Evening reception and buffet dinner at Helsinki City Hall 18:00–19:30.
Helsinki city hall is located next to Market Square, address is Pohjoisesplanadi 11–13.

European cities need to come together as a leading problem-solving network with active knowledge exchange and drive to create concrete solutions to globally critical challenges. The European community is built on the common values of peace, equality and joint liability. Our cities are the glue that makes sure these values stick and are progressively taken forward in our city strategies and plans and actioned so, that they have both global and local impact.

During the first day, renowned experts on integration, urban policy and urban planning present their views on the power of co-creating our cities, the meaning of high quality urban environments and the rapid digital transformation reshaping our cities. How are we turning innovation and inspiration into lasting, positive impact in our cities?

9:30–12.00

9.30 
Opening words
Moderators Tuuli Kaskinen & Henrik Suikkanen, Demos Helsinki

9:40 
Opening speech
Jan Vapaavuori, Mayor of Helsinki

10:05
Keynote 1: Urban Century? Territorial Politics as Integrative Approach
Dr. Joan Clos, Former Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme UN-Habitat

10:35
Keynote 2: The Vienna Story: Planning a Smart, Open and Inclusive City in Divisive Times
Maria Vassilakou, Deputy Mayor of Vienna (2010–2019), Advisor

11:05 
Keynote 3: Co-creating the city: local action for global change
Marko Peterlin, Co-founder and a director at IPop

11:25 
Panel discussion

11:55
Closing the morning session
 

12:00–13:00 Lunch break

13:00–16.00

13:00
Opening the session

13:10
Keynote 1: Europe needs to pioneer a new system of data ownership 
Francesca Bria, Founder DECODE project, Visiting Professor IIPP, UCL London, former CTO Barcelona

13:40
Interview with Francesca Bria

13:50
Keynote 2: How Radical Feminist Care, Anti-Colonial and Anti-Capitalist Actions might Save Our Cities
Tunde Adefioye, City-dramaturg at KVS, City Theatre of Brussels

14:20
Interview with Tunde Adefioye

14:30–15:00 Coffee break

15:10
Keynote 3: Building Better Cities in the Age of the Climate Crisis
Brent Toderian, TODERIAN urbanWORKS

15:40
Interview with Brent Toderian

15:50–16.00
Closing the day

Cocktails @Allas Sea Pool from 17.30 onwards

Allas Sea Pool Wine & Dine
Katajanokanlaituri 2A, 00160 Helsinki
 

Cities have an active role in shaping European urban politics and cities must strengthen their role as an active partner with the EU alongside the member states. The EU is only as strong as its cities and neighbourhoods are.

The morning session invites European city leaders to discuss how European cities are achieving common targets set by the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the EU Urban Agenda and what are the key priorities for European Cities in the transition to post- 2020 Europe. 

The afternoon session is about embracing the idea, that cities are our ever-changing user platforms, where power is shared to create valuable solutions and innovations that are owned by our citizens. The parallel sessions structure around meaningful digitalization and open data, creating local resilience, fostering innovation and working together cross-regionally to produce stronger city regions. Professionals from different European cities and various city sectors present how they see their work as a tool for creating an impact towards sustainable city futures.

09:00–11:00

9:10
Opening speech: Keeping up with rapid change – responsive and responsible urban solutions

9:10
Jari Partanen, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland

9:20
Jyrki Katainen, Vice President of the European Commission responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness (video greeting)

9:30
Leaders’ session: Cities as a glue of the EU – Conversation between European City Leaders

Anna Lisa Boni, EUROCITIES Secretary General
Henk Bouwman, Secretary General, METREX
Dennis Wedin, Vice Mayor for Housing and Real Estate, City of Stockholm
Andrei Novikov, Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning and Transport, Tallinn
Anni Sinnemäki, Deputy Mayor for Urban Environment, City of Helsinki

10:55
Closing words
 

11:00–12:00 Lunch break

12:00–14:30
 

Introduction to the afternoon session:
Mari Vaattovaara, Director of Helsinki Institute of Urban and Regional Studies

Parallel sessions – What is your impact?
 

Session 1: Opening data and sharing information

Moderator: Irma Karjalainen, HSY, Metrex

Transforming the Paris Region. How much data do we need?
Paul Lecroart, Senior Urban Planner, Planning Agency for the Paris Metropolitan Region

Open Helsinki: Enhancing the urban development with open data
Tanja Lahti, Project manager of Helsinki Region Infoshare

Whose knowledge counts? Cities for people, with people
Maarit Kahila, CEO and co-founder of Maptionnaire, Helsinki

Supporting the understanding of complex urban challenges through social networking
Susa Eräranta, Architect, D.Sc. (Tech.) in Strategic urban planning, City of Helsinki
 

Session 2: Making resilient neighbourhoods

Moderator: Kaisa Schmidt-Thomé, Senior Expert in Urban Transformations team at Demos Helsinki

Cellular city prospect – how neighborhoods are arranged for sustainability
Seppo Junnila, Professor of Real Estate Business at Aalto University, Finland

Martin Barry, Founder and Chairman at reSITE

Schools for impact: Education as a tool for equal opportunities in urban neighbourhoods
Venla Bernelius, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in Urban Geography at the University of Helsinki
 

Session 3: Enabling digital innovation

Moderator: Theo Blackwell, Chief Digital Officer, London

Which digital transition will we enable?
Nikolaos Kontinakis, Project Coordinator, Researcher, Eurocities

From cholera to digitalization - City of Helsinki as an innovation platform 
Mikko Rusama, Chief Digital Officer, City of Helsinki

Digital Twins of the City
Jarmo Suomisto, Manager of Helsinki 3D+, City of Helsinki

MegaSense: Scalable Air Pollution Sensing in Megacities
Sasu Tarkoma, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Helsinki 
 

Session 4: Metropolitan development and co-ordination

Moderator: Henk Bouwman, Secretary General, Metrex

Metropolitan Coordination Masterplans in the Greater Lyon – Playing the cards to engage stakeholders
Sebastién Rolland, Urban Planner, Urbalyon

Sure – the Discovery of a megaregion
Erik Pasveer, Head of City Planning, City of the Hague

Helsinki –  Planning networks on different levels
Rikhard Manninen, Head of Urban Planning Division, City of Helsinki

City Regionalism as a Strategy of Urbanization
Sami Moisio, Professor of Spatial planning and Policy, University of Helsinki

Vienna metropolitan region: steady steps towards cooperation
Kurt Mittringer, Head of Section Urban and regional Development, City of Vienna
 

Closing the conference, coffee and networking 

Rikhard Manninen, Head of Urban Planning division, City of Helsinki
Tuuli Kaskinen & Henrik Suikkanen, Demos Helsinki

Programme PDF
 

* The Conference organiser reserves the right to change speakers, programme content date and venue, if and when required.