11 Oct PRESS RELEASE
New Nordic/Baltic/UK smart city alliance, led by Tech Nordic Advocates, BLOXHUB, LOOP City, Zumtobel Group and other partners, launches in Copenhagen
Copenhagen – 11 October 2017
On 11-12 October, a new Nordic/Baltic/UK smart city alliance – “#SmarterCitiesNOW: A Sustainable Urban Development Collaboration Forum”, launches in Copenhagen, fronted by Tech Nordic Advocates, BLOXHUB, LOOP CITY, Zumtobel Group, the Mayor of London, Future Cities Catapult and Ravensbourne. The launch event and activities are co-funded by the Capital Region of Denmark, Copenhagen Capacity and DONG Energy.
#SmarterCitiesNOW aims to facilitate collaboration and new/scaling opportunities for businesses and organisations involved in the smart city space across the Nordics, Baltics and UK, led by Copenhagen and London.
Says Jeanette Carlsson, Founder and Chair, Tech Nordic Advocates:
“We’re very excited to be launching #SmarterCitiesNOW in the Nordics/Baltics with Greater Copenhagen as the focal point for the collaboration. Organisations involved in the smart city space across the Greater Copenhagen region and our Nordic/Baltic network, have expressed a need for a structured framework for knowledge sharing, networking and collaboration across the Nordic/Baltic smart city ecosystem and country borders, with a coordinated approach to partnerships with other pioneering smart cities, such as London”
Michael Ferm, Chair of Tech Nordic Advocates’ Smart City/IOT working group and Head of Global Public Lighting, Zumtobel Group adds: “Our 270 strong working group has told us: Since we’re all working on the same challenges, why not work together? That’s what #SmarterCitiesNOW is all about. Zumtobel Group is a leading company in the lighting industry and we see the value to utilize the lighting infrastructure to support solutions within the smart city environment. And it’s only possible with an ecosystem of partners. We look forward to driving the collaboration forward”
The #SmarterCitiesNOW collaboration will be supported by a digital networking and collaboration platform, to complement the collaboration’s physical activities, with the vision to become the de facto platform for smart city networking and collaboration across the Nordic/Baltics.
Christian Bruhn Rieper, Deputy CEO of the Capital Region of Denmark, says:
“I look forward to the SmarterCitiesNOW launch event and the great opportunities to connect and exchange experience with other leading international Smart City environments. It will be inspiring to meet representatives from the Nordic countries and London’s strong tech scene. In Greater Copenhagen, we have a vision to become an international hub for investment, knowledge and smart digital solutions. We see great potential and have great ambitions in this field.”
The venue for the #SmarterCitiesNOW launch is BLOXHUB, the leading Copenhagen co-working space and professional community for sustainable urban development and home to Tech Nordic Advocates. Says Torben Klitgaard, Director, BLOXHUB:
“The overall goal is not to invent more software – but to learn from the experiences using the software. In order to do that, we need to collaborate across sectors and across borders.”
The #SmarterCitiesNOW launch event will be attended by representatives from the Nordic and Baltic countries and the UK, led by the Mayor of London’s office, Future Cities Catapult, Ravensbourne and pioneering councils. “The London Mayor’s international business programme is delighted to support #SmarterCitiesNOW and building business relationships between the two great cities of London and Greater Copenhagen”. Mark Walker, London Mayor’s International Business Programme.”
MEDIA ENQUIRIES
To attend the launch event and for press & media enquiries, please email:
BLOXHUB
Chief Communications Officer, Kristine Barenholdt Bruun kbb@bloxhub.org, +45 20813695
Tech Nordic Advocates
Info@technordicadvocates.org +45 51 27 89 78
NOTES TO EDITORS
About
Tech Nordic Advocates is Northern Europe’s largest – and only pan-Nordic/Baltic – network of 700 tech leaders, including startups, founders, entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, established tech co leaders, accelerators, experts, public sector organisations and policy makers, working together to grow the Nordics and Baltics into a leading global tech/startup hub, through strong support for startups, cross-ecosystem and cross border collaboration and promotion of Nordic/Baltic businesses and solutions to other global tech hubs, through Global Tech Advocates – Tech Nordic Advocates global parent network. Tech Nordic Advocates’ Secretariat is based at BLOXHUB in Copenhagen, with homes in all leading startup hubs across the Nordics/Baltics. Tech Nordic Advocates’ 280 strong Smart City/IOT working Group aims to stimulate collaboration and growth opportunities across the Nordic/Baltic smart city/ecosystem, in partnership with other pioneering smart cities such as London. For more information, visit. www.technordicadvocates.org
The Capital Region of Denmark provides regional development for 1.7 million people or approx. 30% of the population of Denmark, in addition to healthcare, mental healthcare and research. Smart Growth is a key theme in the regional development strategy. The capital region is part of Greater Copenhagen, which is a collaboration between local authorities and regions in Southern Sweden and Eastern Denmark focused on generating growth. For more information, visit www.regionh.dk/english/businesses
Ravensbourne is the UK’s leading University Sector, Design and Communication Higher education institution in London, based in a purpose built state of the art, award winning building which brings education and industry together in a unique synergy of creative incubation and interaction. The 2400 students are both students and creative entrepreneurs, engaged in live projects and academic applied research. For more information, visit ravensbourne.ac.uk/
LOOP City is a collaboration between 10 municipalities, the Capital Region and the Danish State on urban and business development along the Ring 3 light rail. The collaboration partners are the Capital Region, Ministry of Transport, Danish Business Authority, and the following municipalities: Lyngby-Taarbæk, Gladsaxe, Herlev, Rødovre, Albertslund, Glostrup, Vallensbæk, Ishøj, Brøndby, Hvidovre. Loop City is a unique Danish example of collaborative, strategic urban management. Its goal is to realise the significant opportunities for urban and business development that the new Ring 3 infrastructure paves the way for. For more information, visit: www.loopcity.dk
BLOXHUB is a co-working space and a professional community for sustainable urban development. BLOXHUB was founded in June 2016 by Realdania, the Danish Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs and the City of Copenhagen. For more information, visit www.bloxhub.org.
Zumtobel Group is an international lighting group and leading player in the field of innovative lighting solutions and components. With its internationally established brands, the Group offers its customers around the world a comprehensive range of products and services. In the lighting business, the Group is the European market leader. Through its lighting components brand, the Group plays a leading role worldwide in the manufacture of hardware and software for lighting systems (LED light sources and LED drivers, sensors and lighting management). The Zumtobel Group Services brand offers a wide range of services such as light contracting, design services, and consultation on intelligent lighting controls and emergency lighting systems, as well as project management of turnkey lighting solutions. For more information, visit: http://www.zumtobelgroup.com/en/
SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter: @TechNordicAdv @BLOXHUBdk @RegionH @RavensbourneUK @Zumtobel_Light #SmarterCitiesNOW
LinkedIn: tech-nordic-advocates