CONFIRMED
Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr
Mayor
City of Freetown
THE CITY IS OUR COMMON GROUND.
Better cities.
Shared futures.
Three days of ideas, dialogue, and practical approaches to the cities we want to live in.
700+ confirmed attendees
38.7223° N 9.1393° W
A new perspective starts here.
2026A new perspective starts here.
Photo credit
Photo: Dale Cruse / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · Cropped.
URBAN INNOVATION✳PEOPLE & PLACE✳CLIMATE ACTION✳CONNECTED CITIES
01 / THE CONFERENCE
Big ideas.
Real urban challenges.
Smart Cities Summit is a gathering for city leaders, researchers, planners, and innovators to explore how technology and public policy can improve everyday life.
From mobility and housing to climate resilience and inclusive governance, the conversation begins with people and the places they call home.
01 Technology & data02 Climate & energy03 Mobility & infrastructure04 Housing & inclusion05 Governance & participation06 Blue economy
02 / FULL PROGRAM
Explore the agenda.
19–21 November 2026
All times local to Lisbon · WET (UTC+0)
19 sessions
Thursday, 19 November
09:0009:30Opening: a shared urban futureMain stage · Manoel Silva · Lisbon
Welcome to Smart Cities Summit and an introduction to three days of conversation on people, places, and urban innovation.
09:00–09:30 · Main stage
09:3010:30City leadership that deliversMain stage · Haris Doukas · City of Athens
How city leaders can translate public priorities into services, investments, and measurable improvements in daily life.
09:30–10:30 · Main stage
10:3011:00Coffee & connectionsNetworking area
Meet fellow participants and continue the morning conversation.
10:30–11:00 · Networking area
11:0012:00Reading the city through spatial dataMain stage · Sheyla Santana · GIS Corp / City of Gainesville, USA
A talk exploring how spatial information can help cities understand local needs, compare priorities, and communicate decisions.
11:00–12:00 · Main stage
12:0013:30Lunch & peer exchangeNetworking area
Time for lunch and informal conversations. Catering arrangements are provisional.
12:00–13:30 · Networking area
13:3014:30Connected cities, interoperable systemsMain stage · Bilel Jamoussi · ITU
Explore the role of standards and interoperability in making urban technologies work together.
13:30–14:30 · Main stage
14:4516:00From evidence to a city action planWorkshop room
A working session to identify a local challenge, map stakeholders, and define practical next steps.
14:45–16:00 · Workshop room
Friday, 20 November
09:0010:00Climate action rooted in communitiesMain stage · Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr · City of Freetown
Discuss how community participation and local knowledge can shape urban climate action.
09:00–10:00 · Main stage
10:1511:15Connecting local ambition to climate deliveryMain stage · Giorgia Rambelli · Global Covenant of Mayors
Examine how city networks can support implementation, learning, and collaboration across borders.
10:15–11:15 · Main stage
11:1511:45Coffee & connectionsNetworking area
Continue discussions and connect with peers working on similar urban challenges.
11:15–11:45 · Networking area
11:4512:45Streets that connect people and opportunityMain stage · Rogier van den Berg · WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
Explore how mobility and land use choices affect access to jobs, services, and public space.
11:45–12:45 · Main stage
12:4514:00Lunch & peer exchangeNetworking area
Time for lunch and informal conversations. Catering arrangements are provisional.
12:45–14:00 · Networking area
14:0015:00Housing, access, and the inclusive cityMain stage
A discussion of affordability, neighborhood opportunity, and the distribution of urban services.
14:00–15:00 · Main stage
15:1516:15Mapping opportunities for the blue economyWorkshop room · Khadija Fassi · Mohammed VI Polytechnic University
An interactive workshop exploring how cities can support local livelihoods, protect aquatic ecosystems, and identify opportunities for a sustainable blue economy.
15:15–16:15 · Workshop room
Saturday, 21 November
09:0010:00Waterfront cities and the blue economyMain stage · Marisol Garcia
Explore the relationship between rivers, coastal environments, livelihoods, and urban development.
09:00–10:00 · Main stage
10:1511:15Designing participation into urban projectsWorkshop room · Sheyla Santana
Identify ways to involve communities throughout the life of a project, from defining needs to evaluating results.
10:15–11:15 · Workshop room
11:1511:45Coffee & connectionsNetworking area
A final opportunity to exchange ideas before the closing working sessions.
11:15–11:45 · Networking area
11:4512:45Partnerships for practical urban changeWorkshop room · Camille Dubois
Develop a collaboration outline with shared objectives, responsibilities, and next steps.
11:45–12:45 · Workshop room
12:4513:30From Lisbon to the next stepMain stage
Reflect on the conference themes and identify practical ideas to take back to your city or organization.
12:45–13:30 · Main stage
No sessions match these filters. Try another topic or clear the filters.
03 / SPEAKERS & ORGANIZATIONS
Different perspectives.
A shared urban future.
City leadership. Spatial insight.
Ideas that connect people and place.
Speakers & organizers
Alphabetical by surname. Participation status is shown on each profile.
CONFIRMED
Rogier van den Berg
Global Director
WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
CONFIRMED
Haris Doukas
Mayor
City of Athens
CONFIRMED
Camille Dubois
Innovation leader
Aitec Paris
CONFIRMED
Khadija Fassi
Researcher
Mohammed VI Polytechnic University
CONFIRMED
Marisol Garcia
Researcher
Autonomous University of Madrid
CONFIRMED
Jose Gonzales
Director of Technology
City of Lisbon
CONFIRMED
Bilel Jamoussi
Deputy Director
ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau
CONFIRMED
Leonor Oliveira
Researcher
University of Lisbon
CONFIRMED
Giorgia Rambelli
Co-Managing Director
Global Covenant of Mayors
CONFIRMED
Sheyla Santana
Data Strategist & Researcher
GIS Corp / City of Gainesville, USA
CONFIRMED
Alexander Schmidt
Founder, BABLE Smart Cities
BABLE Smart Cities · Germany
CONFIRMED
Mark Wittenburg
Chief Information Officer
City of Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
CONFIRMED
Manoel Silva
City Leadership
Lisbon
CONFIRMED
Jiří Čupr
Data Analyst
Czech Technical University in Prague
And more speakers to be announced.
SPEAKER ORGANIZATIONS
Aitec ParisAutonomous University of MadridBABLE Smart CitiesCity of AthensCity of FreetownCity of Gainesville, USACity of LisbonCity of Raleigh, USACzech Technical University in PragueGIS CorpGlobal Covenant of MayorsITUMohammed VI Polytechnic UniversityUniversity of LisbonWRI Ross Center
Affiliations of the people shown above; not a list of confirmed event partners.
04 / THE MEETING PLACE
Lisbon.
Open to the future.
A riverside setting for conversations that reach beyond borders.
Lisbon Congress Centre
Centro de Congressos de Lisboa · CCL
Near the Tagus River and the historic Belém area, CCL brings conference, meeting, and exhibition spaces together in one versatile venue.
8Auditoriums
34Meeting rooms
5Pavilions
Venue confirmed for 19–21 November 2026.
Explore the official venue website ↗05 / PASSES & ATTENDANCE
Registration is
now closed.
700+ confirmed attendees.
See you in Lisbon.
DISCOVER
Visitor pass
For exploring ideas and making new connections.
- Exhibition access
- Open networking areas
- Selected open sessions
GO DEEPER
Congress pass
For a fuller conversation across all three days.
- Congress sessions
- Visitor pass inclusions
- Working sessions and discussions
PUBLIC IMPACT
City & government
For teams in the public sector shaping urban change.
- Congress access
- Exchange between cities
Registration is now closed for all pass types.
AFTER THE SUMMIT / 23–27 NOVEMBER 2026
Two places.
One shared inquiry.
Sintra, Portugal · Marrakech, Morocco
Four field days after the Lisbon summit
Same questions. Different environments.
Complementary discussions.
How can places welcome visitors, support local livelihoods, and protect heritage while remaining accessible and livable for the people who call them home?
The Sintra and Marrakech Living Lab takes the summit conversation into streets, landscapes, and community spaces. In Sintra, the inquiry begins with connections between the historic town, its hills and heritage destinations: who can reach them, how people move, and how conservation and everyday life meet. In Marrakech, it continues through neighborhood streets, cycling initiatives, and spaces of cultural exchange, exploring how mobility and public space support work, belonging, and participation.
Neither place is a template for the other. Participants carry the same questions between two settings, listen to local perspectives, and revisit their assumptions. Sintra opens a discussion about managing access within a cultural landscape; Marrakech broadens it through social enterprise and community knowledge. Together, the visits ask what makes an urban solution useful, fair, and appropriate to its place.
Questions we take to both places
- Who can move comfortably and safely, and who encounters barriers?
- How can visitor activity support local businesses and everyday neighborhood life?
- How can public space protect heritage while responding to environmental pressures?
- Who helps define the problem, decide on a change, and judge whether it works?
01 / SINTRA · PORTUGAL
Heritage, landscape
& everyday access.
Monday 23 & Tuesday 24 November
A field inquiry into the connections between resident needs, visitor movement, accessible heritage, and landscape stewardship.
Monday / Walk, listen, map
Opening discussion and a field walk linking transport arrival points, the historic center, and a selected heritage setting. Small teams record access barriers, resting places, movement patterns, and the relationship between local services and visitor activity.
Tuesday / Develop, review, carry forward
Review observations with local contributors and develop a small intervention concept, such as clearer wayfinding or a more comfortable walking connection. Record the tradeoffs and questions to take to Marrakech.
02 / MARRAKECH · MOROCCO
Community, mobility
& local livelihoods.
Thursday 26 & Friday 27 November
The same inquiry in a different setting, connecting experience at street level with youth opportunity, cultural participation, and neighborhood economies.
Thursday / Observe, exchange, question
A neighborhood walk or guided cycle experience, followed by discussion with local contributors. Teams use the Sintra observation framework to examine shared streets, access to services, and the ways public space supports work and social life.
Friday / Compare, adapt, plan a test
A collaborative workshop brings the two settings into dialogue. Teams revise their ideas with local feedback and outline a small, locally chosen pilot, with a potential owner, practical measures, and a subsequent review.
Wednesday 25 November / Travel & reflection
A day reserved for travel between Portugal and Morocco and individual reflection. Travel arrangements are not yet confirmed.
What the two places produce together
A comparative field notebook, two locally grounded intervention concepts, and a shared account of what can transfer between places and what must change. Any test at a field site will be agreed with local partners, with responsibilities and subsequent reviews established before implementation.
The four field days are designed as the opening phase of a living lab: observation, shared problem definition, and pilot design, followed by testing and evaluation where local partners choose to continue.
The living lab will take place in Sintra and Marrakech from 23 to 27 November 2026. Living lab registration will take place at summit check in. Limited space available.
LISBON · 19–21 NOVEMBER 2026