Organized jointly by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Finance Center for South-South Cooperation (FCSSC), “BRIDGE for Cities 4.0 – Connecting Cities through the New Industrial Revolution” took place in Vienna from 3 to 4 September.
An annual event devoted to encouraging knowledge sharing and connectivity among cities, this year’s edition of the event explored the impact of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) and how technology-driven innovation can facilitate the transition towards smart city development.
The two-day event attracted around 800 Participants from over 100 countries. Besides high-level plenaries on particular aspects of the 4IR (urban innovation hubs, circular economy, smart mobility), a Mayors Roundtable led to the adoption of a Declaration of Intent by 15 Cities expressing strong interest to work with UNIDO. A Business Roundtable resulted in the formulation of a Resilience Framework for Projects along the Belt and Road.
To enrich the event, two specific sessions were designed to match regions and cities with similar development challenges. One focused on Metropolis GZM, Poland; Sverdlovsk region, Russia and the Ruhr region in Germany. All three region share a common past linked to mining and heavy industry and now are transitioning to an economic model based on knowledge and innovation. The second matched Shenzhen, China and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, based on the existing sister city agreement. Shenzhen is nowadays a model for cities in the developing world, and Phnom Penh is taking advantage of the expertise available in China while developing its city master plan. This cooperation was sealed through an exchange of letters between the two cities’ representatives.
In parallel, the innovations presented by exhibitors visualized practical solutions, and City-Business workshops facilitated partnerships among previous case cities and other stakeholders. The interaction with the famous humanoid Sophia Robot provided participants with an opportunity to obtain first-hand insights regarding the possibilities and opportunities of artificial intelligence (AI) today.
The event has been the first of UNIDO at the Vienna International Centre to receive the Austrian Ecolabel for Green Meetings and Green Events.
