Declaration “JOIN, BOOST, SUSTAIN” for greater uptake of digital solutions and the creation of the European Way of digital transformation was kicked-off in Oulu

Today top-level decision makers and city officials from leading European cities met to share insights on how cities are exploiting digital solutions in the process of digital transformation to serve their citizens in a user-centric and effective way.

The Oulu Boost Event, where these discussions are taking place, is also the first event kicking-off the signing process of the European Declaration to join forces to boost sustainable digital transformation in cities and communities. ENoLL is promoting the declaration together with the European Commission, Committee of the Regions, Eurocities, Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union and Open and Agile Smart Cities association.

The signing process of the European Declaration kicked-off in Oulu, Finland on 10^th January and will continue online until the Cities Forum in Porto, Portugal on 31^st January 2020 and beyond.

The Major of Oulu Ms. Päivi laajala  is the first signatory of the declaration. The northern city of Oulu is a forerunner in modern technology, especially in advanced radio technology and digital health solutions, and was therefore a perfect choice to host this official side event of Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU. The city has warmly welcomed the initiative and as said by laajala “we are here in Oulu, to join forces to boost sustainable digital transformation in cities and communities in the European Union. In the end, all comes down to cooperation and joint efforts in the hopes of creating better cities for our families.”

The Oulu Boost event was attended by ENoLL Chairperson Fernando Vilariño (Library Living Lab), Vice-Chair Wim De Kinderen (Brainport Eindhoven) and Council Member Tuija Hirvikoski (Laura University). As ENoLL Director Zsuzsanna Bodi pointed out “Living Labs are an ideal framework for testing (digital) innovations, better preparing as such future investments for actual implementation and uptake on large scale; contributing to EU economy”. As such the ENoLL representatives are well positioned to debate best practices of digitalization in cities and communities.

What are supporting organisations saying about the declaration:

“Openness and interoperability are at the core of a responsible and agile municipality in the 21st century. By signing the scale-up declaration, cities and communities across Europe, and beyond, are now coming together to set the terms for AI- and IoT-enabled services. As the chair of Open & Agile Smart Cities I am proud to contribute to the movement. With OASC, we already have a platform for cities to sign up and implement open technology and I invite every municipality to join, boost and sustain.” (Martin Brynskov, Chair of Open & Agile Smart Cities)

“Cities are constantly innovating and coming up with new digital solutions, always with the benefit of people in mind. This initiative offers a chance to give a real boost to replicate and upscale some of these ideas, making it easier to advance both locally and globally.” (Anna Lisa Boni, Secretary General, EUROCITIES)

Sign the declaration: https://living-in.eu/declaration