The city of Nice (France)  is organizing the second international conference for intelligent and sustainable cities “Innovative City Convention” on June 18 and 19 2013. Nice is a pioneering city in France in terms of smart cities. Many innovative projects are  already in operation  in the fields of urban mobility, smart energy networks, smart buildings and citizen participation.

This conference is giving a priority to the cities  by inviting  representatives of local authorities (mayors, project managers, …)  from different countries to share their experience. Attending the conference gives an opportunity to:

• have access to an innovation springboard (techniques & technological -behavioural and societal – economic & managerial);
• capture target and growth markets in France and abroad;
• share good practices to be set up to meet the needs of monitoring and managing cities.

More information on the Innovative City Convention are available here.

The Smart Cities Annual Conference will take place on 5 and 6 June in Budapest, Hungary. This year’s Smart Cities Annual Conference wants to affirm itself as a unique occasion for cities and solutions providers to meet and discuss the future shape of the European urban landscape.

The programme of the Smart Cities Annual Conference is rich and diversified: it alternates keynote speeches with workshops and networking sessions. The first day is fully devoted to discussing Key Innovations among the relevant stakeholders: technology providers on one side and cities as users on the other, with particular attention to matchmaking possibilities. The second day focuses instead on discussing achievements and developments of the Platform itself. More information on the conference are available here.

The European Project ICT4E2B Forum will be organising a conference The Role of ICT for Energy Efficient Buildings – A Contribution to Horizon 2020, that will take place on February 28th 2013 in the premises of the European Parliament, Brussels. Main Themes of the conference:

• The debate about the role of ICT for Energy Efficiency in Horizon 2020 is opened up by Francesco De Angelis – member of European Parliament
• Discussion and Roundtable about the final Roadmap of ICT4E2B Forum, identifying challenges and innovation priorities of ICT for Energy Efficient Buildings
• Shaping and aligning European Innovation agendas with industrial stakeholders and public authorities at local, national and European level
• Relevant European initiatives to build an Innovation Eco-system

More information on the conference are available here.

The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre is launching an initiative on scientific support to growth and jobs, starting with a conference dedicated to “Scientific support to EU growth and jobs: Efficient buildings, vehicles and equipment”.

Europe faces unprecedented challenges, and the need to return to economic growth and job creation is critical to recovery from the current crisis. European efficient buildings, vehicles and equipment are three key sectors that present a real opportunity to boost Europe’s competitiveness and contribute to economic development while promoting long-term sustainability at the same time. They have the potential to trigger investment and innovation, leading to economic growth and jobs. However, on the way to shifting to a more efficient approach, there is still a need for additional scientific support from the public as well as the private sector. The main aim of this event is to identify where scientific support is needed.

More information on the event are available here.

The next Project Steering Committee meeting will take place in Athens, Greece on May 22nd and 23rd 2013.

The meeting will be hosted by the National Technical University of Athens and will include a visit to one of the demonstration facilities in Lavrion Technological and Cultural Park. More information including meeting’s agenda will be available in April.