Official Programme Launch: Urban Future 22 It’s all about collaboration when Europe’s urban shapers meet at the biggest event for sustainable cities

Tasked with the transformation of our cities, nothing beats the power of collaboration and innovation. That’s exactly what 2,000+ of Europe’s most passionate urban change-makers will do when meeting at Urban Future 2022 in Helsingborg, Sweden, on June 1-3. The conference stands as the largest gathering of city leaders, influencers and experts from many disciplines, who can openly share experiences in what works and what doesn’t when driving sustainable change.

Graz – Helsingborg March 21, 2022 – The global community of urban shapers is coming to Sweden for the first time, for the 5^th edition of Urban Future. On June 1-3, 2022, the most passionate people involved in urban sustainability will gather, regardless of their ranks or profession.

“The power of Urban Future is the commitment to get things done. There has been an overwhelming response from the community this year. We have approximately 70 networking partners on board working with us,” says Gerald Babel-Sutter, co-founder and CEO of Urban Future.

Urban Future is where CityChangers meet. The doers changing their cities for the better: Organisations, NGOs, businesses, entrepreneurs, and the media – all joining forces. Long-term key partners who share the same vision will be present in Helsingborg.“We must build our future cities together; getting everyone involved is key to their sustainability,” says Nicola Vatthauer, Director at Eurocities.

The programme team at Urban Future in Graz has spent three years identifying the most pressing topics, inviting the most exciting speakers, and curating content that will undoubtedly spark action for change. We are thrilled to announce six amazing tracks with diverse sessions and workshops, the first 100 confirmed speakers and our exciting field trips, with more to come.

During the three days, you will get to meet the new breed of entrepreneurs shaping the cities of today and tomorrow. Getting the details and tips on how to revitalise your city’s troubled district, or discussing the affordable housing challenge with city officials who succeeded in tackling it, getting valuable learnings from mistakes, successes, and insides from the people who have done it before – paving a sure-bet path for you to drive even better changes in your city.

Close to 200 speakers will attend UF22. Like Mayor Erion Veliaj from Tirana, elected primarily by those born after communism, who will share his experiences and priorities of city improvements. Or Jennifer Keesmaat, a former city planner in Toronto who managed to transform an abandoned neighbourhood into a lively community. You will also hear from passionate citizens like Luca Ballarini who, through his project Torino Stratosferica, and collaborating with the local creative industry, envisions and works towards our dream city.

Not only that, UF22 will introduce its novel programme: Impact entrepreneurs sharing their journey from frustrated citizens to full-scale social businesses. Discuss with companies like Too Good To Go and Refurbed on how they make it work, what motivates them to keep going, and how you can create your own impactful and meaningful business.

As you can tell, we have amazing stories of urban transformations in store; about the future of our cities and those who shape them.

MORE INFORMATION

The first 100 confirmed speakers / 19 Highlighted Speakers / Final Pressing Topics / Exciting field trips
Programme: https://urban-future.org/event/helsingborg-22/programme

Highlights

• Urban Future June 1-3, 2022 is proud to kick off Helsingborg’s H22 City Expo. Running from May 30 to July 3 this spectacular show features more than 400 single events, experiences, exhibitions, and trips for all ages.

• 60 Young Leaders from 43 cities in 28 countries have joined the 2022 Young Leader Programme and will be in Helsingborg.
  
  
• Cities Represented: 108 Mayors and city representatives from 72 cities in 28 countries will participate. Among other cities are Rotterdam, Bilbao, Athens, Tallinn, Stuttgart, Tirana, Pula, Prague, Helsingør, Debrecen, Warsaw, Portimao, Tbilsi, Rotterdam, Vienna, and Kathmandu.
  

• Enjoy sessions such as “A new breed of entrepreneurs shape cities”, “Change must come from the top: Why it pays to make enemies'', ”Against all odds? The affordable housing challenge,” Brownfield unicorns: Turning terrible into terrific”, “Revitalising neighbourhoods without $$$”, “C40’s Reinventing Cities: Decarbonising the built environment”.
  
  
• Learn from mistakes with Cities FuckUp Night. Spilling it all out for you: Meet four brave CityChangers who will not only be sharing their biggest failures but also the invaluable knowledge this provided.
  
  
• Explore one of Europe’s most innovative cities. Pack your walking shoes and discover Helsingborg’s most innovative projects. The field trips will open doors for you, and get you into highly restricted areas with the people behind the innovations as your guides.