MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS

No member of the mobile industry should miss it, or would want to miss it.
Right now, at Barcelona, the future of mobile communications is being developed and discussed. Come to Barcelona where the future of communications is being decided. 

About the Event. 

"Depending on the type of pass selected, attendees can take advantage of the many components that make up this industry-leading event:

A world-class thought-leadership Conference featuring visionary keynotes and panel discussions.

A cutting-edge product and technology Exhibition featuring 1,700 exhibitors.

The world’s best venue for seeking industry opportunities, making deals, and Networking.

App Planet, the Centre of the Mobile Apps Universe, where the mobile app community gathers to learn, network and engage with innovators.

mPowered Industries, a new conference and exhibition programme taking place in Fira Montjuïc for those in the Health, Advertising, Broadcast and Travel industries.

And the Global Mobile Awards programme, where we recognise advancements and achievements in the industry.

As the mobile industry continues to diversify, how will the roles of the traditional and emerging members evolve and with what impact?  In 2014, the Mobile World Congress Conference programme will examine the present and debate the future of our industry with in-depth analysis of the trends that are shaping it.

Running across the full length of the Mobile World Congress, the 2014 Conference programme will continue to be a central focus for the event, challenging and educating attendees whilst covering the latest technological developments, next-generation services and growth strategies.

From the keynote programme to topic-focused conference sessions, thought leaders from the most dynamic companies in the mobile industry will be represented during the event. Want to know what’s next for the mobile industry?  Find out at Mobile World Congress 2014.

In addition to the keynote programme, the conference will also include in-depth track sessions on topics such as:

business transformation

connected living

data analytics

developing markets

devices

future of communications

intelligent networks

mobile commerce and payments

mobile identity and privacy

network economics and network optimisation, and others."

http://www.mobileworldcongress.com/

FSI MEDIA

The former head of NASA's Space and Life Sciences Directorate, astronaut and physician Dave Williams, on the little known dangers of deep space travel, and what that might mean for the space program.

Courtesy of WUCF Global Perspectives, all rights reserved.

Canadian Astronaut Julie Payette on the business and the thrill of human space flight.

Courtesy of WUCF Global Perspectives, all rights reserved.

SMART CITY EXPO WORLD CONGRESS BARCELONA 2013

Since the end of the past century to the beginning of the 21^st century, cities have had a fundamental paper in the socioeconomic development, given that the socioeconomic activity has been concentrating in the urban areas.

Between 1950 and 2011 the urban population increased almost five times. According to forecasts from the United Nations in the year 2050, 70-75% of the world population will live in cities. In Europe, with higher city density indexes, we are closer to reaching 80% by only the year 2020. In developing countries there is currently a massive migration from rural zones to the urban areas. This represents a greater political weight and economic importance of cities.

"If the nineteenth century was the century of empires and the twentieth century the century of nation states, then the twenty-first century will be the century of cities!”

Former U.S. Conference of Mayors' President and Denver Mayor Wellington

E. Webb, First Transatlantic Summit of Mayors in Lyon, France, April 6, 2000.

That is why cities, in addition to the political and social relevance, also have to face the big challenge of society sustainability.

The current deep economic crisis puts in danger the local finances that have to keep the living standards of the city and of its citizens. It also requires innovation in the governance model and of management of public services, with the aim to achieve reduced costs of services from an integrating perspective and a macro-municipal frame.

Facing this situation of finite resources, either natural or economic, efficiency and sustainability become the main challenges that cities have to presently face. A challenge in whichSmart City Expo World Congress Barcelona is centered.

In the last 10 years strategies have been developed gearing towards future development of cities under the concepts of digital cities, innovative cities, sustainable cities, sustainable growth, etc... Smart City is the umbrella under which all these concepts have been placed together as an integral vision. In the end, towards a smart city vision, indeed.

From the 19th to the 21st of November took place at Fira de Barcelona (Barcelona’s Fair) the world-wide congress devoted to the sector of the smart cities, with congresses, networking and exhibition space.

The Smart City Expo was an event that gathered leaders and experts of more than 80 countries. The smart cities sector, so much in fashion at present, bets on preparing a stage for a smarter world. In this context, cities will have an important role in the 21^st century challenges: climatic change, consumption of non-renewable resources, economic development, population growth or infrastructures aging, among others. Technology then is shown as a tool to promote improvements and make cities more accessible, manageable, communicative and focused on citizens.

In this ideal, the Smart City Expo World Congress Barcelona bet it all on a vision of the future that has as the goal to convert the cities in better places to live and work.

The event was constructed around three parts:

The first, the exhibition, is where companies showed their products and their ideas and where they were able to share knowledge, make new contacts and discover new opportunities for collaboration.

The second part was the congress, where experts and leaders of the smart city sector shared and exchanged their ideas and knowledge.

The third was devoted to networking, with planned activities to create and exchange business opportunities.

Organized in smart areas, these spaces offered an integrated vision of all the areas that interact in the development of smart cities.

Smart City Expo World Congress Barcelona was built around the concept of an "Intelligent Society for innovative and sustainable cities" that we will be presenting with more detail in future articles in the smart areas of Energy, Technology and Innovation, Collaborating City and Smart Society, Sustainable-built Surroundings, Mobility, Governance and Economy, and Resilience and Urban Security.

by M. Duarte and F. Beltran