Prague reveals design plans for the Vltava Philharmonic Hall
The Danish studio Bjarke Ingels Group won the international architectural competition
Participants in the Pact of Free Cities Mayors' Summit pose ahead of the meeting, Source: Gergely Karácsony on Facebook
On the margins of the conference, 20 new cities have joined the Pact of Free Cities founded by the Visegrad Four capitals
The inaugural Budapest Forum for Building Sustainable Democracies is being held on 16-17 September at the Central European University in the Hungarian capital. The forum organizers - Budapest Municipality, Political Capital, and CEU Democracy Institute, aim to retrieve Budapest’s place on the region's progressive intellectual map, turning the forum into an annual event.
In the opening speech, the Mayor of Budapest Gergely Karácsony drew attention to poverty in democratic societies, which he said is not simply a failure of social policy, but a damage to the credibility of democracy.
The purpose of the conference, which is attended by Hungarian and foreign experts, journalists, activists and policymakers, is to provide a forum for strategic thinking on the cardinal political, social, economic, and environmental transformations affecting Hungary, the wider region and the entire world. Inviting thinkers to formulate innovative and bold ideas, the Forum seeks to find solutions to the challenges, rather than simply keeping an eye on them.
The first edition of the Budapest Forum focuses on cities, local initiatives, and building sustainable democracies.
During the two-day conference, the following topics are covered:
On the margins of the conference, the Pact of Free Cities Mayors’ Summit was also held, where the pact founders expanded the city alliance brought to life in December 2019 by the Visegrad Four capitals.
The meeting at the New Town Hall was attended by 26 cities at the mayoral level, in person or via a video conference connection. The participants adopted a joint statement in which they reconfirmed their commitment to work together for the strengthening of democracy and the rule of law, the implementation of progressive and sustainable urban policies, and against all forms of ideological exclusion.
20 new cities joined the alliance: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bécs, Gdansk, Frankfurt, Florence, London, Los Angeles, Ljubljana, Neu-Ulm, Paris, Podgorica, Rijeka, Stuttgart, Taipei, Taoyuan, Tirana, Ulm, Vienna, Zagreb.
The Pact of Free Cities is a progressive, open city alliance founded by mayors Gergely Karácsony (Budapest), Matúš Vallo (Bratislava), Rafal Trzaskowski (Warsaw) and Zdeněk Hřib (Prague) on 16 December 2019 in Budapest. The objectives of the association are to protect the values of liberal democracy, pluralism, openness and cultural diversity, to promote better access to European Union resources and to exchange experiences on good urban practices and policies.
Since its launch, the mayors of the Pact of Free Cities have spearheaded an all-European lobbying drive for directly accessible EU-funding. They also reached out to other mayors sharing the same views (e.g. London and Istanbul) to enhance cooperation and progressively expand the network.
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The summer ticket will be valid on local and regional trains, buses, as well as on the U-Bahn and S-Bahn
The Danish studio Bjarke Ingels Group won the international architectural competition
The city also added a new bathing area
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The REPowerEU 200 billion-euro plan calls for a gradual reduction of Russian fuel imports
Close engagement initiatives with the business sector and residents were key to spreading the idea across the board
The new Walking and Cycling Index shows that an overwhelming majority want to live in 20-minute neighbourhoods
The city also added a new bathing area
The installation of the sensors is part of its “Smart Museum” project
Authorities want to do away with the passive status of nature in the city
These will be spread across 11 EU countries and will serve to support the EU Missions
The European Commission has accepted to develop the idea
An interview about AYR, one of the 2021 New European Bauhaus Prize winners
An interview with Nigel Jollands and Sue Goeransson from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
An interview with the President of the City of Athens Reception & Solidarity Centre
A talk with the Mayor of Malmö on the occasion of the city’s UN Resilience Hub status