Kamila Gamalova

Having spent a significant portion of my life by studying and working in many different countries, I have always enjoyed being in an international environment, observing local way of living, different mindset and exchanging ideas on various topics. I am always developing ideas how could my home country get inspired from abroad and I am also thinking how could the foreign country, I am currently staying in, get inspired from the way things are done in my home country or in other countries I had a chance to visit. I also enjoy when I have an opportunity to facilitate learning exchange between different cultures and help them design new ideas and solutions.

The world is facing increasingly complex societal changes that are even fostered by the Covid-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine and climate changes. I believe that the only way to deal with those challenges is cooperation on international, national and local level. Sustainability is a key success factor so it is important to bring together different stakeholders and work on sustainable urban development by using participation methods and community involvement. Globalization caused that European countries are facing very similar problems and I see a position of URBACT expert as an excellent opportunity how to help cities to share their challenges and learn from each other. They can learn not only from successful solutions but also from failures which allows cities to wisely choose the right urban development methods and tailor it to the needs of their city.