Track 4: Smart Cities India and Europe
General introduction
'Our Struggle for Global Sustainability Will Be Won or Lost in Cities’, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon stated recently. He is only one of many world leaders, leading scientists and companies, acknowledging that cities can and do play a central role in climate action. Cities of tomorrow are being formed today, determining mobility, energy consumption, resource use, social inclusion and cohesion, for a majority of our world’s population for many decades to come. Tapping into the innovation potential of cities therefore has become a central challenge in developing local and global sustainability. However this challenge is not uniform for every city in the world. There are clear differences in the challenges cities face in different parts of the world. With our choice for Europe and India as focal points, we embrace this diversity in challenges. The focus in this track lies on smart cities as a solution for these challenge. What can smart cities mean for Europe and India in tackling sustainability challenges, is therefore the central question in this track.
Session: Smart Cities India and Europe
COORDINATORS SMART CITIES INDIA:
ANNAPURNA VANCHESWARAN - VENKATESH VALLURI - DIRK FRANSAER
COORDINATORS SMART CITIES EUROPE:
YVES DE WEERDT – HAN VANDEVYVERE
ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION - 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Keynote speaker:
Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri, Ambassador of India to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg
Chair:
Dr M Ramachandran, Former Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India
Co-chair:
Mr Venkatesh Valluri, Chairman and President, Valluri Technology Accelerators
Lead Discussants:
- Ms Valerie Bahr, Project Manager, Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum
- Dr Sumit Chowdhury, Founder & CEO, Gaia Smart Cities
- Mr Dirk Fransaer, Managing Director, VITO
- Mr Joel Fernandes, Regional Director, European Business and Technology Centre- Western Region
- Mr John Russell, Strategy Project Manager, Shell International
- Dr Divya Sharma, Fellow, Sustainable Habitat Division, TERI
- Dr Annapurna Vancheswaran, Senior Director, TERI
Panel 1 : Policy Solutions For The Challenges Of Smart Cities
In the wake of the inherent challenges that urbanisation brings, what innovative policies could be introduced to not only address these challenges but also foster regulated, planned, sustainable and smart urban development?
Panel 2: Applying Innovative Technologies To Achieve Sustainability In Cities/ Potential Of Innovative Technologies To Achieve Sustainability In Cities
The entire global discourse on development is laying emphasis on innovation. What could be the means and channels to bring in innovation in smart city planning? What does India require at present and what can Europe demonstrate?
