The Beyond 2020 Forum took place between the 22^nd and the 24^th of June in LISPOLIS – Association for the Technological Pole of Lisbon, Portugal.

Over three days different topics affecting our cities like Smart Cities, Urban Policies, Urban Agenda, Civic Participation, Entrepreneurship, Smart Mobility were discussed. The conference, attended by some current and former ENoLL members, highlighted the role of the Human being at the core of city transformations through a number of national and international case studies.  Thanks to these cases attendees discovered how citizens are increasingly involved in their neighbourhoods to build a better city in a co-creative, participative way. Around 150 people attended the conference and its sessions, visited the exhibition area and linked to other professionals.

One of the most interesting presentations was delivered by Caron Atlas, (Director at Arts & Democracy, New York), who presented Newyorkese initiatives like the Laundromat project, aiming to use arts and culture that already exist within communities to solve local problems, organise social activities and enhance citizens’ sense of ownership. Audience was also fascinated by Tuula Antola’s introduction (City of Espoo, Finland) to Espoo Innovation Garden, an initiative preparing a seedbed for creating new jobs and a good strong living environment in the spirit of co-creation with companies, communities and residents.

The conference combined presentations from well-known public actors with private players like Vodafone. The multinational joined the conference to present its machine-to-machine strategy, an all-new, fast growing technology for smarter cities particularly focused on mobility and the automotive sector.

During Beyond2020 different sessions were dedicated to MyNeighbourhood and the Human Smart Cities Network of which ENoLL has been working with and linked to for numerous years now. The MyNeighbourhood team presented the Human Smart City vision, network and project activities during a number of sessions held on both the 22^nd and the 24^th of June. Participants seemed to be impressed by the way the consortium established close relationship with involved citizens in different European cities (Aalborg, Milan, Lisbon, Birmingham), using Living Lab methodologies to achieve social change and innovate in neighbourhoods.  

The MyNeighbourhood platform, outcome of this 3-year initiative, is a place for neighbours to gather, get to know each other and enjoy the space they share. 25 Europan neighbourhood are already part of it.

Visit the platform online and propose it to your neighbours and municipality: joining MyNeighbourhood is easy, value-adding and for free!