With 2015 Smart City Expo, Barcelona celebrates the most important event ever on smart cities. This idea revolves around a model of urban management that couldn’t be understood on its own. That is why the concepts of mobility (BCNRail 2015) and innovation (4YFN 2016) come to play.
The concept of smart city results from the need to manage cities and their inhabitants in a different way. Every year, a referent congress on this matter is celebrated in the city of Barcelona: Smart City Expo World Congress.
The city has been considered the first smart city in the country thanks to the celebration of that event and its excellent urban practices. Some other European capitals are on the same path, although Barcelona has also been considered the iCapital (European Capital of Innovation).
The international summit on smart cities, or Smart City Expo, and the International railway industry show, or BCNRail, are both celebrated in Fira de Barcelona between November 17th and 19th, 2015. These events will make Barcelona be seen as a referent for urban developments and strategic mobility, also strengthening its label as Mobile World Capital.
Let’s see some of the news of this double event!
2015 Smart City Expo
The 5th edition of Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) will be the greatest one ever celebrated. There will be 500 participating cities, 450 exhibitors and 400 speakers from all over the world.
This referent summit on innovation and urban solutions will be celebrated in Fira de Barcelona from November 17th to 19th. And its figures are clear evidence of its success:
Big international capitals
SCEWC will show projects from different cities (Vienna, Tel Aviv, Singapore, Paris, New York, Kyoto, Jerusalem, Helsinki, Istanbul and Adelaide), as well as representations from different countries (the United Kingdom, Mauritius, India, Denmark, Estonia and South Korea).
Business solutions
Up to 465 international businesses will be presenting the latest news on integral management of cities, among which are European businesses like Audi, FCC, Ferrovial, Siemens, Telefonica and Thyssen-Krupp, together with global multinationals Amazon, Airbnb, Cisco, Engine, Fiware, Google, IBM, Microsoft and SAP, as well as 70 startups.
Prestigious speakers
There will be more than 40 talks in 2015 SCEWC, which will revolve around six main topics: Technology, Society, Gobernability, Sustainability, Mobility, Innovations and Startups. Among the 400 speakers coming to Barcelona, the event will count on the presence of renowned economists like Edward L.Glaeser (Harvard University) and Pankaj Ghemawat (NYU Stern School of Business), as well as experts in technology like Juliana Rotich (cofounder of Ushahidi) and Beth Simone Noveck (The Governance Lab).
Mobility as a backbone
The congress will devote special attention to a vital topic for cities: mobility.
There will be a special session by Rupert Stadler (Audi AG CEO), Joseph Curtatone (mayor of Somerville-Massachusetts) and Alain Flausch (secretary of UITP), who will call for debate on the matter.
At the same time of the congress, the 5th edition of BCNRail will be celebrated. This event is the most important railway show in the south of Europe and this time is centered in the so-called sustainable mobility.
With almost 60 speakers from all over the world, BcnRail Congress will talk about logistics and shipping of goods, new projects and international markets, and smart solutions.
Some topics will be the automation of ticketing, cybersecurity, energy efficiency and the ambitious European innovation project Shift2Rail.
Entrepreneur innovation and initiative
In this edition of SCEWC, the show will count on the presence of 4YFN, which is already warming engines for the next edition of the Mobile World Congress.
Smart City Expo has agreed to collaborate with the programme for entrepreneurs 4YFN (Four Years From Now). Such programme of talks on innovation and startups will include the design of 4YFN, GSMA and Mobile World Capital Barcelona. Moreover, the celebration of 4YFN Awards will decide on the most innovative initiatives.
The conferences will be focused on mobile technology solutions aimed at encouraging entrepreneurial initiatives in smart cities and the potential of those projects in order to make sure they have a global impact.
Solutions for the city of the future in the Barcelona of today!
