On October 10 and 11 we celebrated in Palma the SECOND EDITION OF THE NATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE RECI. After a successful first edition in Valencia, this year we met again to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the RECI at the Palau de Congressos in Palma, an idyllic setting in which we brought together more than 300 attendees, with more than 100 professionals from public entities of the central government and the European Commission, and 90 technicians from RECI cities and friendly municipalities. 

The RECI Congress was born in 2021 with the objective of bringing together city technicians and all participants in the sector in a collaborative space to share the trends, good practices and challenges presented by Smart Cities. The purpose of the Congress has been to achieve the connection and participation of all our attendees, through the creation of collaboration dynamics that allow us to take action, bringing together in 2 days more than 18 hours of knowledge and learning, with the participation of more than 50 national and international speakers. 

The congress had a space in which we brought together top-level speakers and experts in the latest trends in smart cities, who gave inspiring talks and led debate tables, both national and international. In addition, we have had a practical space in which technicians and representatives of entities participated who presented first-hand their experience in challenging and ambitious projects that have been launched in RECI cities.

During the Inauguration Ceremony, Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza, mayor of Logroño and president of the RECI, valued the 10 years of life of the RECI and stated that “the pandemic arrived and we learned something important: how municipal workers could access and continue doing their work from home.” In his opinion, “technology was seen as an essential element to connect us, and we saw that the country works because the technological infrastructure network is strong and stable.” He explained that the three fundamental elements of the RECI during these 10 years have been to create, grow and care: create new economic opportunities; grow, and there are more and more Local Entities willing to join the RECI and more and more other FEMP networks interested in collaborating in the digitalization process; and care, because Smart cities are cities that care, that put people at the center to make everything easier for them.” 

Two learning days, under the motto “Intelligence for sustainable cities”

The second edition of the RECI Congress was held under the motto “Intelligence for sustainable cities”, highlighting topics such as the digitalization of infrastructure, energy efficiency and mobility, data spaces, disruptive technologies and smart tourism.

The latter has acquired great relevance through Palma, the venue that hosted the Congress, with a specific local table on Digital Transformation in the Balearic Islands. "A territory that looks to the future." In this sense, there was also an inspiring talk on “European tourism data space. Rethinking from the logic of collaboration” taught by Dolores Ordoñez, AnySolution Director and GAIA-X vice president, and another on Smart Tourism. "Towards a new responsible tourism model, taught by Enrique Martínez, president of SEGITTUR.

Regarding the most innovative initiatives of this second edition of the congress, it is worth highlighting the international impact materialized through international participation and presence, specifically through two spaces:

• An international debate table, in which speakers from the European commission debated “Sustainable and intelligent cities towards digital transformation”. 
  
  With the participation of: Martín Olmos, Undersecretary of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Argentina; Maher Shirah, Director General, Smart City Department, Royal Commission for Riyadh City, Riyadh (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia); Cristina Bueti, Counselor, ITU; Bettina Tratz-Ryan, Vice President Research, Gartner1; Cristina Martinez, Deputy Head for Smart technologies for communities, European Commission; Barbara Kolm, Vice President, Austrian Central Bank

• Holding a U4SCC Special Session, a United Nations initiative coordinated by ITU, UNECE and UN-Habitat and supported by 15 other United Nations agencies, which contribute to supporting the development of institutional policies and strategies that promote the use of digital technologies to facilitate digital transformation and the transition towards smart and sustainable cities. 
  
  With the participation of: Sandra Carvao, Chief of Tourism Market Intelligence and Competitiveness, UNWTO; Ramón Ferri, Leader, U4SSC Thematic Group on City Platforms; Alberto Bernal, WG4 Leader, U4SSC Thematic Group on City Platforms; Leonidas Anthopoulos, WG3 Leader, U4SSC Thematic Group on City Platforms; Tania Marcos, Vice-chair, U4SSC

On the other hand, it is worth noting that this year there has been the participation of 8 mayors in 2 mayoral tables under the themes “Climate neutral cities, a shared vision” and “Technology in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. "A unique opportunity", in which they participated

• José de la Uz Pardos, Mayor of the City Council of Las Rozas
• Aída Castillejo Parrilla, Mayor of the City Council of Rivas Vaciamadrid
• José Javier Ruiz Arana, Mayor of the City Council of Rota
• José Francisco Hila Vargas, Mayor of Palma City Council
• Pablo José Hermoso de Mendoza, President of the RECI and Mayor of the City Council of Logroño
• Gema Igual Ortiz, Mayor of the Santander City Council
• Antonio Pérez Pérez, Mayor of Benidorm Town Hall
• Carolina Gracia, Mayor of Orihuela

Rewarding good practices of RECI cities and public-private collaboration

The RECI aims to exchange experiences and work together to develop a sustainable management model and improve the quality of life of citizens, focusing on aspects such as energy savings, sustainable mobility, electronic Administration, care for people or security. 

That is why this edition we have had the participation of 20 initiatives to give visibility and value the good practices that are being carried out at the national level, which have been voted on and valued by attendees. On the last day of the event, Daniel Vega, Technical Secretary of the RECI, proceeded to present the following awards:

• Group 1 Award - Government, Social Innovation and Smart Economy: GOOD PRACTICE TORRENT CITY COUNCIL, The governance of the Urban Agenda and the need to manage project monitoring.

• Group 2 Award - Green City: Sustainability and Infrastructure: GOOD PRACTICE LAS ROZAS CITY COUNCIL, Implementation of a centralized building facilities management system using SCAD system.

• Group 3 Award - Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence: GOOD PRACTICE BARCELONA CITY COUNCIL, Drones in the air! Conclusions and experiences of the first 400 hours of flight.

• Connection Space Award - Public-private collaboration, real projects of companies with the Administration: GOOD PRACTICE NEXUSGEOGRAPHICS, RECITTY, Smart Cities platform for municipal energy efficiency, together with Ajuntament de Viladecans and Ajuntament del Prat de Llobregat.

Entities sponsoring the event