The term "smart city" link the use of ICTs with the improvement of the quality of life and the services of a city, as well as adapting it into a more sustainable space. All of this is developed with respect to the current and future economic, social and environmental needs.

It is a transversal sector, which impacts in many areas as the energy, water, transport, waste management or administrative and health services. The smart cities help to mitigate the resource depletion, the global warming, the population boom, the urban concentration and the changes in the international economic balances.

In the case of Africa, it was reported in 2015 that it was the least urbanized region in the world (only 40% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa lived in cities) but is now the second fastest-growing region in the world (behind Asia). Demographic experts predict that by the year 2020, Africa will be the first one in the mentioned rank, considering that currently only 40% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa lives in cities.

Given this rapid growth, now is the time for African administrators to incorporate smart cities into their socio-economic and urban development strategies.

On the other hand, given the know-how of the Canary Islands in the tourism sector and the enormous potential of this sector in Africa, the forum will also analyse the trends of intelligent destinations (Smart Destinations), whose added value consists of incorporating technology-based solutions that improve the experience of the client, the efficient management of systems and resources and their impact on the environment, differentiating themselves from other traditional destinations.

We must add to this knowledge the clear commitment of the main Canary Islands cities to be digitized through smart city strategies to manage their space more efficiently and offer their citizens services based on new technologies.

Organisers

• Casa África
• Canary Islands Technological Excellence Cluster
• PROEXCA
• Society of Economic Promotion of Gran Canaria (SPEGC)
• Canary Islands Agency for Research, Innovation and Society of the Information of the Government of the Canary Islands (ACIISI)

Participants

• Political and technical leaders of the Smart Cities from the respective African countries and Canary Islands cities.
• Tourism development strategies developers (Smart Destination) in both African countries and Canary Islands cities.
• Technological companies specialized in providing intelligent urban solutions.

In the case of Africa, priority will be given to African cities near the Canary Islands such as Praia (Cape Verde), Nouakchott (Mauritania), Agadir or Casablanca (Morocco), Dakar (Senegal), Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and Accra (Ghana), together with Azores and Madeira.

Audience

Entrepreneurs, investors, suppliers and start-ups committed to the ecosystem of smart urban solutions. 

For more information

• Dossier or send an email to economia@casafrica.es 

Sponsored by:

Thursday, October 25, 2018, Casa África

9:00   Inauguration

In speaking order:

Luis Padrón, Director General of Casa África

Ildefonso Socorro, Deputy Minister of Economy and Economic Affairs with the EU in the Canary Islands Government

Mourade Dieye Gueye, Deputy Mayor of Dakar

Oscar Santos, Mayor of Praia

Salah El Malouki, Mayor of Agadir

Antonio Morales, President of the Gran Canaria Island Government

9:30   Main challenges of smart cities and destinations in West African cities

Chair: Ana Cárdenes, Head of the Department of Economy and Business of Casa África

Fatimetou Boukhreiss, Head of Studies and Cooperation of the Urban Community of Nouakchott

Oscar Santos, Mayor of Praia

Kouaoh Vincent N'Cho, Vice-Governor of the Autonomous District of Abidjan

Mourade Dieye Gueye, Deputy Mayor of Dakar

Salah El Malouki, Mayor of Agadir

Derrick Donkor, Director of the Smart Accra Project

11:00 Coffee Break

11:30 Best practices in smart destinations: the experience of the Canary Islands

Chair: Félix Herrera, Head of the Smart City Area at the Official College of Engineers in Telecommunications

Eduardo Pereira, Director of the Fuerteventura Technology Park

Cosme García, Director of the Corporation for the Economic Development of Gran Canaria (SPEGC)

Juan Antonio Bermejo, Head of the Innovation, Projects and Information Society Service of the Council of La Palma

13:00 Lunch

15:00 Presentations by the African and Spanish companies

"A space in which, through a 5-minute pitch, companies will be able to present their innovative solutions for Smart Cities to an audience made up of representatives of cities and companies".

16:00 How to make possible to attract investment for your startup

         Miguel Quintanilla, director of technology of SATOCAN, CEO of VC Bbooster Dyrecto and Archipiélago Next 

16:20 Presentations by the African and Spanish companies

18:30 Welcome cocktail

20:00 End

Friday, October 26, 2018, Casa África

09:00 Best practices in smart cities of the Macaronesia

Chair: Tomás Iriondo, President of the Smart Cities Commission at CONETIC

Francisco Santana, Director General of New Technologies of the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Oscar Santos, Mayor of Praia

Vítor Fraga, President of the Azores Business Development Society (SDEA)

10:15 Presentation by the technological parks of the Canary Islands

        Chair: Antonio López, Head of Area at the Canarian Government Agency for Research, Innovation and Information Society of the Canary Islands Government

Antonio Marcelino Santana, Managing Director of The Canarian Science and Technology Park Foundation of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Coqui García, Director of the Business Department of the Tenerife Science and Technology Park

11:15 Coffee-break

11:45 Cases of success

Chair: Patricia Fraile, Manager of the Canary Islands Technological Excellence Cluster

Steven Blessing Ackah, Co-Founder of the UAE-Africa Mentoring Development Consortium, Ghana

Diego Conforti, Chief Business Officer of Zed

Miguel Correia, Managing Director of Eyecon

Pedro Leite, Managing Director of Globaleda

Representative of Madeira

12:45 Conclusions

13:00 Visit to the Municipal Security and Emergency Center of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (CEMELPA)

Sponsored by:

Esta actividad se realiza en el marco del proyecto CONFIAFRICA, cofinanciado por la Unión Europea a través del Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional-FEDER en el marco del programa de cooperación INTERREG MAC (Azores, Madeira y Canarias) en su eje prioritario II: mejorar la competitividad de las empresas.