URBIS SMART CITY FAIR
5.-6.6. 2019

This year the URBIS SMART CITY FAIR 2019 celebrated its second full year. Over two days this unique international conference introduced the smart city concept to towns, villages and active citizens.

Over two days, URBIS 2019 brought to the Brno Exhibition Centre more than 160 speakers – specialists on topic of smart cities. In so doing, Urbis presented the biggest conference on topic in the whole region.

Part of URBIS Smart City Fair comprised two new EU projects. SCIENCE MEETS REGIONS encompassed discussions on energy policy. The second EU project was RUGGEDISED. Part of the Horizon 2020 programme, it supports the testing and introduction of smart solutions. As part of this latter project Brno is preparing to build the new smart district of Špitalka in the unused western part of Brno’s heating plants.

What was said about URBIS Fair

„URBIS Smart City Fair is a little bit different from other fairs because it is so interactive. Over two days there are many lectures, workshops and meetings setting out new possibilities, technologies and trends in smart cities. The trade fair also enables you to familiarize yourself with already functioning solutions and measures which visitors can then envision implementing in their own cities.“
Markéta Vaňková, Mayor of Brno

„The fair is a meeting place for smart people bringing smart solutions, so I’m hopeful it’ll mean our cities get smarter, too. I’m pleased the fair has expanded, although the expert conference remains the event’s dominant aspect, and thanks also to the Statutory City of Brno for its support.“
Jiří Kuliš, BVV Trade Fairs Brno

„The fair is very well organized and is attended by numerous companies. I was really surprised and pleased how many people have been meeting here and how well organized the event is. We’re working with the city’s leaders and are proud to be part of this fair.“
Sabith Gatea Khisaf, Senior Engineer, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies

„It’s a great pleasure for me to be in beautiful Brno and at this great fair. It’s nice to see smart city projects being developed in Central Europe and transferred into practice. Brno plays a very important role in the smart city community because it’s showing what can be achieved in reality with using renewable resources. Congratulations to Brno on organizing the fair. We constantly need to demonstrate the progress being made in this area, which means there are never enough such meetings. Keep up the good work.“
Mark van Stiphout, EC’s General-Directorate for Energy, Belgium

„Brno lies at the centre of the country and BVV is the ideal setting for such an exhibition. Compared to last year’s event, a lot of progress has been made, even the attendance exceeded expectations – the first day was stronger. Our firm was part of the
CitySys platform. This product allows municipalities to manage individual functions such as street lighting, parking systems, traffic monitoring and waste management all in one programme.“
Robert Rosí, CR Sales Representative for OMS, CitySys partner

„SKODA is attending the Urbis fair for the first time ever. Our main aim here is to present attractive projects and solutions that might appeal in particular to local authorities managing cities and municipalities. Thanks to increasing interest in alternatively powered cars, especially electric cars, and the impending launch of Skoda’s first mass-produced electric car, we have exclusively given URBIS fair participants the possibility to test drive the CITIGO E-PILOT with 100% electric drive. In fact, we’ve supervised over 150 test drives in two days. At the same time, in collaboration with ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab, we’ve presented fair-goers with the CareDriver social mobility service and the peer-to-peer car-sharing platform we’ve christened HappyGo. These services will enable cities and villages to supplement and improve their offer of mobility to fellow citizens. Given the positive response, number of test runs and the solid attendance, we would like to attend similar events in future.“
Ondřej Pospíšil, Sales to Major Customers, ŠKODA AUTO Czech Republic

„Despite being a fair primarily intended for cities and regions, we were pleasantly surprised. We got more contacts here than expected. Because all smart technologies use wireless networks to communicate, their suppliers could track us down here. We’re used to exhibiting at major world exhibitions and this is a small fair, but we’ve given it a try and are happy with how it’s gone. I see this event as having a positive future.“
Miloš Gendia, Marketing Manager, 2J Antennas, Slovakia

„In our Clever Maps display we concentrated on two services - data analysis and sensor data processing, which can be used in cities, managing vegetation, agriculture, etc. Two dozen people visited us during the second day, most of whom came with specific questions. I like the concept of the fair – in future we might consider organizing some lectures.“
Tomáš Zika, Sales Representative, CleverFarm

„The SMART CITY FAIR, combining trade fair and conference, has been a success. Although Brno is not the easiest place to get to, quite a few interesting foreign guests managed the journey OK. They’ve enjoyed not only the fair itself, but also like the city – so it’s highly likely they’ll come again. And because URBIS SMART CITY FAIR can become a platform for exchanging experience between cities, it’s also added another dimension to Brno. I think today is not about what technology we should choose, but about the actual problems we face, how to solve them and how to consult someone who has been through the process. It’s an opportunity for cities to learn from each other. If Brno’s advantageous location in the heart of Europe means these meetings become a regular fixture, it might grow into a really significant event.“
Jakub Rybář, Head of Cooperation and Development, Municipality of Brno

„I firmly believe that smart cities is a topic connecting people and fostering cooperation not only in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and the V4 countries, but around the world, as well as helping improve the quality of life of all citizens. In recent years I’ve seen the URBIS SMART CITY FAIR project take a step forward. When it comes to award-winning firms, for example, we’re no longer just talking about demonstration projects or accelerators: companies are really creating concrete, smart solutions. The same progress can also be seen in government, where we’ve moved from blue-sky thinking and strategic documents to a stage of specific solutions in the form of financial mechanisms or action plans.“
Miriam Letašiová, Director of the Business Environment and Innovation Department, Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic

„I like it here. Counting the zero year, this is my third time at the URBIS SMART CITY FAIR, so I can see it gradually advancing, getting bigger, and there are more and more interesting exhibits. On day two I’ll have more time to take a closer look at the stalls. We’re also pleased to have won an award for our exhibit AnyRoute, which is an innovative travel planner for public transport.“
Michal Jakob, Founder and Director of Umotional

„We’re pleased that our innovative clothes container caught the visitors’ imagination and that it brought us the Gold Medal. It’s been a real boost to know that our work is valued. Our prototypes have been popular and some people have expressed concrete interest. We came here as a team, which has meant we’ve had a chance to go round and see what’s here. We’ve discovered some really interesting projects and some very interesting firms. So from that point of view we’re happy, and I’m already sure that we’ll be establishing new contacts here.“
Michaela Náplavová, Marketing Department, Textil Echo, a.s., Boskovice

„Just like the rapidly evolving topics of smart cities and modern IT, the fair itself is visibly coming on in leaps and bounds. It’s brilliant that events such as URBIS SMART CITY FAIR are being held, and that this event has the support of BVV, cities and villages. I would certainly point out that our own beloved Brno places great emphasis on smart issues. Our business is involved in many ‘smart’ projects, only a few of which are being presented here. The topic of smart cities is big part of our lives, and we’re all the better for it.“
Jan Seitl, Operations Director, DPMB, a.s.

„I’m an architect, which is why I want to talk about architecture and the cities of the future here in Brno. I compare architecture and town planning with an iceberg, only a part of the surface of which is only ever visible. But every important aspect of urban development – such as politics, energy, transport solutions, etc. – is invisible. Personally, I would change the name “Smart Cities” for “Intelligent Cities”. Smart can refer to a politician, scientist, architect, investor, user, or just about anyone who creates an intelligent environment.“
Wolf Dieter Prix, Panellist URBIS Highlights, Austria

„I came to the conference in Brno to promote respect for human privacy, to explain the difference between free and non-free software, and to draw attention to the restrictions on freedom that come with using malicious software. Companies and institutions now use systems that collect on-line information about where people go or drive, who they meet, what they talk about, etc., and I find that unacceptable. The state in particular should examine its IT activities around the use of free software to maintain the sovereignty of its computer technology. Security should be universally applied, even to whoever is running the software.“
Richard Stallman, Panellist in section Digital City, CEO Free Software Foundation, USA