Mexico. More than 200 cities, an equal number of speakers, 120 companies and 10,000 visitors, were part of the Smart City Expo Latam Congress (SCELC), the Latin American summit of smart cities that was held in the Mexican city of Puebla from June 27 to 29.
For three days the city became the capital of smart cities during which they addressed the challenges faced by large cities with a specific focus on the needs and particularities of Latin American cities.
The programme included a total of 50 lectures including 6 plenary sessions and 21 parallel sessions. Among the most prominent speakers were José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, former president of the government of Spain; Rosario Robles Berlanga, Secretary of Agrarian, Territorial and Urban Development of the Mexican government; Andreu Veà, president of the Internet Society Spain; and Aníbal Gavíria, former mayor of Medellín, among others.
The Congress was complemented by an exhibition space of 12,000 m2 in which 120 companies, cities, institutions and universities, showed their most outstanding products, initiatives and projects. In the center of this space was located the Smart City Plaza, an area of 800 m2 where some smart urban solutions designed to promote networking, host the presentations of the Smart Forum and find a space to exchange ideas and proposals and even promote projects were exhibited.
The congress program was structured in 5 thematic axes: Sustainable territories, Participatory and equitable society, Digital entrepreneurship and economic development, Territorial planning and mobility, and Technology for intelligent management.
Smart City Expo Latam Congress was born from the evolution of the Smart City Expo Puebla in 2016, an event that was promoted by the then mayor of the city of Puebla, Tony Gali, who currently, as Governor of the State of Puebla, is the main promoter and public host of the event.
International expansion
With Smart City Expo Latam Congress, Fira de Barcelona continues its strategy of international expansion of Smart City Expo World Congress through a series of international events. After several editions of Smart City Expo in America and Asia, the Smart City Expo Istanbul, Smart City Expo Kyoto, Smart city Expo Casablanca also saw the light, and in September the first Smart City Expo Buenos Aires will be held. All these events reinforce SCWEC's position as a leading international summit in the smart cities sector. The seventh edition of SCEWC will be held at fira de Barcelona's Gran Via venue from 14 to 16 November.
