The journey has begun! Seven European cities with a shared belief in the power of digital economic development have come together to plan their manifesto for a better, brighter, future.
The Tech Revolution Transfer Network has ambitious plans to share skills and ideas about the creation of businesses and jobs for the future and to drive change in their local economies to embrace technology for new start-ups and established companies.
The partners in the Tech Revolution Network are Barnsley (UK), Vilanova I la Getru (Spain), Pardubice (Czechia), Schiedam (Netherlands), Piraeus (Greece), Bacau (Romania) and Nyiregyhaza (Hungary).
The project will allow economic development professionals across the seven cities to create local groups which will engage with the public and private sector and help them influence the direction of their future development. Ideas and plans from these local groups will be shared across the whole Network so all partners can reap rewards from this trans-national co-operation.
All partners are committed to creating a local infrastructure to develop their digital economies, the spaces, skills and services needed to create a robust and futureproof local economy and ensure a brighter future for their local communities. Whilst some are further down the road than others, the partners all share the same vision.
The partners will be able to plan activities based on three core themes; The Enterprising Barnsley business support programme, the development of a digital campus focused around key buildings like Barnsley’s Digital Media Centre and the spin offs that can be developed within a digital campus environment.
Tracey Johnson, who is leading the URBACT project for Barnsley said, “We are really looking forward to working in partnership with our European colleagues to ensure all the participants benefit from the skills each City can bring to the table. What we have created is a group of like-minded professionals dedicated to ensuring our cities are at the forefront of digital developments. We thank URBACT for giving us the opportunity to create this exciting network”.