The Smart City Expo World Congress took place from 15 to 17 November 2022 – once again held as an in-person event on the grounds of the Fira de Barcelona. Berlin and Brandenburg took part in SCEWC with a joint stand and a total of 16 exhibitors.  A look back at the congress.

The Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) is considered the leading international event for the smart city sector and smart urban solutions. Since 2011, the SCEWC has combined a trade fair format with a high-quality congress in the Spanish capital. This year, the three-day event on the grounds of the Fira de Barcelona once again focussed on sustainably improving quality of urban life. With 853 exhibitors and more than 20,000 visitors from 134 countries around the globe, this year’s SCEWC was again one of the largest meeting points for experts and city representatives concerned with making cities viable. While last year, numerous renowned exhibitors were absent from the fair for corona-related reasons, 2022 saw a significant increase in participants from across the globe at the fair, including exhibitors from Japan and a number of European cities.

With more than 150 participants, Germany took second place among the exhibiting nations behind host country Spain. This year, the growing trade fair association between states Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin-Brandenburg, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony welcomed Thuringia to the fold for the first time. Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI) once again acted as global partner of the event, and a seamless on-stage programme – supported by comprehensive marketing measures –  put a well-directed spotlight on the German exhibitors.
 

More exhibitors than ever before at the Berlin-Brandenburg joint stand
 

Berlin-Brandenburg took part in the Smart City Expo with a joint stand and a whopping 16 exhibitors – more participants than ever before. Companies, scientific institutions and networks based in and around the capital were able to book a space on the stand at an affordable price, while the stand itself was financed by funds from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the state of Berlin. And as in previous years, all participants were, of course, once again able to take advantage of the extensive accompanying programme – including talks, an exhibitors evening, a cooperation exchange and international matchmaking options.
 

Two trade fair days with a high-quality programme
 

For the exhibitors from Berlin and Brandenburg, the trade fair kicked off on 15 November with a visit from Germany’s ambassador in Spain, Maria Magdalena Gosse. Berlin’s Chief Digital Officer, Dr Ralf Kleindieck, also dropped by the joint stand to find out more about the exhibitors’ projects and activities. And from the late afternoon on, intense conversations and discussions unfolded between visitors and the exhibitors from Berlin and Brandenburg at the stands.

On 16 November, the second day of the trade fair, the programme included not one but two highlights. With “Germany Works”, Germany Trade and Invest provided the ideal framework for the Smart City Berlin presentation: the captivating talk on the Smart City Berlin Model project, held by Karen Lassmann, project lead at the Berlin Senate Chancellery, drew many interested listeners to the auditorium, as did the pitches made by the Berlin and Brandenburg exhibitors.
 

A positive result

For the organisers – and for the 16 exhibitors from the region in and around the capital – SCEWC once again proved an all-round successful event in 2022. The “newbies” who took part for the first time this year agreed, among them Philipp Wilimzig: “This was the Smart Village app’s first appearance on the European stage. We are very happy,” the managing director at Smart Village Solutions SVS said. “The talks with the German partners were particularly valuable. And I was thrilled with the absolutely great, friendly atmosphere at the stand.” All the more reason to look forward to next year – and the 2023 Smart City Expo World Congress!

Exhibitors on SCEWC 2022

“The Smart City Expo is a wonderful opportunity to represent Smart City Berlin on an international stage. Our talks with Prague, Tel Aviv and the northern countries have given us some great ideas on how we can address the challenges facing our city and harness potential more effectively.”
(Karen Lassmann, Smart City Model project lead, and Dr Angela Jain, CDO/SC unit within the Berlin Senate Chancellery)

“We met a lot of people and networked with old contacts. Berlin is an influential part of events at the Smart City Expo – we have a strong presence and show what’s happening in Berlin.”
(Stefan Höffken, Head of Urban Data & Platform and Pia Laube, project developer at TEGEL PROJEKT GmbH)

“We feel it is important to portray the diversity of Smart City Berlin with its different stakeholders on an international stage – for example at the Berlin-Brandenburg joint stand at this year’s Smart City Expo. Our ‘CityRebels Salon Evening’ on 15/11 showed how important it is to bring together representatives of the government and companies: we were able to introduce Berlin’s CDO to our guests from Singapore, Kiev and Barcelona at the event. And we would like to thank Berlin Partner for organising the stand and looking after us at the fair!”
(Sophie Persigehl, Project Manager, Urban Impact Berlin GmbH)

“We had several, very concrete conversations that will lead to projects and even signed a contract at the Smart City Expo in Barcelona. Our highlight: other European cities are interested in our platform; we are engaged in project work with more than 20 cities.”
(Alanus von Radecki, CEO Data Competence Centre for Cities and Regions/ “Daten-Kompetenzzentrum Städte und Regionen GmbH DKSR”)

“The Smart City Expo was a great opportunity to talk to international cities. We once again gained a tremendous lot from the fair and had a lot of fun. It was also great to see that user-centricity and participation have become central and important matters at the expo and the congress – we took away a lot of fascinating input.”
(Dr Niklas Kossow, CityLAB Berlin/Berlin Technology Foundation/ "Technologiestiftung Berlin”)

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