In this context, Smart City Cluster has assumed the role of driver in the “Akademia Neptuno”, where our communication director, Alain Uceda, has guided more than 25 presentations and expert panels. This year, the congress has adopted an innovative format, starting yesterday with the opening speech by Genís Roca, who highlighted that the speed of technology implementation will not be as fast as anticipated, predicting a period of a decade for its full integration.

Smart City Cluster partners, including ESRI, Libelium and Sepalo, contributed with relevant success stories. ESRI presented its geolocation project for waste collection in Madrid, while Libelium addressed its solutions to reduce the environmental impact of traffic in Catalonia, stressing that “less than 15% of the data captured by sensors in cities is neither used nor exploited”.

The first day of the congress also included networking sessions, highlighting the extraordinary effort made by cities, both large and small, to improve services to citizens. Common challenges were highlighted, such as the insistence on working across silos and watertight areas, and the need for a more holistic view.

Pablo Rodríguez Pappalardo from Sepalo was in charge of closing Friday’s session at Akademia Neptuno, explaining the benefits of his platform for inclusive access to government services with an overwhelming fact: 35% of citizens do not have basic digital skills.

At the international level, the commissioner of the Smart City Expo World Congress, Pilar Conesa, gave a presentation on current trends in smart cities, complemented by the keynote of Bettina Tratz-Ryan, who focused on the various European and global resources to strengthen the human vision of digital transformation.

This IV RECI Smart City Congress brought together in Madrid the municipalities that are part of RECI, together with central government entities, the European Commission and other industry players, in a collaborative space where best practices are shared and the challenges of smart cities are addressed.