Smart City Expo inaugurates its first edition in the Brazilian city of Curitiba

The city of Curitiba will become the capital of smart cities with the celebration of the first edition of Smart City Expo Curitiba, organised by Fira de Barcelona in collaboration with ICITIES and with the support of the city of Curitiba. For two days, and under the title “Innovation as an economic engine for development”, the event will be a meeting point between cities, institutional representatives and companies where the many challenges facing cities today will be addressed.
For two days, 60 international speakers and moderators will debate four main topics: Disruptive Technology, Governance, Digital Innovation and Economic Development and Sustainable Cities of the Future. Close to 30 sessions will be held, including conferences, plenary sessions and parallel sessions, as well as a top-level dialogue between the mayors of Brazilian cities that are at the forefront for the use of smart technologies.
Speakers at the Smart City Expo Curitiba include Carlo Ratti, director of Sensable City Lab, a laboratory affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) which researches how digital technologies are changing how we live in cities. Andre Trigueiro, journalist and expert in environmental geopolitics. And Tia Kansara, director of Replenish Earth, a company that advocates for incorporating sustainability into the economy.
The conference’s exhibition area will highlight a Smart Plaza, designed by Vale do Pinhao, the main innovation and start-up ecosystem of Curitiba, including participation from companies and institutions from the Smart City sector in Brazil and world wide. Activities will be held in this space to promote networking and to make known the solutions proposed by start-ups.
Consolidated internationalisation
Since 2013, Smart City Expo, in addition to Curitiba, has been held in 10 different cities around the world, including Puebla, Buenos Aires and Istanbul. According to the director of Fira Barcelona Internacional, Ricard Zapatero, “with the celebration of Smart City Expo Curitiba, we’re consolidating our internationalisation strategy and contributing to generating value between various global regions in the field of new technologies, sustainability and urban development.”
The eighth edition of the Smart City Expo World Congress will be held from 13 to 15 November in the Gran Via location of Fira de Barcelona.
Barcelona, 28 February 2018