💡 How can international knowledge exchange help emerging Smart City initiatives grow and connect with the global community? The Build4People delegation’s visit to the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona provided an excellent opportunity to explore this question in practice.
🏙️ As Build4People’s digitalisation partner, CityLAB Berlin plays an important role in supporting the recently established Phnom Penh Smart City Hub in developing its role as an interface between the city administration and the citizens of Phnom Penh.
🤝 During the Expo, Martin Saram, representing the Phnom Penh Smart City Hub, joined the Build4People delegation. Yannick Müller from CityLAB Berlin made the most of this opportunity by helping open doors and jointly exploring the exhibition. Together, they sought out exhibitors, sessions and topics particularly relevant to the further development of the Phnom Penh Hub and its activities.
🔎 One encouraging observation was how readily exhibitors and city representatives engaged in conversations, shared experiences and established new connections. This made the Expo a valuable platform for building relationships with international Smart City experts and identifying potential opportunities for future cooperation.
🎤 We were also delighted that CityLAB Berlin highlighted the Build4People project and our experience-sharing activities during its presentation at the Expo.
🌆 Beyond the exhibition, Yannick Müller invited our delegation, also including Rolf Messerschmidt from Eble Messerschmidt Partner, to the City Rebels Salon, an evening networking event that offered further opportunities to connect with key players in the international Smart City community. Among those we had the pleasure of meeting were Peter Sailer, Head of the Smart City Network at German International Cooperation (GIZ), and Karen Laßmann, Head of Smart Cities and Data Management at the Berlin Senate Chancellery.
🙏 A heartfelt thank you to Yannick Müller and the CityLAB Berlin team for their generous support and for creating these valuable opportunities. Such connections are essential in helping the Phnom Penh Smart City Hub engage with the international community, exchange knowledge and build partnerships for the future.
🌐 Connecting people, sharing knowledge and building bridges between cities – this is what international cooperation for sustainable urban transformation is all about! 🤝