Barcelona, iCapital of Europe
The European Commission has recognized the city as the “European Capital of Innovation”
Barcelona has been selected as the winner of the European Capital of Innovation award for its work “introducing the use of new technologies to bring the city closer to citizens”. The European Commission made the official announcement on Tuesday 11 March at the Innovation Convention (#EUIC2014) in Brussels.
The award recognizes the work Barcelona has done using new technology to foster economic growth and the welfare of its citizens. The panel took into account open data initiatives; sustainable city growth initiatives on smart lighting, mobility and residual energy; projects to promote alliances between research centers, universities and public and private partners, and providing better smart services in a flexible, continuous way using ICT to promote innovation in various areas of the city.
A panel of experts chose the iCapital based on criteria of innovation, inspiration, integration and interactivity from the six finalists: Espoo (Finland), Grenoble (France), Groningen (Netherlands), Malaga (Spain) and Paris (France), in addition to Barcelona.
More information on the European Union’s iCapital award is available on their web portal or in the press release.
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