The City of Madrid, present at the Eurocities annual meeting in Espoo (Finland)
Under the motto "An era of new beginnings", the main European network of cities met from June 8 to 10 in Espoo (Finland) to rethink the role of cities in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence and President of Eurocities, opened the meeting, acknowledging that the response of cities to the pandemic and the crisis in Ukraine would be the focus of much of the discussions, organized around the need to "dream, act and lead.” "Dreaming" what the cities of the future will look like, involving young people through the Future Mentors Program, reflecting on the importance of incorporating co-creation processes that contribute to imagining cities that harness the full potential of citizens, the public sector, the associative network, companies, and academia to promote sustainable growth. "Acting" to address the greatest challenge of our time, climate change, using global agendas, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, as tools to develop concrete actions. Examples of this ability to "lead" are the European Green Deal and the Mission of 100 Climate Neutral Cities for 2030.
In one of the keynote speeches, Frans Timmermans (Executive Vice-President of the European Commission) emphasized that cities are at the heart of the fight against climate change and that the transition must be fair; otherwise, there will be no transition.
During the meeting, the Eurocities 2022 Awards were presented, which went to initiatives from San Sebastian ('Innovation Challenge'), Munich (School of Integration and Digital Skills), and Grenoble (Batitec second-hand stores).
Finally, a meeting of mayors and political representatives on the Ukrainian crisis was held, with the participation of Santiago Saura, Councilor for the Delegate Area of Internationalization and Cooperation of the Madrid City Council.
More information: https://eurocities.eu/