Networks and cities' news

REMOTE-IT Podcast: Destination branding

This entry is part of the Remote-IT Playbook series, developed within the URBACT Remote-IT Action Planning Network (Entry 19 of 22).

In the latest episode of the Remote-IT Podcast, host Mark Thomas explores the art and strategy of destination branding with three remarkable guests: Ana Maria Ghita, Consultant for Agile Team Processes and former digital nomad; JoAnna Haugen, solutions-oriented writer, editor, and public speaker focused on sustainable travel and community-based advocacy; and Hildegard Brandl, Owner, CEO, and Architect at UNITH2B Architects.

REMOTE-IT Online Forum: Green Transition and Remote Work

This entry is part of the Remote-IT Playbook series, developed within the URBACT Remote-IT Action Planning Network (Entry 18 of 22).

Remote work and environmental sustainability: aligning new work models with climate goals and city strategies

This entry is part of the Remote-IT Playbook series, developed within the URBACT Remote-IT Action Planning Network (Entry 17 of 22).

REMOTE-IT Podcast: How cities create Integrated Action Plans (IAPs)

This entry is part of the Remote-IT Playbook series, developed within the URBACT Remote-IT Action Planning Network (Entry 16 of 22).

How Cities Create Integrated Action Plans – Lessons from the Remote-IT Podcast

In the latest episode of the Remote-IT Podcast, titled "How Cities Create Integrated Action Plans (IAPs)", host Mark Thomas, editor of The Dubrovnik Times, leads a conversation with URBACT experts and ULG coordinators reflect on their experiences of designing these strategic documents and what makes them truly integrated.

Our guests in this episode are URBACT Lead Experts Alisa Aliti Vlašić (Remote-IT) and Bela Kezy (C4TALENT), joined by ULG Coordinators from the Remote-IT project — Kerttu Ahuna and Markos Kourgiantakis.

For cities unfamiliar with URBACT or the concept of an IAP, this episode offers a valuable behind-the-scenes look into what it means to build a local plan that is collaborative, actionable, and future-proof. An Integrated Action Plan (IAP) is not just another policy document. It is a structured, participatory roadmap that brings together stakeholders across sectors to co-create realistic and relevant local solutions — guided by the URBACT methodology and toolbox.

“An IAP is not only about having a plan. It's about how you create it.”

Digital nomads and sustainable tourism: how can remote work support more balanced, year-round tourism

This entry is part of the Remote-IT Playbook series, developed within the URBACT Remote-IT Action Planning Network (Entry 15 of 22).

REMOTE-IT Online Forum: Gender equality, digital nomads and remote workers

This entry is part of the Remote-IT Playbook series, developed within the URBACT Remote-IT Action Planning Network (Entry 14 of 22).

Remote but not removed: Embedding gender equality in the future of work

Across the EU, at least in part due to the COVID-19  pandemic, people have changed the way they work. Remote and hybrid working, once seen as quite niche, has exploded, and many cities are also racing to attract a new generation of mobile professionals: digital nomads. However, it is not clear if this new future of work will be equally accessible to everyone. Is there a risk that - without intentional action - the flexibility and freedom that remote work promises could easily replicate, or even worsen, longstanding gender inequalities. As EU cities shape their strategies to welcome and retain remote workers and digital nomads, embedding gender equality from the outset will be key to creating inclusive and resilient urban futures.

This article considers some of these questions. It builds upon the extensive work on gender equal cities which URBACT has pioneered and comes from an Online Forum on the same topic, organised by the Action Planning Network - Remote-IT.