SPI – Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação

SPI had a strong presence at the Smart City Expo World Congress

spi-at-smart-city-expo-world (1)

SPI had a strong presence at the Smart City Expo World Congress

SPI had a strong presence at the Smart City Expo World Congress – the largest event in the smart cities’ domain that catalyses collaboration among leaders in pioneering companies, governments, and organisations. The expo’s mission is to propel cities towards a more sustainable and vibrant future by empowering them and promoting global cooperation in urban innovation.

Taking place in Barcelona from November 7-9, 2023, this year’s congress drew an impressive gathering, with over 800 cities from 140 countries participating. The event featured 25,300 attendees, 1,106 exhibitors, 273 sessions, and 577 speakers, focusing on eight key tracks addressing critical city challenges: Enabling Technologies, Energy & Environment, Mobility, Governance, Living & Inclusion, Economy, Infrastructure & Building, and Safety & Security.

A notable highlight from the second day was the presentation by Open & Agile Smart Cities (OASC), showcasing the CommuniCity project (supported by SPI as a partner). This project stood out as an exemplary model for urban transformation. Martin Brynskov, a Senior Researcher at the Technical University of Denmark, underscored the significance of inclusive technology in fostering positive urban change.

CommuniCity emerged as a major initiative addressing digital and urban challenges, counting on Josephine Di Pino, Project Coordinator of CommuniCity and Project Director at OASC, Carla Santos from OASC, Adeeb Sidani from Porto Digital, Sara Neves from Domus Social, and Luma Vasconcelos from SPI in attendance.

The overarching theme of the event highlighted the value of digital solutions engaging grassroots input and fostering collaboration. Key insights included discussions on Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms, AI in public administration, Local Digital Twins, and governance guidelines for citizen-centric solutions, which garnered considerable interest from the audience.