Major Cities of Europe Annual Conference

The conference will be hosted by the Larissa Municipality from November 2 to 4, 2022 at the Municipal Art Gallery. The conference is in person only and in English, while simultaneous translation into Greek will be provided at the plenary sessions.

What makes our annual conference different:

The recent annual conferences were hosted by different European cities: Venice, Leipzig, Zagreb, Florence, Hamburg, Zurich, Ljubljana, Vienna, Prato and Berlin. Up to four hundred delegates from Europe and further afield join each year with significant participation from the hosting country. All Major Cities of Europe conferences received unanimous excellent feedback from the delegates about the quality of the speakers and the relevance of the topics discussed during round tables and world café sessions, but more importantly it was highly appreciated that discussions were open and concerned not only successes but also issues: the delegates like to hear the truth not the spin

Conference overview:

• Unforeseen changes and pressures determine new thrusts and accelerations towards the transformation of cities. The sudden conjunction of external threats such as the pandemic, climate change, energy crisis, war, immigration, refugees, inflation, economic slowdown have created an unexpected situation.
• Fulfilling Local Governments’ response in facing the new challenges, in leading the change and in responding to citizens’ expectations is a priority. How to react quickly with policies, strategies, and investments to manage the situation? How to be prepared for such responsibilities? What are the key elements to succeed? Can digital technologies be the enablers and drivers of transformations in managing citizens’ services, in establishing climate and environmental policies and action plans, in guaranteeing security and resilience towards present and new emergency situations and risks? How to communicate with, involve and include citizens in transforming the city? Are the skills and culture of public servants fit to make the transformations happen?

“From Chaos to Cosmos – Innovative Communities, Places and Cities” is the golden thread of our 2022 conference. Organizers plan to dedicate different sessions to answer to the above multiple questions with testimonials, case studies, workshops, and open debates.

• The main topics in the programme are:
• Building from the learnings of Covid
• Becoming digital by design
• Platforms and data for cities
• Empowering citizens and civil servants
• Creating Smart Places for Smart Living and Tourism
• 100 Climate Neutral Cities, EU Mission
• Breaking barriers between health and social care
• Becoming resilient and secure in the real and cyber worlds
• Special sessions will be dedicated to our communities focused on Cybersecurity and European projects
• Participation is open to local government managers, experts, and practitioners and in general those involved in innovation in Local Governments are welcome. The program specifically targets, Local Government CIOs, Smart city managers, environment managers, security, resilience, and cybersecurity managers.

Why participate?

The independent and non-commercial environment of this pan-European event represents a unique opportunity for participants to engage together with their peers in innovation in Local Government. Due to the friendly and open atmosphere, the Major Cities of Europe conference will offer an excellent opportunity for the participants to engage in informal discussions during the conference breaks, lunches, and dinners, in order to share ideas, initiatives, experiences and learn from each other. Moreover, all delegates will benefit from both the Q&As and the roundtables.