3rd Smart Communities Academy International Conference

On 15-16 April 2021, the 3rd Smart Communities Academy International Conference “Smart Opportunities for Rural Communities in 2021-2027” took place in a hybrid format, in Legend and online. The two-day event was attended by nearly 80 participants and featured 41 presentations on the topics of smart cities and communities, smart economy and services, smart transport and energy, local society and global processes, and smart governance and inclusive economy.

Following the successful Smart Communities 1.0 international conferences (Legénd, 2017 and Herlany, 2018), the 3rd Smart Communities Academy International Conference “Smart Opportunities for Rural Communities in 2021-2027” was held on 15-16 April 2021 in the framework of the Smart Communities 2.0 project (SKHU/1902/4.1/027). The organisers - Eötvös Loránd University - Department of Regional Science, Interindustria Knowledge Centre Foundation, Technical University of Kosice and Hungarian Regional Science Association - invited researchers and practitioners to Legénd in Nógrád County, and to the virtual space.

At the public project opening event, held alongside the 3rd Smart Communities Academy, after the welcoming speeches, the participants of the conference and press conference were able to learn about the objectives and content of the project and furthermore about the products and services that will be developed. On the first day of the event, plenary presentations focused on the digital development opportunities for rural communities, their impact on well-being and ways to measure smartness, laying the basis for the day's thematic smart working group discussions on smart transport and ICT for villages. Invited experts of the working groups and the interested audience made policy recommendations on these topics for the 2021-2027 planning period. On the second day of the conference, nearly 80 participants could listen to a total of 41 presentations in 5 thematic sessions (2 in Hungarian and 3 in English) on smart settlements and communities, smart economy and services, smart transport and energetics, local society and global processes, and smart governance and inclusive economy. 

The next Smart Communities Academy international conference of the Smart Communities 2.0 project will be hosted by the Technical University of Košice in Slovakia in autumn 2021.

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