2016 General Assembly of the EIP on Smart Cities and Communities – speakers announced

EIP roll out initiatives will be at the centre of the programme, both through dedicated initiative meetings and a general implementation outreach strands, where participants have the chance to engage in concrete interactive discussion. Up to 250 participants are already confirmed, with ~450 expected.

The Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc, and the Dutch Minister for Infrastructure and the Environment, Melanie Schultz von Haegen, will open the Assembly. During their high-level conversation they will tackle financial support and how to implement scaling-up, collaboration and investment.

Markku Markkula (President of the Committee of the Regions) is another recently confirmed high-level speaker. He will join the morning panel on investment, together with Iñigo de la Serna(Mayor of Santander, tbc) Karine Dognin Sauze (VicePresident of Lyon), Emma Howard Boyd (Chairman of the Environment Agency) and Pim Van Ballekom (Vice President of the European Investment Bank, tbc).

Also, Vice President of the European Commission, Maros Sefcovic, will be giving the High-Level Note on Smart Cities and the European Energy Union.

For the afternoon panel, Pauline Bieringa (BNG Bank), Edoardo Reviglio (Cassa Depositi et Presto), Catherine Trautman (former mayor of Strasbourg/TEN-T coordinator and former Minister for Culture and Communications in Strasbourg), Marianne Haug (Oxford Institute of Energy Studies) and Jan Olbrycht (MEP) will discuss ‘How to create demand for smart city solutions’.

The General Assembly is jointly organised by the European Commission Directorates-General for Mobility and Transport, Energy and Communications Networks, Content & Technology. It is an official associated event of the Dutch Presidency of the European Council of the European Union.

The Klokgebouw building, venue of this General Assembly, will provide a unique atmosphere for these discussions on finance and investments. Participating at this event will enable you to learn more about and join the different EIP roll-out initiatives that create critical mass in key smart city areas such as smart mobility, energy, lighting or urban platforms. This will be a day full of hands-on discussions and we are looking forward to welcoming you.

Further information on the event can be found on the official site. Registration is open!