I have 15 years of experience in working on various urban issues, both in Bulgaria, as well as abroad. In terms of sector expertise I feel strongest in the fields of urban and strategic planning, though I have gone in depth on many environmental, social, infrastructural, mobility and many other urban issues. I also have a substantial experience with pursuing resilience, sustainability and the involvement of interest groups. In the last 10 years I have often had a leading role in the projects and initiatives I have worked on - be it a project or a team leader, or a director. This has allowed me to develop strong organisational and communication skills. Moreover I have more than a decade-long experience of forming, motivating and leading teams of experts of different ages, ethnicities, types of expertise and/or position.

 

1️⃣ My current role as a leader of the Team Sofia initiative has given me opportunities to engage with more than 70 experts from various fields, looking for adequate solutions to Sofia’s challenges. Starting in spring 2022, we keep involving various interest groups, have an active contact with the media, as well as with politicians from different political parties. The solutions that we have proposed cover variety of topics - from energy communities and the heat-island effect, through public space management and mobility, to the management of water resources and housing policy. 

 

2️⃣ Between 2017 and 2021, aided by a 30+ strong team of different experts I founded and developed Sofiaplan - Sofia’s municipal spatial and strategic body. I gathered and led this multidisciplinary team, creating a number of municipal strategies, conducting a great number of analysis on a variety of subjects and producing Sofia’s Integrated Development Strategy for the 2021-2027 EU planning period. We consciously dedicated time, effort and resources to making difficult subjects more easily comprehendible by non-specialists and we kept an active public appearance. At that same time Sofiaplan took part in a transfer network, supported by URBACT - Com.Unity.Lab. My role was to coordinate the work that was produced in Sofia and represent the city within the network.

 

3️⃣ Almost parallel to this I led the Vision Sofia 2050 initiative - a proposal made by a group of activists, led by me, and adopted by Sofia’s Municipality. By focusing on the process of an informed dialogue we came to define the long-term goals for Sofia, as well as the steps needed to be taken to reach them. We managed to gather and publish large amounts of data, but also to involve in different ways more than 10 000 people in this process.

 

My previous experience includes leading the ONE ARCHITECTURE WEEK festival, working for architecture offices in different parts of the world and being involved in a variety of activities in the public domain.

 

In the course of the years I developed skills for creating systems - teams, processes, projects, plans. I believe in flexible, ever-evolving systems that take into account as many factors as necessary to work properly. And I believe that the future can be bright as long as we invest in it.

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Beide mogelijkheden hebben :

 

- dezelfde doelstelling,  het verbeteren van de capaciteit van steden om beleid, strategieën en praktijken na te streven die bevorderlijk zijn voor duurzame stedelijke ontwikkeling

 

- dezelfde doelgroep, Belgische steden en gemeenten 

 

- dezelfde kwaliteit, een relatief licht aanvraagdossier en een snelle implementatie. 

 

Als je de sessie in het Nederlands wilt volgen, kom dan vanaf 14.00 uur.

 

Registreer hier.

 

URBACT Good Practices

De URBACT Good Practices oproep heeft tot doel goede praktijken te identificeren die door Europese steden worden toegepast. Goede praktijken in de zin dat ze een positieve impact hebben op lokaal niveau, participatief en geïntegreerd zijn, relevant zijn op EU-niveau en overdraagbaar naar andere steden in de EU. Steden die het label "URBACT Good Practice" krijgen, zullen: 

 

- erkenning krijgen voor uw impactvolle praktijk in duurzame stedelijke ontwikkeling

 

- aan zichtbaarheid winnen op EU- en nationaal niveau 

 

- de mogelijkheid hebben om op te treden als Lead Partner van het URBACT Transfer Network om hun goede praktijk over te dragen aan andere Europese steden en hun praktijk vanaf 2025 verder te verbeteren.

Meer informatie is hier beschikbaar.

 

City-to-City Exchanges

City-to-City Exchanges is een dienst die op een korte termijn de samenwerking tussen twee Europese steden faciliteert. Het concept is om een stedelijke overheid, die geconfronteerd wordt met een specifieke uitdaging op het gebied van duurzame stedelijke ontwikkeling, samen te brengen met een andere stedelijke overheid, uit een andere EU-lidstaat, die de expertise heeft om te helpen bij het aanpakken van dergelijke uitdaging.

 

De uitwisselingen tussen steden zijn bottom-up, op aanvraag. De inhoud, het tijdschema en de vorm van de uitwisseling worden door uzelf bepaald, op basis van uw specifieke behoeften. 

 

Dus, wat zijn de voordelen bij deelname aan dit EUI-programma, voor peer-to-peer samenwerking? 

 

- Kennis door de samenwerking tussen peers. De betrokken experts kunnen uitwisselingen vergemakkelijken, dialogen bevorderen, en creatieve methodologieën voor discussie aanpassen en implementeren.

 

- Vergoeding van reiskosten, waardoor essentiële terreinbezoeken voor de samenwerking mogelijk zijn.

 

De oproep, voor het indienen van aanvragen, is momenteel permanent geopend. De aanvraag is volledig digitaal en verloopt via het EU Survey. Het opstellen van een aanvraag is eenvoudig en vereist weinig voorbereidend werk. 

 

Meer informatie is hier beschikbaar.

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Harald Wouters MSc is an experienced Strategic Advisor on the impact of digital technology on our society and economy. Harald graduated with honours (cum laude) from Utrecht University in Human Geography and succesfully completed Digital Disruption Strategies from Cambridge Judge Business School. Harald Wouters is the founder of WHY Consulting, an agency specialised in digital transformation of the urban sphere. His agency helps public and private actors in their collaborative innovation, digitalisation, as well as sustainability strategies. Currently, Harald is working as an Innovation Broker for the EDIH Dutch Societal Innovation Hub (DSIH), in addition to being an Expert at URBACT and a Project Partner for Interreg North Sea. Previously, Harald has worked as a Digital Transition Expert for the European Commission's Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) initiative. For the Digital Agenda of DIGITALEUROPE, Harald reported on labour mobility of IT workers in the EU. He organised the Week of Innovative Regions in Europe (WIRE) 2016 conference for the commission's DG RTD. Harald co-authored the NL Smart City Strategy, the international Smart City proposition of the Dutch high-tech industry and the granted Dutch public sector application for a European Digital Innovation Hub. 

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At Wageningen University I obtained the degree of Master of Science in Urban Strategic Planning in 2001. I am a curiosity-driven researcher. Why is the landscape put together the way it is, why are some regions downright fantastic and others one prefers to stay away from. The complex web of soil, water, atmosphere and especially man, is like a living organism. Pushing against it in the right places gets it moving. My knowledge of all those processes allows me to move it in the right direction. By knowing “how to read a landscape” I can help to write the next chapter for it. We need to be more careful if we want a healthy urban environment, as landscape too has a maximum loading capacity.
I am ready to help network partners build upon their baseline in pursuit of an integrated action plan, within the APN’s, Transfer Networks and Innovation Transfer Networks. And for ad-hoc missions to focus on the cross-cutting theme Green Transition.  

 

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Pieter Morlion is a dynamic and out-of-the-box-thinking independent professional whose career is characterized by a deep commitment to innovation and mobility and especially: working with enthusiast and skilled experts in different fields.  Pieter has cultivated a diverse and impactful career that spans across various facets of mobility, IT, project management and proposal writing.

With a degree in Languages & Literature and IT, Pieter's academic background is as multifaceted as his professional endeavors. His career trajectory has seen him take on roles from an international project manager at Volvo IT to the founder and manager of the traffic control center for the City of Ghent, where he was responsible for overseeing traffic flows and the integration of innovative mobility solutions and data.

Since October 2021, Pieter has been serving as an independent expert and advisor to the Belgian minister of Mobility, focusing on bicycle data and innovation. His consultancy, MORE LION, reflects his entrepreneurial spirit and expertise in mobility and innovation, offering advisory services to ao. cities like Leuven, Brussels, Antwerp, Hasselt, Liège, Vilvoorde and Mechelen. He has also worked for the European Investment Bank and a

Pieter's projects are a testament to his ability to think outside the box, evidenced by his role as an inventor and patent holder of the Traffic Management as a Service concept. His work has not only garnered attention in the realm of smart city development but has also been recognized by the European Investment Bank and other prestigious institutions.

As a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Pieter has a wealth of experience leading international projects, including the €4.3 million Traffic Management as a Service programme. His leadership extends to the classroom as a lecturer in project management, sharing his knowledge and experience to cultivate new talent in the field.

Fluent in Dutch, French, English, and Spanish, Pieter's communication skills are as impressive as his technical and strategic acumen. His presentations at international conferences and his contributions to the press highlight his ability to articulate complex ideas and engage with a broad audience.

website: www.more-lion.com

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In my work, I am inventive and creative, I think outside of the box and dare to go against the mainstream. I am sincere, reliable and motivated to support good causes selflessly. I would rather focus on others and work on common goals, than putting myself first. This will help me to be a good Lead Expert for any type of URBACT-project. I would like to coach and assist (public) organisations in developing strategies for development of diversity, equity and inclusion. It is a skill I have learned also because I myself belong to a minority, and therefor am familiar with this topic.

Through my experience with the European Regions of Gastronomy network I have been able to share my knowledge on the agricultural sector and the transition taking place in that field. Any food-related project will be in good hands with me.

Last but not least, with 30 years of experience in public administration (about half of that period I was involved in EU project as well) I als know my way around organisational development, mainly focussing on the cultural aspects of any organisation.

For me open mindedness is key, getting to know new points of views and angles, with a good sense of humour. A day without a smile simply is not an option for me!

Besides fulfilling my professional duties I spend most of my time with my teenage children and walking with our dog Pip. Further, I like a good evening out (dancing, just go out for a drink, a movie or theatre, all fine by me). I am a big football fan (#PSV EINDHOVEN) and although it says nothing of my qualities an expert for URBACT-project I would like to finish saying that I am an absolute chocolate lover (#guilty pleasure).

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Passionate about actionable solutions, I actively contribute to finance and citizen engagement in my current role as a Board Member of the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities. 

Funding and Finance

My expertise is based on close collaboration with cities over the years, not only as an expert, but also during my time in energy trading and crowdfunding. 

Engaging stakeholders

Having co-founded and grown a clean energy crowdfunding platform, I have worked closely with utilities, municipalities, ESCOs and schools over the years to help set up and finance energy transition projects.

Examples of my expert work

Examples of my output as an expert on sustainable cities include amongst others:

- Co-authoring the Joint Research Centre's Handbook on Territorial and Local Development Strategies Chapter on Finance and Funding

- Organisation of a workshop on financing during the ESPON seminar on the 'Territorial Perspective of Green Industrialisation'

- Authoring an expert study for the Directorate-General Regional and Urban Policy on the challenges faced by Smaller Cities in Accessing Private Finance for clean energy projects

 

 

 

 

 

 

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