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Smart Cities: Exchanging Smart Ideas

Freedom Week in Croatia, FNF Western Balkans
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Smart Cities: Exchanging Smart Ideas- Supporting Smarter Businesses. Regional Youth Exchange Programme

Pula, Croatia, 17 – 20 September 2015

With more and more people living in rapidly expanding urban areas, building smarter, more sustainable cities, featuring future safe local economies and innovative businesses, are crucial. Cities are also at the forefront of addressing the challenges of climate change. The SMART CITIES programme by FNF deals specifically with challenges of creating more sustainable urban areas in the Western Balkans. The programme bridges gaps between politics, innovators, businesses and other relevant stakeholders in order to achieve this. The event was part of the Freedom Week 2015 in East and Southeast Europe. 

The 2015 Regional Youth Exchange Programme was organized in Pula, in Istria region of Croatia. Members of liberal youth organizations from Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina came together to meet with representatives of drivers of innovation in Croatia. Participants were given the opportunity to visit the Pula Technology Incubators, Start-ups and the Istrian Development Agencies to get first hand insights and feedback from the leading people in the business. The event featured an array of presentations, such as by Ceco Gakovæ, Founder of CityOS, a company specialized on developing smart cities technologies, Boris Sabatti, Director of the Istian Development Agency and others, or by Roberto Kuftiæ, co-owner of Infobip, a company that started in the Pula incubator and is now the global hidden champion in the field of digital bank services. 

All speakers and participants were asked to give recommendations to political stakeholders, how to better support innovative business in their countries. One clear message was given repeatedly: “Don`t suffocate start-up businesses in their infancies, by crushing them with administrative and tax burdens made for traditional companies.”. 

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For more information please visit the website and the Facebook page of FNF Western Balkans. 


The events were part of the international global initiative, »Freedom Week 2015«. In FNF ESEE there were more than 15 events in 8 cities in 6 offices of the Foundation, promoting FNF contributions to Freedom.