ICONS at Smart City Expo World Congress 2024

From November 5th to November 7th, Barcelona will host the Smart City Expo World Congress, the world’s biggest and most influential event on urban innovation.

Held in Barcelona since 2011, Smart City Expo World Congress is the world’s biggest and most influential event for cities and urban innovation. Every year, it gathers leaders from global companies, governments and organizations to move cities towards a better future. The goal is to collectivize urban innovation across the globe and empower cities to tackle the critical challenges facing them today.

Chiara Fonio, Head of Social Innovation at ICONS, will be one of the keynote speakers at the thematic roundtable ‘Collectively Moving Cities Forward’ on November 7^th (13.55 – 14.40 CET – Hall 3 | Congress Green Room). The session will focus on the mission of preserving a world rooted in democratic values, where quality of life and equality of rights are upheld. Achieving this vision requires the active participation of cities and a coordinated effort among stakeholders at all levels. Chiara Fonio’s intervention will leverage on the empowerment of civil society by ensuring that the main outputs of research projects are co-created as much as possible, using a bottom-up approach. In the frame of EU-funded projects, ICONS provides a “methodological toolbox” so that co-creation can be carried out using a systematic and structured approach and that processes and outputs can be measured and assessed through a specific set of key performance indicators (KPIs).

Furthermore, ICONS team will join the event together with the EU funded projects POCITYF, and NEUTRALPATH displayed at the joint European Commission booth.

Projects events:

November 5th

• 11.15-12.00 CET – Hall2, booth D81

NEUTRALPATH – Booth session with ASCEND and RESPONSE

Scalable Cities – Back to the Future

The session sets a focus on the future of the collaboration and how the smart cities community can thrive. It will answer what the added value of this collaboration is due to the challenges posed by it. It also asks how projects implemented solutions on the ground. Experience of RESPONSE and follow-up with ASCEND and NEUTRALPATH in developing the PCEDs. 

• 12.15-13.00 CET- Hall2, booth D81

POCITYF – Booth Session with ATELIER and MAKING-CITY 

Tech meets policy: Driving innovation in PEDs

The session focuses on the intersection of technology, policy and navigating regulatory barriers in developing and implementing PEDs.

•  14.45 – 15.30 CET – Green Agora

NEUTRALPATH 

The Power of Communities: Co-Creating Pathways to Climate Neutrality

The session will address how effective stakeholder engagement can bridge existing gaps and explore strategies to unite citizens, leaders, businesses, and financiers in the creation of vibrant and sustainable districts and cities. By fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders, comprehensive approaches that integrate social, economic, and environmental perspectives can be developed, resulting in more resilient and adaptable urban environments. Best practices for stakeholder involvement will be discussed, drawing from successful case studies in Stockholm, Dresden, Lyon, and other locations, to underscore the critical role of community participation in the planning, implementation, and management of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs).

November 6^th

• 9.00 – 10.30 CET – Room, 3.14 A+B, Area CC3

NEUTRALPATH – workshop with ASCEND 

Business Models and Financing for Energy Communities

Building on successful cases from the ASCEND cities of Porto and Lyon, as well as NEUTRALPATH cities Dresden and Zaragoza, the Business Models and Financing Workshop will delve into the financial and strategic foundations that support energy communities, as showcased during the ScalableCities Roadshow in Kladno.

November 7^th

• 12.45-13.30 CET – Green Agora Hall 2

POCITYF – Agora Session with RESPONSE, ATELIER and MAKING-CITY 

Building better cities in EUrope through Positive Energy Districts

The potential of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) is being unveiled as their role in transforming Europe’s urban landscape is explored. Scaling these models not only promotes sustainability but also enhances the quality of life in cities.

To learn more about SCEWC 2024, please visit https://www.smartcityexpo.com 

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