Organizers: Sofia Municipality and Directorate General “Joint Research Centre”, Brussels
Partners: Sofia Development Association and GIS Transfer Centre
Participants: 80 representatives of local authorities and academic institutions
Our goal is a shared vision of sustainable urban development based on prognostic research.
Yordanka Fandakova, Mayor of Sofia: “The scientific potential of Sofia and Europe helps us make the right decisions and develop effective policies. The sustainable urban mobility, air quality, climate change, urban planning, crisis management are all areas that affect the lives of every citizen and require intelligent responses. In order to find them, we rely on the accomplishments of researchers and scientists. In all Sofia Municipality projects we set as key priorities the policies for development of Sofia as a green city.”
Ivelina Vassileva, Minister of Environment and Water of Bulgaria: “I support Sofia’s ambition to be a green city. I am sure that what Sofia Municipality did in a very short period of time gives its visible results.”
Charlina Vitcheva, Deputy Director General, Directorate General “Joint Research Centre”, European Commission: “Strengthening the regional partnership for innovative solutions is very important for attaining sustainable urban development. The Joint Research Centre is a kind of scientific hub that helps cities become better places for living. Those attending today are exactly the people who help us attain our goals.”
Panel Discussion “Smart Specialisation for Smart Regions, Growth and Better Quality of Life”
Svetlana Lomeva, Executive Director, Sofia Development Association: “The Strategy for Smart Specialization of Sofia is a programme for economic development that focuses on the strengths of the city - ICT and creative and recreational industries.”
Elitsa Panayotova, “Green Sofia” initiative coordinator: “Green Sofia Initiative is based on the city assets and the urban development priorities in the area of environment, energy efficiency and climate. The implementation of these priorities is impossible without science.”
Panel discussion “Making Cities Resilient: Disaster Risk Management and Foresight Tools for Sustainable Cities in 2035"
Zdravko Zdravkov, Sofia Chief Architect: “For the development of Sofia as a green city we need analyses of urban spaces - an enormous challenge, which will utilize the scientific capacity of the city.”
Silvia Dimova, Directorate for Space, Security and Migration, DG JRC, European Commission: “The buildings that will be constructed in 2020 need to meet specific requirements in 2070 as well, while bridges need to meet these requirements in 2120.”
Panel discussion “Towards Clean Transport Solutions and Low-carbon Urban Mobility of the Future”
Evgeni Krussev, Deputy Mayor of Transport, Sofia: “We are looking for smart transport solutions like traffic and transport streams management systems, which provide advance information for the urban traffic situation.”
Elena Paffumi, Directorate for Energy, Transport and Climate, DG JRC, European Commission: “Big data and data mining have valuable potential for formulating appropriate and evidence-based solutions for the development of efficient policies in the area of transport assessment and future public investments in smart infrastructure and smart cities.”
Charlina Vitcheva, Deputy Director General, DG JRC, European Commission: “I congratulate Sofia’s decision to have its own Smart Specialization Strategy. This is a forward looking decision, innovative thinking, and I hope to see the first results in the near future.”
Working group discussions
Malina Edreva, Chairperson of the Committee on Education, Culture, Science and Cultural Diversity, Sofia Municipal Council; Committee of the Regions member: “With its innovative policies, based on partnership with the academic and business community, Sofia is turning into a city - example for the region.”