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 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.

EIT Urban Mobility and the International Transport Forum will organise a foresight workshop to anticipate future trends of relevance in the mobility sector, based on input from the public and private sectors

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.

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.

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.

A full-day workshop exploring the role of GTFS and NeTEX data specifications in the European context. Co-hosted by MobilityData and NAPCORE, the event will feature expert presentations, real-world use cases, and collaborative sessions to strengthen interoperability, support compliance, improve quality of service, and foster a shared vision for sustainable mobility data across Europe.

The celebration of the 5th Spain-India Forum, a high-level institutional and diplomatic dialogue bringing together governmental, business, academic, and technological representatives from the sectors of both countries, is being organised by the Spain-India Council Foundation in collaboration with Barcelona City Council and Fira de Barcelona, on the occasion of the Smart City World Congress.

This roundtable will focus on fostering dialogue between the representatives of Central and Eastern European (CEE) cities. By encouraging mutual learning and strengthening regional networks, the roundtable seeks to enhance the strategic capacity of CEE cities and amplify their voices in broader European and international stages.

Bi-annual regular meeting for members of EIT Urban Mobility's City Club Advisory Group.

The Closing Plenary (Mandatory Participation) will showcase the key outcomes of the Thematic Breakout Sessions, highlighting key insights and results from the 11 thematic clusters. It will bring together all participants to reflect on shared learnings and reinforce future cooperation across regions and cities.

The workshop is designed to support cities in integrating new cooperative, co-created shared mobility models into their SUMP planning process based on the learnings from the HORIZON SUM project. Participants will receive training on SUMP development, listen to SUMP best practices from POLIS members, and learn how to implement the different cooperative, co-created shared mobility business models researched by the project.

Final session of the year for the Innpulso Network’s Working Groups, gathering cities to reflect on progress made, lessons learned and future challenges. The event will feature key voices from the network and cities sharing outcomes from their 2025 collaborative work on innovation, experimentation and public knowledge transfer.

Logistics operations are rarely planned with a smart perspective. This event explores how digitalisation and new technologies are transforming freight, an often-overlooked yet essential sector. Through real cases and dialogue, we’ll show how “smart” starts in everyday logistics — driving efficiency, resilience, and impact, turning freight into something almost futuristic.

This event will bring together city authorities, business associations, SMEs, academia and other experts to explore policies and innovative solutions that help SMEs better prepare for and adapt to disaster risks. Interactive discussions will focus on SMEs' role as users and producers of essential services, access to finance and insurance, risk-informed business models, and leveraging technologies and PPPs for improving their disaster resilience.

Discover how cutting-edge Earth observation and data-driven tools from European projects are transforming coastal resilience and the blue economy. This session will showcase real-world applications in monitoring coastal change, modelling flood and erosion risks, and protecting marine ecosystems—sharing concrete results and lessons to inspire sustainable solutions, with local and regional authorities and ports sharing their stories.