Networks and cities' news

Leaving No-one Behind in a Digital World

Technology is a marvellous thing. The Covid-19 pandemic has helped us to take a huge leap forward in embracing digital technology in all walks of life. From remote working, to online shopping, to greater acceptance of digital signatures, submitting our tax forms online, video-calling our friends and family in other countries with just a few clicks, using digital tickets for trains and buses, social gaming with our friends online, and fast contactless payments with one tap of our smartphone. Life has never been smoother.

Or has it….?

Digital solutions are making a huge difference to our lives. But not everyone experiences those differences in a positive way. What if you don’t have a smartphone? Or don’t have internet at home? What if you’ve never learnt to use a PC or tablet? What if you fear getting scammed and your money stolen, like your friend did last year…?!

For so many people in our communities, technology is not a marvellous thing – it’s something which makes them feel excluded and makes life more difficult.

BiodiverCity: Community-based approaches to foster urban biodiversity

In the bustling cities of our Network, a remarkable initiative called BiodiverCity is taking root. With a vision to harness the power of nature-based solutions, BiodiverCity aims to measure biodiversity and account for the related ecosystem services to design and scale up transformative projects. The partner cities of this URBACT project envision a future where vibrant urban ecosystems and community-driven actions harmoniously coexist.

DIGI-INCLUSION Network 1st Transnational Meeting in Mollet del Vallès

The 1st Transnational meeting of the DIGI-INCLUSION network was held in Mollet del Vallès on November 13th, 14th and 15th and was attended by delegations from all the network partners:

- Mollet del Vallès (Lead Partner).

- Jelgava Local Municipality (Latvia).

- Alexandroupolis (Greece).

- Municipality of Torres Vedras (Portugal).

- Gdansk Entrepreneurship Foundation (Poland).

- Iași (Romania).

- Boulogne sur mer Développement Côte d'Opale (France).

- Lepida ScpA (Italy).

- Department for Development and International Projects of Zenica- Doboj Canton (DDIP ZDC) (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

As well as the participation of URBACT Secretariat Director, Teofil Gherca.

The FEMACT-Cities Action Planning Network: Addressing the implementation gap in gender equality policy

Why are we still talking about gender equality?

2024 will mark the 25 year anniversary of the Pact of Amsterdam, the legal document which made gender equality compulsory in the European Union. But even before that, gender equality policy had been enacted on national and regional levels in the member states. So why are we still talking about gender equality?

Haven‘t we moved beyond this topic yet?

Unfortunately, the reality is that not only haven‘t we closed the gap between men and women in wages, pensions, school achievement, participation in STEM fields, number of political representatives, and many other topics, in fact, recent data from the European Institute on Gender Equality (EIGE) shows that progress on gender equality in the EU-27 stalled or was in some places even negative between 2019 and 2022, due largely in part to the gendered effects of the pandemic.

I’ve been to Härnosänd and seen the future of urban planning – through a VR Headset. And it will soon be coming your way.

The METACITY Action Planning Network has gotten 10 cities thinking about the future of urban planning and how can new digital technologies, such as the metaverse or Artificial Intelligence (AI), contribute to shape it. As the Lead Expert of the network, I have travelled to one of the Partner Cities – Härnosänd in Sweden - and discovered that virtual reality can be both magnificent and scary.

Ready for Action! Meeting, 15-16 November 2023

Municipality of Rethymno organized the “Ready for Action! Meeting”, on November 15th-16th in Rethymno Crete.