretary for Industry, Trade, and Consumer Affairs of the Generalitat Valenciana; and Paula Llobet, Councilor for Tourism, Innovation, and Investment Attraction for the City of Valencia, moderated by Nacho Mas, CEO of Startup Valencia. The conversation revolved around innovative cities of the future and how they can be built today.
Nacho Mas highlighted the importance of public-private collaboration to undertake these projects in cities. Paula Llobet agreed, noting that the entire innovation ecosystem must be involved in the city strategy. Felipe Carrasco remarked that “the key is to activate collaboration from the public sector to the private sector to create real policies that improve our smart cities.” Finally, Margot Roose emphasized the collaboration between cities to replicate good practices related to innovation applied to the realm of Smart Cities.
The presentations and panels at this forum focused on the impact of technology on citizens’ lives. Among the topics addressed were the implementation of artificial intelligence in urban infrastructure, sustainable mobility, urban living labs, and the creation of digital twins for the development of smart cities.
The event featured notable figures such as Firas Mahmoud, an artificial intelligence expert from Neom, the futuristic and sustainable megacity being built in Saudi Arabia at an estimated cost of $500 billion; and Sami Sahala from Forum Virium Helsinki, Finland’s largest public innovation center and a global reference point where solutions for smart city mobility and data are co-created, fostering growth for businesses and collaboration opportunities for research institutes.
Also participating was Karl-Fillip Coenegrachts, an expert in city strategies and digital transformation, advisor for Open & Agile Smart Cities (OAS) in Belgium, the largest global non-profit network of smart cities aimed at building a global and open market for smart city data and services based on urban needs.
This forum was supported by the Ministry of Innovation, Industry, Trade, and Tourism of the Generalitat Valenciana and Valencia Innovation Capital from the City of Valencia.
