SIDE EVENTS

the International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme promotes decentralized international urban and regional cooperation focused on sustainable development and innovation. During SCEWC 2025, its Global Thematic Networking Workshop will bring together 248 delegates from 124 cities and regions to co-create pilot projects around three pillars: Smart & Connected, Green & Clean, and Just & Inclusive.

This session emphasises the crucial role of road safety engineering in tackling the global crash crisis, in line with the 2030 Agenda and the UN’s Second Decade of Action. It explores safe infrastructure, road audits, inspections and the Safe System approach, while advocating stronger institutions, professionalisation of auditors, and international standards, especially in LMIC's. Note that this session will be delivered in English.

This session emphasises the crucial role of road safety engineering in tackling the global crash crisis, in line with the 2030 Agenda and the UN’s Second Decade of Action. It explores safe infrastructure, road audits, inspections and the Safe System approach, while advocating stronger institutions, professionalisation of auditors, and international standards, especially in LMIC's. Note that this session will be delivered in Spanish.

Productive, Smart and Connected is a closed IURC thematic session with mandatory attendance for assigned participants. Cities and regions will join one of 11 clusters (90 mins in 3 rooms) based on thematic networks: PORTICO (cities) and S3 Platforms (regions). Topics include Mobility & Transport, Strategic Sectors, Urban Innovation, and Agri-food.

Green and Clean is a closed IURC thematic session with mandatory attendance for assigned participants. Cities and regions will join one of 11 clusters (90 mins in 3 rooms) based on thematic networks: PORTICO (cities) and S3 Platforms (regions). Topics include Clean Energy, Blue Economy, Circular Economy, and Climate Adaptation.

Just and Inclusive is a closed IURC thematic session with mandatory attendance for assigned participants. Cities and regions will join one of 11 clusters (90 mins in 3 rooms) based on thematic networks: PORTICO (cities) and S3 Platforms (regions). Topics include Urban Regeneration, Affordable Housing, Industrial Modernisation, and Civic Participation.

As urban systems face growing pressures, shocks, and stresses, urban resilience must evolve into an integrated cycle of action. This session showcases cities' experiences and concepts of the resilience cycle and the pillars of UN-Habitat resolution 9/2: early warning, foresight, risk reduction, crisis response, and post-crisis recovery and reconstruction. Organized by the UN-Habitat City Resilience Global Program and Barcelona City Council.

This roundtable discussion will explore strategies for boosting cybersecurity within urban environments. We will focus on identifying key takeaways for Central and Eastern European (CEE) cities, drawing upon the experiences and lessons learned from their Western and Northern European counterparts.

This session examines AI’s dual role in sustainable urban development: its promise for climate action and its hidden environmental and social costs. Participants will explore the sustainability paradox of urban AI and leave with practical strategies for implementation that are intelligent, equitable, and ecologically responsible.

More information https://www.cidob.org/actividades/scewc-side-event-ai-environmental-footprint-between-hidden-costs-and-green

Register for our interactive workshop on fragmentation in the mobility sector jointly organised by EIT Urban Mobility and the ITF. Fragmentation is a major source of inefficiencies leading to poorly coordinated services, longer transit times and the inefficient use of public funds. More information and registration under this link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/efWhweEBPs

A space for exchange between Ibero-American local government officials who will share practical cases and experiences on how they are governing the use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and digital infrastructure, from a public, ethical, and strategic perspective.
The activity is part of the CIDEU Smart City and Digital Transition Micronetwork, comprised of cities from various Ibero-American countries.

The MaaS Alliance Partnership Forum & MaaS STAR Awards is a high-level event to mark the 10 years anniversary of the Association and to introduce the new and re-activated decade of the Alliance to stimulate interaction and dialogue with all stakeholders in the field of Mobility to advance with seamless multimodal mobility offers with user needs at its heart.

This event offers the opportunity to connect with the Latin America Smart Cities community, including industry experts, companies and local leaders, to exchange insights on how innovative technology and green infrastructure can accelerate economic and social development. 

This closed-door session brings together public authorities within the EIT Urban Mobility network for an engaging exchange on innovation in urban mobility. Through focused thematic discussions and interactive networking, participants will explore solutions to critical challenges shaping urban mobility and identify areas where collaborative efforts can drive impactful, city-led innovation.

This event showcases the MAIA project’s results on potential demand for air mobility services and shared autonomous shuttles to access airports, and algorithms to best locate vertiports and dispatch autonomous vehicle fleets to answer that demand. It engages the audience to exploit these results in support of European, national, and local policy goals. Register HERE

Discover the future of ultra-fast, sustainable transport at the Hyperloop Conference — the global meeting point for pioneers redefining mobility. Connect with leading experts, startups, investors, and policy makers from the EU and beyond who are shaping the framework for next-generation transport. Experience inspiring talks, hands-on workshops, and networking that will accelerate your vision of tomorrow’s connected, zero-emission world.

A meeting between international elected representatives, exchanging about AI projects for public policies, and how AI can contribute to the mission of public entities

This roundtable brings leading voices from cities, academia, and industry to exchange on key priorities in future urban mobility research current research gaps identified in the first report of the EIT Urban Mobility Academic Research Board (ARB). The session is designed as an open dialogue and closes with a networking session.

This event showcases the MUSE project’s results on assessing the impacts of Urban Air Mobility deployment on citizens’ quality of life and developing tools for cities and regions to better decide on priorities and service design. It engages the audience to exploit these results in support of European, national, and local policy goals. Register HERE

Meeting for FIA member Clubs to learn and share experience on urban mobility best practices

This session showcases how pioneering cities and organisations are leveraging space data, geo and geo-AI tools for environmental and climate action, for enhanced urban sustainability. City leaders, industry experts, and geo-AI practitioners will present real-world case studies, discuss how to transform data into actionable strategies, and chart the future of a low-carbon and climate-resilient urban growth. The session will delve into data-driven technologies, scenario modeling, and highlight the vital role of both technology and communities in sustainable city planning.

The workshop aims at presenting key case studies on the integration of GEOAI into traditional urban planning processes which can help urban practitioners globally to identify pathway and optimization into their urban planning processes. Stakeholders representing urban practitioners, cities, city networks, private sector and national governments are invited to contribute to the methodology and the step-by-step guidance contained in the Toolkit

The Malaysia Networking & Closed-Door Roundtable Session will be held on the first day of MDEC’s participation at SCEWC Barcelona (4–6 Nov). Designed for 40-45 participants in a U-shape setup, the 2-hour session features 1 hour of focused roundtable discussion and 1 hour of networking. It brings together 7 Malaysian representatives and 35-38 EU invitees, with invitation support from Fira Barcelona.

The convening of the Coalition of Global City CIOs at the Smart City Expo and World Congress forms part of a programme of activities taking place in Barcelona. This is the second convening of the group of digital and innovation leaders from major European cities this year.