Smart Ecosystems Lublin 2018 in Top Stories on the portal and in the Smart Resilient newsletter: https://www.smartresilient.com/leading-cities-member-network
Charismatic speakers from all over the world, exchange of knowledge and experience, a relaxed atmosphere conducive to discussion – this is how the participants describe the first international Smart Ecosystems conference in Poland, which took place on 14 and 15 June 2018 in Lublin. The meeting brought together practitioners and experts dealing with smart cities, as well as administrators of developing cities and communes, social activists, NGOs and hobbyists fascinated by the unlimited possibilities of the most modern technologies in urban space management. Lublin, which was awarded the title of Leading City, marked the way of development not only for Polish, but also for European cities that want to cooperate with citizens and respond to their needs.
The first day of the conference was devoted to the lectures. The meeting was opened by a representative of the organizers, Sebastian Kawałko and the Mayor of Lublin, Krzysztof Żuk, actively supporting the initiative to promote the idea of smart ecosytems. He signed the letter of intent from Michael Lake, the founder of Boston’s Leading Cities organization. The city awarded the title of Leading City is a modern metropolis that uses the latest solutions to increase productivity, quality of life and manage resources in a sustainable way. Lublin is the first city in Poland and Europe to receive this special title.
The Leading City title means that the city of Lublin benefits from the experience of other cities, learns from their mistakes, not from its own. Building cooperation between cities in different areas will always be valuable, both in Poland and internationally, which gives even better results. At the conference we learned good practices of smart city and convinced each other that together we can do more. Central and Eastern Europe benefits from European funds and thanks to them it develops, among others, electromobility or engaging the public to participate in participatory projects. Due to the financial possibilities, we need to verify our ideas and guidance from experts and organizations such as Leading City. This allows us to know what works. Meetings such as Smart Ecosystems provide concrete knowledge and the opportunity to establish valuable contacts. – comments Krzysztof Żuk, President of Lublin.
Smart Cities focus on designing them with the residents in mind and putting their needs and expectations in the first place, which are changing dynamically nowadays. I am very pleasantly surprised by what initiatives are being taken in Lublin and how it engages the community to actively participate in improving the city’s functionality. Such actions make Lublin boldly perceived as a smart city. As Leading City it presents a modern, innovative way of management focused on the future. I am proud and happy that the first European city has joined my organisation, this is an extraordinary and moving moment. Soon all leading cities will have the opportunity to share their experiences and ideas on a specially prepared internet platform. – says Michael Lake, founder of Leading Cities.
Michael Mulquin’s lecture on City as a Platform Manifesto from Smart City Association presented the participants with 10 simple tips that make the city friendly to its residents and meet their needs. The Bee smart city team from Germany (Jochen Berbuer, Reinhard Eichborn) introduced their platform, which allows people from all over the world to exchange smart city ideas in the areas of economy, ecology, transport and management.
A special moment was the presentation of prizes to the winners of the competition for the best participatory budget project. Giżycko, Kalisz, Lublin and Olsztyn – cities whose communities are the most proactive and willing to cooperate with management bodies – were distinguished. Thus, a part of the lectures devoted to the development of intelligent solutions in Poland was launched. Speakers: Grzegorz Kwitek, Member of the Management Board of Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolis, Deputy Mayor of Giżycko, Roman Łożyński (Digital Mazury Project), Agata Miazga (Ministry of Investment and Development), Marek Gzowski (KPMG), as well as Dr Radosław Mącik (Maria Słodowska-Curie University in Lublin). The first day of the conference ended with a lecture by Rene Weilharter, who took up the topic of telephone communication networks in metropolises.
The lecture part of the event outlined the idea of smart cities. An international, diverse team of speakers made it possible to discuss a variety of topics, as well as the challenges waiting for developing cities. Diverse thematic areas discussed by the lecturers allowed the participants to gain a broad perspective, exchange experiences and learn best practices from a given country or region. This, in turn, was conducive to fruitful discussions and a lively exchange of ideas not only during conference breaks, but also long after the end of the official part of the meeting.
Smart city strives for continuous development and use of all new technologies. Thus, it understands perfectly well that the city is not only administrative bodies, but all inhabitants. I am glad that the conference was attended by many government representatives, as well as Lublin and other cities’ mayors. There are certainly many cities in Poland that would like to implement smart cities solutions, each of them has different challenges and obstacles ahead of them. What will be valuable for them is support “from above”, and after the workshops I see that in Poland there is no shortage of people fascinated with intelligent solutions. There are millions of cities around the world where innovative, creative and inspiring projects are implemented. Unfortunately, we don’t know much about them and we don’t have many opportunities to share our knowledge. Meetings such as these are an excellent time to confront their activities with practitioners from all over the world. – says Michael Mulquin from Smart City Association.
The second day of the conference was a workshop. The openness and curiosity of the speakers caused that the meetings with the participants took place in a relaxed, inspiring atmosphere. Michael Mulquin and Arkadiusz Gos (KanBo) discussed the standards of smart cities, Carles Agustí and Hernàndez discussed models of social participation, and Michael Lake and Jochen Berbuer invited to discuss the assumptions and goals of smart city ecosystems.
The first international Smart Ecosystems conference ended with a panel dedicated to the economy of sharing, attended by Mateusz Litewski – Uber, Maciej Panek – Panek Car Sharing, Piotr Boulangé – Pozamiatane.pl. The moderator was Mateusz Trawiński from Centropolis, and the co-organizer of this panel was the Lublin Development Foundation.
The first edition of Smart Ecosystems allowed us to focus on the topic, which is just beginning to develop in Poland. Among the participants were practitioners, decision-makers, representatives of public administration, organizations and companies operating in the smart city, as well as socially engaged people, which allows us to believe that the idea of smart will soon reach all cities in Poland. It is also pleasing that the speakers, experts with many years of experience, admitted that thanks to the conference they got to know completely different points of view, and the process of broadening their knowledge never stops.
Honorary patronage over the event was assumed by the Mayor of Lublin, Krzysztof Żuk and the Marshal of the Lublin Voivodeship, Sławomir Sosnowski. Thanks to their commitment and help, the event took place in beautiful Lublin – the heart of intelligent solutions in Poland.
The main partner of the conference was the Marshal’s Office of the Lubelskie Voivodeship.
