Description

3rd SmartBlueCity Euro-Mediterranean Conference & Exhibition 2018

About the Conference

‘SmartBlueCity’ is established as an important annual Conference, following the successful organization of the first and second events in 2016 and 2017, aiming to bring together city and regional authorities with industry, SME’s, academics and professionals to present information and ideas for smartness and growth in the Mediterranean region.

The Mediterranean region is nowadays considered as a hotspot in many respects, with unpredicted repercussions with regards to the achievement of a sustainable future for its population. More specifically, it is perceived as:

  • An environmental hot spot, trapped into a resource-intensive model overexploiting local resources, especially in the marine part;
  • A climate change hotspot, associated with warming and drying that place severe risks and stresses on socio-economic and natural systems;
  • A biodiversity hotspot, rating quite low as to the percentage of remaining natural vegetation
  • A water hotspot, facing a constantly heightening rate of water stress;
  • A natural risk hotspot, showing high vulnerability as regards disastrous natural events (e.g. floods, earthquakes).
  • An urbanization hotspot, with an intensive and steadily increasing urbanization pattern;
  • A solid waste generation hotspot, producing almost half of EU waste, depicting increasing patterns;
  • An economic recession hotspot, beat mostly by debt crisis, deep recession, and austerity;
  • A brain drain hotspot, with severe socio-economic consequences.
  • A migration hotspot, as a result of the political instability in the Mediterranean neighbourhood.

Coping with emerging risks and reverting undesirable future developments call for trend-breaking efforts that can decrease communities’ ecological footprint and face current resource constraints.

The rapidly spreading smart city paradigm and its potential towards managing many of the above aspects in the Mediterranean Region lies at the core of the 3rd Euro-Mediterranean Conference & Exhibition 2018.

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