In cities, even two-thirds of public investments in the EU

– The intelligence and knowledge of people who can implement innovations is the most important – said Željko Turk, the mayor of Zaprešić and president of the Association of Cities, opening the second Lider conference ‘Smart cities 2016 – Smart Cities: The Future Starts Now’. He emphasized that smart management is reflected in transparent and intelligent management of city budgets, adding that two-thirds of public investments in the EU occur in cities.

– Time flies, especially regarding digitalization, new solutions and products are constantly emerging, and it is a great skill to choose the best solution for your cities – highlighted Miodrag Šajatović, the editor-in-chief of Lider, emphasizing that a city is smart to the extent that its citizens live well.

We will learn about the situation in Croatia firsthand from the mayor of Koprivnica, Vesna Želježnjak, the mayor of Pula, Boris Miletić, and the mayor of Rijeka, Vojko Obersnel. Alongside them, the Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds, Tomislav Tolušić, will speak about smart cities in the context of regional development and the possibilities of co-financing with EU funds, while Georg Houben, a representative of the European Commission in DG Energy responsible for smart cities and communities, will provide the European Commission’s perspective on financing opportunities for smart solutions in cities.

Alexey Ershov, Vice President of IBM responsible for the Smarter Cities business in Europe, will discuss the revolution of mobile applications and new technologies that enable cities to communicate with citizens at an unprecedented level.

The goal of the conference is to gather representatives of cities, owners of smart solutions, the academic community, and the public sector to work together on the development of smart cities and administrations in general, thereby achieving significant financial and energy savings while reducing environmental pollution. There will also be discussions on smart tourism, and a Business Smart Networking event has been organized, where participants will be able to learn more about various interesting smart projects and possible ways to plan and finance their projects.