Slovakia can be innovative if it makes the most of the opportunities available. That was one of the messages of the conference Slovakia on the Road to Smart Cities, held in Žilina as part of the three-day inDays Summit, which from 12 to 14 May welcomed representatives of local authorities, experts and members of the public.
Visitors heard engaging discussions and were also introduced to practical examples from Slovak cities and from abroad. The event featured the STICS consortium, which connects activities across the regions into a living ecosystem and brings innovation directly to municipalities.
“Our goal is to turn the existing model around. Innovation should originate in cities, not be dictated from above. Local authorities should be the ones commissioning projects, not merely applying for them,” said Vladimír Jurík, founder of Smart Cities Klub. “That is exactly what we want to achieve: connecting local authorities, the public sector, professional institutions, universities, businesses, startups, projects and active people in the regions, because it is these connections that produce solutions that work.”
Discussions and concrete solutions
The Slovakia on the Road to Smart Cities conference opened on the first day with Mayor’s Café, a format traditionally run by Smart Cities Klub. It gave the floor to mayors and local government experts, who took part in discussions with the Minister of Investments, Regional Development and Informatisation Samuel Migaľ, the President of the Association of Towns and Communities of Slovakia Jozef Božik, and the Government Plenipotentiary for the National and Regional Plan Ladislav Šimko.
The discussion focused on finding ways for Slovak cities to become centres of innovation.
The second day of the conference focused on practical questions, from those with a European dimension to specific case studies in smaller municipalities.
Speakers discussed how European funding will be handled in the new programming period and what that means for smart projects. Visitors learned how the project introducing artificial intelligence into the city of Žilina’s communications turned out, what measures cities can take towards climate neutrality, and how the Zlín Region in the Czech Republic is making peripheral areas more attractive.
A panel discussion offered interesting perspectives on the host city’s vision for 2050, with participants analysing three scenarios for how Žilina might develop over the next quarter of a century.
Local government staff were also able to try some of the approaches for themselves at a workshop running in parallel.
A European dimension
Na podujatí sa prezentovalo aj Slovenské transformačné a inovačné konzorcium (STICS), ktorého partnerom je Smart Cities Klub. Predstavilo príklady dobrej praxe zo zahraničia aj spôsoby, ako môžu slovenské samosprávy profitovať z expertízy a vzájomného prepájania. Prítomní starostovia sa dozvedeli o rôznych cestách zapojenia, napríklad prostredníctvom programu STICS Follower a hovorilo sa i o jedinečnom projekte Living Labs na testovanie inovácií priamo v samosprávach. Projekt STICS je financovaný EÚ NextGenerationEU prostredníctvom Plánu obnovy a odolnosti SR v rámci Smart transformačné a inovačné konzorcium Slovensko (STICS) č. 09I02-03-V01-00011.
The event also featured the Smart Transformational and Innovation Consortium Slovakia (STICS), of which Smart Cities Klub is a partner. It presented examples of good practice from abroad and ways in which Slovak local authorities can benefit from shared expertise and closer connections. The mayors present learned about the various routes to getting involved, for instance through the STICS Follower programme, and there was also discussion of the unique Living Labs project, which tests innovation directly in local authorities. The STICS project is funded by the EU NextGenerationEU through the Recovery and Resilience Plan for Slovakia under the project Smart Transformational and Innovation Consortium Slovakia (STICS), No. 09I02-03-V01-00011.
The inDays Summit is the flagship event of the Smart Cities Klub initiative. It is a travelling event, and after its debut in Žilina, Michalovce should take over the baton next year.
