Outstanding personalities will participate in the Calvià Smart Island World Congress of Mallorca. Anote Tong, Parag Khanna and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, amongst the main speakers
Barcelona 31st March 2017
OUTSTANDING PERSONALITIES WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE CALVIÀ SMART ISLAND WORLD CONGRESS OF MALLORCA
-Anote Tong, Parag Khanna and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, amongst the main speakers
-From 20th-21st April 2017
How to tackle environmental sustainability on an island? What formulas exist to retain talent in island territories? Are new technologies an opportunity? These and other questions will be answered at the first Smart Island World Congress (SIWC) to be held on 20th and 21st April in the Majorcan municipality of Calvià. The congress, promoted by the Calvià Town Hall and the Consell de Mallorca, with the support of the Government of the Balearic Islands and organised by Fira de Barcelona, will be attended by more than 85 international experts and it is foreseen the participation of 1,500 congress attendees and 120 representatives of islands around the world.
Amongst the key speakers it is to be highlighted the presence of the former President of Kiribati, Anote Tong, a global expert on climate change, one of the world's leading specialists in sea-level rise and displacement of refugees due to environmental causes. In 2014, being president of this Polynesian Republic, he led the purchase of 20 km ² of land belonging to the Fiji Islands as a contingency refuge for his people in case of necessity. And is that this archipelago located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is one of the most threatened territories in the world due to climate change. Its main island, South Tarawa, rises only 2 metres above sea level being very vulnerable to the effects of global warming, such as sea level floods or storms or hurricanes.
Another of the main speakers at the summit of Calvià will be Parag Khanna, geostrategist of emerging economies and best-selling author. Khanna is one of the speakers who has achieved more recognition amongst geopolitical experts. He has specialised in the geographic diversity of the nationalisation and distribution of the globalisation effects in relation to the movements of capitals, knowledge and people.
The first edition of the SIWC will have a prominent presence of international institutional representatives, amongst them the Ministers of Tourism of Cuba, Malta or Dominican Republic; Mayors of municipalities such as Malé (Maldives). Also from the NGO Costa Rica Limpia; from the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (Jamaica); or the African Union of Architects (Mauritius). At the national level, are to be highlighted names such as the former President of the Government of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero; the Executive Director of UN Habitat, Joan Clos. And at the local level, the President of the Government of the Balearic Islands, Francina Armengol; the president of the Consell de Mallorca, Miquel Ensenyat; and the Mayor of Calvià, Alfonso Rodríguez, who will welcome the congress attendees on Thursday 20th April.
The programme of the congress will be based on four main axes: the New Connectivities; Urban and Social Development; Talent and Economic Growth; and the Islands of the Future, from which 15 conferences will be held amongst keynotes, plenary sessions and parallel sessions, with more than 85 speakers. Thus, topics such as the big data, sustainability of urban planning and tourism, smart mobility, education, startups, business models, architecture, cultural heritage, amongst others, will be discussed.
Meeting place between private and public sector
The first Calvià Smart Island World Congress will also have a networking area where representatives of island cities, speakers, companies or visitors can develop professional relationships before and during the event. Amongst the companies confirmed there are technology companies such as Microsoft, Fiware and Grupo Etra, and from the tourism sector companies such as Meliá Hotels and Resorts. It expects 1,500 congress attendees and more than 120 representatives of participating islands, including Bahrain, Bali, Corsica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico or Trinidad and Tobago. The first edition of the congress will culminate the afternoon of Thursday 20th April with the awarding of prizes to the best initiatives for the progress of the islands.
The first edition of the Calvià Smart Island World Congress of Mallorca arises from the demand of the island territories to position themselves as congress venues in the field of technology and innovation. The congress takes advantage of the internationally consolidated experience of Smart City Expo World Congress, an event organised by Fira de Barcelona since 2011 and consolidated as the world leader in the smart cities sector.