9th European Ecommerce Conference "Reshaping the future of the digital economy"

Under the motto “Reshaping the future of the digital economy" on 18 – 19 November 2015 will be held in the City of Bilbao one of the most important events at the European level on the digital economy.

This year, the, European Ecommerce Conference will gather again international speakers and companies that are setting up the trends on the field of the digital economy, with a complete program of conferences, presentations and debates.

More information: www.eec-conference.com


The Committee renews its website

 

From the Committee we have being working during the months of June and July in the renewal of the Committee website and we are glad to inform you that the website www.uclg-digitalcities.org is online.

We wanted to create a more attractive website that can facilitate the dissemination of the activities in which from the Committee we are working on. From the Presidency of the Committee we would like to extend an invitation to all the Committee members to use the website as a communication channel to inform on their activities related with the Committee by sending news, experiences and events.

If you would like a news or event to be published in the website, please contact: info@uclg-digitalcities.org


UCLG-MEWA Smart Cities Committee Meeting

We inform you that the International Brand Cities Summit and UCLG-MEWA Smart Cities Committee Meeting, co-organized by United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia Section (UCLG-MEWA), World Academy for Local Government and Democracy (WALD) and Konya Metropolitan Municipality will take place on

8-9 September 2015 in the City of Konya, Turkey.

UCLG-MEWA Smart Cities Committee Meeting will provide a great opportunity for approval of the Committee program of activities by participants and exchange ideas about activities and works in the field of Smart City Practices which is the main theme of the meeting.

The deadline for sending the presentation request form is: August 15.

Please click on the links below to access the following documents:


II SEMINAR ON THE MODERNIZATION OF THE MUNICIPAL MANAGEMENT

With the aim of boosting the exchange of knowledge and collaboration between cities, the UCLG Committee of Digital and Knowledge-based Cities organizes an annual thematic and operative event that can allow the exchange of experiences and knowledge as well as the debate among the participants, on topic related to the use of new technologies, innovation and knowledge to make more efficient and sustainable cities. The first meeting took place in 2013 in the City of Bordeaux (France) focused on the “Smart Local Economy”, the second one took place in 2014 in the City of Bilbao and was centered on the “Smart Local Governance: The challenge of good governance in local administrations”.

In 2015, the event will be held on 1-2 October 2015 in the City of Sao Paulo, Brazil, under the title:

II Seminar on the Modernization of the Municipal Management

The Seminar is organized by the National Confederation of Municipalities of Brazil (CNM) which holds the Vice-presidency of the Committee for Latin America and the Organization of American States (OEA), the Development Bank of Latin America, the Committee Presidency -Chaired by the City of Bilbao- and the Latin American Federation of Cities, Municipalities and Associations (FLACMA).

This event will represent a unique opportunity to exchange and disseminate innovative experiences in the field of the Municipal Public Management with the aim of reinforcing public administrations in the Region and fostering innovation in the public sector.

During two days, topics relevant to the management of Public Governments will be discussed, such as:

  • Open government at local level
  • Innovation in local administration
  • Integrated Municipal management systems
  • Electronic local government
  • The need of boosting Public Privet Partnerships (PPPs)
  • Sustainable urban mobility
  • Technologies applied to environmental management

Registration to the seminar has no cost and it will have available translation to Spanish and Portuguese.

Each participant should take care of its own travel, visa and accommodation costs.

REGISTRATION

(in Spanish)

Should you have any question or need further information, please contact the International Department of the CNM. The contact person is Tatiane de Jesus (+55 61 2101-6032, email internacional@cnm.org.br).

 

More information: http://www.cnm.org.br/informe/exibe/dialogoii-seminario-de-modernizacion-de-la-gestion-municipal


The Committee collaborates with the Uraía Platform in the organization of its first capacity-building workshop in Oslo

The Committee has being an active partner of the Uraía platform since it was launched in 2014 during the workshop "SMART Technologies for municipal sustainability" held in Santander.

On June 29th and 30th 2015, the Uraía Platform organized its first capacity building activity in Oslo, Norway, on "Public-Private Partnerships Negotiation for SMART City Management".

More than 35 representatives from local governments and their associations, private sector, research centers, civil society and international organizations from Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia, participated in the first Capacity-building Workshop of the Uraía Platform on Public-Private Partnerships Negotiation for SMART City Management in Oslo on June 29 and 30 organized in partnership between FMDV and UN-Habitat with the support of the UCLG Committee of Digital and Knowledge-based Cities.

During the two-day Workshop - including a field visit to Oslo´s SMART City initiatives, panel discussions, round tables and informal discussions -, the participants shared their experiences and knowledge on negotiating and implementing Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the field of SMART technologies for improving public services. The representative from the City of Porto Alegre (Brazil), for example, shared its Open Data policy called "Data PoA". The representative from the Municipality of Kinondoni, Tanzania, shared its program to collect taxes through a mobile phone application. The City of Johannesburg, South Africa, spoke about its experience of establishing a PPP contract in public lightning. Representatives from the private sector as Veolia or Change Tomorrow presented their work with local governments. Representatives from institutions such as Nomadéis, OCDE or Instituto Superiore Mario Boella, gave specific recommendations on how local governments should implement PPPs for SMART management. Some of these recommendations are: the careful evaluation of the local government´s capacities; a balanced distribution of risks and potential benefits between city administrations, the private stakeholder and citizens; the careful examination of the business partner, and the adaptation of PPP frameworks to technological innovations in fast-changing contexts.
The Workshop highlighted common concerns and shared difficulties, the need for fostering experience exchange and dialogue between the private and public sector as well as among cities that often face similar problems and challenges in the negotiation of PPPs and in the provision of public services. The informal, participatory and inclusive format of the Workshop allowed for engaging discussions and an in-depth analysis of the needs of local governments in the process of establishing and implementing PPPs involving SMART technologies.

The discussions of the Workshop will inform a set of Guidelines aiming at supporting local governments in their negotiation of contracts with the private sector for the implementation of SMART technologies applied to municipal management. It should establish a roadmap with main steps to prepare and negotiate a PPP contract, keys elements of success, main risks and difficulties encountered and mistakes to avoid.

For more information: www.uraia.org/activities/service/capacity-building-activities

 


UCGL World Council 2015

The World Council is the principal policy-making body of the World Organization. It decides the World Organization’s policies and ensures that general policies decided by the General Assembly are implemented. 

The 2015 UCLG World Council meetings will be held from 4 to 7 December 2015 in Paris, France, at the kind invitation of Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Co‑President of UCLG, and in conjunction with COP 21.

 In the programme:

  • The World Council will be held on the morning of 4 December.
  • The Climate Summit for Local Leaders will be held on 4 December in the afternoon, on the occasion of COP 21.
  • The Executive Bureau will be held on the afternoon of 5 December.
  • Parallel events will also be held on the morning of 4 December, before the World Council meeting, including a PLATFORMA event on Climate & Cooperation.
  • A seminar titled “From COP 21 to Habitat III: local governments and citizens at the heart of the challenges” will be organized on 5 December by Plaine-Commune and the UCLG Committee on Social Inclusion, Participatory Democracy and Human Rights.
  • The City of Paris and the Standing Committee on Gender Equality will organize a special session on Women Leadership and Development on 6 December.

We recommend that you book your accommodation as soon as possible, as this will be an extremely busy time in Paris, due to COP 21 taking place during the same period. 

We remind you that you may need a visa to be able to enter France, and that this process can be lengthy. We strongly recommend you to start the visa procedures as soon as possible. 

Check this page periodically for the latest updates.

Note: The UCLG Executive Bureau meetings are closed meetings. Members of UCLG are welcome to contact the World Secretariat for additional information through the following email address: UCLGExBu@uclg.org

More information


The Committee met in Porto Alegre on June 12th to define the work plan for 2015

The UCLG Committee of Digital and Knowledge-based cities organized on the occasion of the UCLG Executive Bureau in Porto Alegre, a working meeting with the committee members on the 12th of June 2015.

The meeting was chaired by the City of Bilbao, Chair of the Committee and the National Confederation of Municipalities of Brazil (CNM), Vice-chair of the Committee for Latin-America. The meeting was attended by more than 20 representatives of cities and international organizations.

During the meeting, the Committee reported on the activities developed in 2014 and the first semester 2015. The Committee also informed on the scheduled activities for the second half of 2015.

The meeting also had as main objective, to work on the preparation of the next committee activity, the seminar on "Modernization of the Municipal Management" scheduled to take place on 30 September and 1-2 October 2015 in São Paulo State, Brazil.

The meeting was quite interactive, since the attendants expressed their questions and their interest in taking a more active role in the committee activities.

See meeting pictures


ICT 2015 Innovate, Connect, Transform

The European Commission, together with the Fundaçao para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Portugal bring you: ICT 2015 - Innovate, Connect, Transform, 20-22 October 2015 in Lisbon, Portugal.

The ICT 2015 event will comprise a number of parallel activities:

A policy conference presenting the new Commission´s policies and initiatives on Research & Innovation in ICT (Horizon 2020 Programme); An interactive exhibition showcasing the best results and impact of most recent EU ICT Research & Innovation; Many networking opportunities to enhance quality partnerships, helping participants find partners, connect Research and Innovation and trigger collaboration; Funding opportunities: ICT 2015 will also be the place to gather information on the 2016 Work Programme of Horizon 2020. Registrations will open in May 2015 - to receive updates, check regularly this page or subscribe to the ICT 2015 newsletter Calls for proposals and applications.

More information: http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/ICT2015


First training activity of the URAÍA platform

On June 29th and 30th, the Platform will organize its first Working Session in Oslo, Norway on "Public-private partnership negotiation for SMART city management". It will bring together local governments and service providers and offer the opportunity to design Guidelines for the preparation and implementation of contracts linked to the use of technologies in municipal management.

For more information download HERE the concept note of the workshop or send us a message at info@uraia.org


First capacity building activity of the URAÍA Platform

In 2014 the Committee began a relation of collaboration with the Local government and decentralization Unit of UN-HABITAT in diverse issues related to the use new technologies for achieving local sustainable development.

As part of this collaboration, the Committee Secretariat took part in the workshop "SMART Technologies for municipal sustainability" held in June 2014 in Santander and that gave as a result the launch of the "Uraía" Platform.

The Uraía Platform was created as a space for exchange between local governments and their partners about the possibilities offered today with the introduction of SMART technologies in local public management. Uraía facilitates peer-to-peer learning, fosters transfer and adaptation of SMART solutions, and encourages experimentation. Since its launch, the Committee has been an active partner of Uraía.

On June 29 ant 30th of 2015 the Uraía Platform organizes in Oslo, Norway its first capacity building activity on "Public-Private Partnerships Negotiations for SMART City Management"

The final objective of this Workshop is to produce a set of Guidelines addressed to support local governments to negotiate contracts with the private sector in the implementation of SMART technologies applied to municipal management.

The guidelines will look at different case studies presented during the workshop, looking for lessons learnt and common mistakes to be avoided during the negotiation and implementation of PPPs.

If you are interest in taking part in the workshop and presenting your experience, please fill in the "Questionnaire to present experience" and send it back to info@uraia.org

The workshop is open to representatives of local and national governments and private companies involved in the provision of public services. There will be available translation to French, English and Spanish.

Please click on the links below to access the following documents: