Networks and cities' news

Young voices gathered at the Transnational Meeting 5 in Poznan

After several months of preparation and dealing with a global situation that has changed many of the plans, the ON BOARDers have gathered. The fifth Transnational Meeting of the ON BOARD project arrives to Poznan. A host city that, this time, has opened its doors virtually.

Alba Iulia started the developing of the Smart City strategy

Digital transformation has become a need and a priority in public administrations that pursue a strategic approach to digitizing public services, increasing the standard of living, and focusing on people's well-being. After a period of two years dedicated to extensive actions to support, test and pilot smart cities solutions within the Alba Iulia Smart City pilot project, Alba Iulia started the elaboration of the digitalization and Smart City strategy of the municipality, a procedure carried out by public tender within the framework of the project "Alba Iulia Municipality – Intelligent Administration", having the Cluj IT Cluster Association as the provider of the strategic document. The process of drafting the strategic document will follow the 11 priority vertical directions of Alba Iulia for the next period of development of the urban ecosystem.

How young is too young to learn about entrepreneurial spirit?

Tallinn answered this question under the framework of the transnational URBACT III “ON BOARD Connecting cities through education” project. The answer will surprise you!

AVEIRO IS PAVING THE WAY TOWARDS A SMART CITY...

Aveiro Tech City is an initiative promoted by the City of Aveiro which aims to use technology as a means to improve the quality of living of local citizens and helping governance entities to collect and share relevant information about new exciting ways to manage the city in areas of mobility, education, culture and environment. Aveiro Tech City will transform the urban area in a living lab – a testbed where businesses, projects and services are developed, trialled and implemented. Aveiro Tech City proposes to learn and experiment new technology as a vehicle to build a sustainable society. A city capable to create more opportunities for those who live, work and visit Aveiro.

RECAP OF A VIRTUAL YEAR...

This year 2020 that is about to finish was difficult and strange for everyone, specially for those that have suffered directly the pandemic. At the beginning, when we were preparing our Transnational Meeting in Jurmala planned for March 2020, we could not believe what happened around us and we tried to keep our plans, but swiftly, we realized that it was worse than expected and that we had to change our plans...

Would a strategic approach towards Local Economic Development make small cities more resilient?

Small cities are often at a higher risk for the negative impacts of global trends that lead to economic downturns. At the same time, they are the places where a significant percentage of the population of the European Union live and work. So how can we address development problems and opportunities at the local level through contextualization of global consequences and locally available resources? How can we develop resilient local governments in an age when the world is faced with a global pandemic and some cities are facing economic crisis? According to the principles of Local Economic Development (LED), local development should be approached strategically and inclusively, and challenging decisions should be guided by sustainability goals. 

This article is a follow-up to a Masterclass in Local economic development organised by the iPlace Project, a network of 10 small cities who examine opportunities for new local development and aim to find niches which will create potential for future economic growth.