WHAT: Eurocities Digital Forum 2022 Madrid: “Today is the future. Cities fit for Europe’s Digital Decade”.
WHERE: Linares Palace, Madrid (for members-only) and Online (for everyone)
WHEN: 5-7 October 2022
HOST: City of Madrid and Eurocities

The Digital Forum is just around the corner! We’ll live stream two high-level panels during the event.

5 October, 14:45 -16:30: “On the road to sustainability: European collaboration and funding for digital solutions in cities.”

The European Commission is putting forward an ambitious green and digital agenda to drive the digital decade and combat climate change. The Commission is betting on unprecedented funding opportunities, bold ideas, and solid cross-border collaborations to effectively leverage digital solutions as an enabler for the twin green and digital transition.

Join our panel debate on multi-level governance and on the financial instruments that can help cities to foster a digital transition. 

Moderation:

• Eddy Adams

Introduction:

• André Sobzcak, Secretary General, Eurocities

Panellists:

• Santiago Saura, Councillor for Internationalisation and Cooperation, Madrid
• Laia Bonet, Deputy Mayor for the 2030 agenda, digital transition and international relations, Barcelona
• Faouzi Achbar, Deputy Mayor, Digital inclusion and digital skills, Rotterdam
• Marie Zezulkova, Head of Urban Policy and Strategies Unit, Ministry of Regional Development, Czech Republic

Conclusions:

• Eddy Hartog, Head of Unit Technologies for Smart Cities, European Commission

6 October, 09:00 -10:00: “Cities and Europe’s Digital Decade – a look at digital strategies”

Every day, cities develop, implement, and maintain a wide range of digital solutions to offer services to citizens and to shape and improve local policies. By driving public and private collaborations and testing new technologies on the ground, municipalities effectively leverage the potential of innovation. Cities represent the interests of their citizens, safeguarding digital rights and developing projects in support of digital citizenship in a society increasingly marked by the digital age.

This keynote session explores how the European Union’s digital agenda also hinges on efforts at local level. What are cities doing to effectively contribute to EU ambitions? What is the pivotal role of data, and how can interoperability support the goals that have been set?

Moderator:

• Eddy Adams High-level view:

High-level view:

• Matilde Garcia Duarte, Head of General Coordination of the Mayor’s office

Speakers:

• Bárbara Ubaldi, Head of Digital Government and Data Unit, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 
• Natalia Aristimuño, Digital Services Director, DIGIT.D, European Commission
• Fernando de Pablo, General Director, Madrid Digital Office

The Forum’s programme is inspired by the EU’s initiative for a Digital Decade and highlights the potential for local administration to be the driving factors in Europe’s digital transformation towards 2030. A high-level opening panel invites several levels of government and connects digitalisation with sustainability goals and the need for a new funding mechanism to achieve our climate ambitions.

To support the Digital Decade, the European Commission has set up Digital Compass, a policy programme that defines concrete objectives for the digital agenda.

According to the scheme, in the next years EU citizens should be digitally empowered; at least 80% of the population should have basic digital skills to promote inclusion and create a skilled workforce. Secure and sustainable infrastructures should be implemented by making 5G widely available, through secure and climate-neutral data, cloud & edge solutions and by focussing on cybersecurity.

The digital transformation of businesses would be promoted by improving companies’ uptake of cloud, AI and Big Data and by making more than 90% of small and medium enterprises digitally enabled. Lastly, more and more public services should be digitally available and 100% of key public services should be offered online.

Complementing the Digital Compass goals is the concept of European digital citizenship. It is embodied in the EU inter-institutional declaration on digital rights and principles for the digital decade (2022). The idea is to put people at the centre of digital technologies, to encourage a safe online environment, solidary and inclusive technology and services, equal and sovereign participation, and sustainable digital devices.

The Forum will host sessions around topics at the core of the EU digital agenda: local digital strategies, standardisation and interoperability of IoT, digital rights, data-driven solutions for the digitalisation of public services, digital twins, cybersecurity, digital competencies and the impact of ICTs on the labour market.