Members of the European Commission provided a thorough overview of the EU policy landscape related to urban data gouvernance (DG CNECT) as well as the Interoperable Europe Act and its implications for local administrations (DG DIGIT). With the commission’s new mandate, it was an important moment to have an overview of the current state of affairs, as well as some information regarding the forthcoming projects, legislative proposals and areas of particular interest for digital development over the next 5 years.
The digital development management team also met with two of our european networks, Eurocities and Open and Agile Smart Cities (OASC). Eurocities presented the activities related to the digital forum (one of six forums within Eurocities) and their role in the deployment of the activities related to the Living.in.EU declaration, while Open and Agile Smart Cities (OASC) presented their network and activities particularly in the field of Minimum Interoperability Mechanisms (MIMs).
In the afternoon, we were guests at the premises of the City of Brussels, for concrete experience exchanges with the City as well as the Region regarding the topics of data, smart cities, cybersecurity and digital twins.
The day enabled our digital development management team to adopt a birdseye view on all things digital in Brussels. Through the provision of an EU policy landscape overview by members of the european commission, a presentation of the activities and focus-points of our european networks, as well as an insight into the operational aspect of digital development and gouvernance by local administrations, Lille Metropole’s digital development management team returned to Lille Metropole with replenished energy, updated information and precious contacts which will continue to facilitate and strengthen Lille Metropole’s digital transition.
Located just 35 minutes away by high-speed train, Lille Metropole is a short journey away from the european hub of Brussels. This enables agents to easily come to Lille Metropole’s Brussels representation to ensure that the strong links and connexions with both the European and Brussels stakeholders continue to develop and flourish.
The following week, two members of Lille Metropole’s digital development team took part in the Urban Digital Twins training programme, a collaborative effort between the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and Eurocities. You can read more about that right here.