The Israeli Smart Cities and Green Building Week 2016 (18-23 Sep) & the ILGBC Annual Exhibition & Conference, Tel Aviv, (21-22 Sep)

URBAN CHALLENGES, SMART CITIES & THE STARTUP NATION One of the most intriguing and most branded terms related to urbanism of the 21st century is the Smart City, related to utilization of sensors, data and smart technologies to improve the city's services and utilities.

However there is no current universal accepted definition of the ‘smart city’, leaving mayors,

city officials and community leaders

bewildered, in a field dominated by technology vendors and

innovation leaders using unfamiliar terms such as BIGDATA, Internet of things(IOT) & Information & Communication Technologies (ICT). Cities and the built environment of the 21st century, are challenged daily around the globe with housing shortages, aging infrastructure, decline of natural resources, climate change, the absence of civil partnership and regulatory changes affecting municipal budgets, and their capacity to provide services to all sectors of the society. Smart cities, as we see it, can be major players in resolving the challenges of the built environment in the 21st century. However, the term, tools and strategies need to be altered to allow for real change for all cities & communities, by proposing a synergetic solution including green buildings, sustainable communities and smartly managed cities, also taking into consideration the dynamics of cities and cost of implementation & need for institutional & strategic skills to cope with these complex multidisciplinary processes.

Israel is widely known as the Start-Up Nation, with over 6,000 startups and more venture capital per person than any other country in the world. Israel has a widespread startup scene with close to 100 hitech hubs and accelerators extending from Haifa and the galilee in the north, the tech hub of Tel Aviv, the holy city of Jerusalem, the southern desert metropolis of Bee-Sheba, and all the way to Eilat-Eilot at the southern tip of Israel. Cities, Academies, High schools, Private sector actors and NGO's are invested in building tech- accelerators, hackathons, and innovation programs, leading smart solutions in many urban fields such as energy, air quality, water, transportation, public safety & cybersecurity.

However, Israel is also one of the most urban-dominated countries in the world (over 90% of the population live in urban environment). The county has urban typologies ranging from dense urban areas expanding currently up to triple their original size, pop-up urban new-cities, historical environments, suburban semi-rural communities, as well as a small proportion of communities with nonexistent infrastructure, living on "off-grid" solutions. That is why, Israel is probably the best place in the world to examine & promote strategic & technological innovation towards improving the sustainability, resilience and quality of life, as the Smart & Sustainable Urban Nation. For all of the above, the ILGBC, together with S.U.iT.S (smarter urban iT & Strategies) decided to rebrand the annual summit as The Smart City & Green Building Week. The Event will bring together major local, national and international public and private sector stakeholders, to discuss barriers & changes as well as best practices, solution & innovative thinking aimed at tackling these great complexities & opportunities for the built environment of the 21st century.

ABOUT THE EVENT:

The ILGBC Annual Exhibition & Conference, Tel Aviv, (21-22 Sep), is the largest cross-sector and interdisciplinary forum in the country since 2007, focusing on the construction and green building in Israel. last year's event, attracted over 1,200 visitors and partners in the main events and much more in the side events during the week. (http://ilgbc.org/about/about-ilgbc/)

This year, the conference will examine the very important issue of Smart Cities, and its potential for implementation towards sustainable, resilient and financially competitive cities, celebrating the practices and work done in the field in Israel and around the world. This 2-day conference and exhibition at the David Intercontinental conference center in Tel-Aviv will include lectures, workshops, panels and discussion by distinguished actors in the field from Israel and around the globe, providing crucial knowledge regarding thoughts, trends, best practices and examples relevant to the built environment throughout the developed and developing world.

Some of the themes that will be discussed during the conference:  Smart & green building technologies and materials,  Best practices for planning & design of building and communities,  Resilience, sustainability and community innovation  Regulations, standards and strategies for buildings communities & cities  Smart infrastructure (water, waste, transportation & energy)  Data, ICT, and geo-information for smart urban management,  Smart urban technologies and tools,  Cybersecurity & privacy of knowledge and data,  Community engagement tools and technologies for city planning and management,  Smart cities, technologies and strategies for the emerging world

THE EXHIBITION:

The exhibition space consists of unique halls and spaces adjacent to the lecture area, which can cater for small & large stalls and pavilions. The fields of interest of the exhibition may include:  Green Building Materials & techniques  Smart Building tools and systems  GIS, C&C systems, CRM & Urban Management Tools & Safe City platforms  Smart infrastructure systems & solutions (water, energy, transportation, waste)  Communications, Sensors & IT  Building and infrastructure companies  Cities and Urban Innovation  Mature & Startup companies relevant to buildings and cities  Smart City providers and solutions  Solutions and technologies for the emerging world

PARTICPANTS:

Based on the profile of participants of previous events, as well as of bodies whom expressed interest in this year's event are:  Mayors and elected city officials from Israel and around the globe  Civil servants from cities and municipal corporations  National government officials  Real-estate entrepreneurs and companies  Building contractors and builders  Building and planning professionals  Infrastructure companies and providers  Banks & Financial bodies  Investors & Angels  Tech companies form Israel & abroad  ICT companies  Startups and innovators  Smart city solution providers and consultants  Accelerators, Technological Incubators and Venture Capital Funds  Association and professional bodies  Business & strategic Consultancies  NGO's & environmental organizations  Academic and research bodies  Students & The general public

BUSINESS POTENTIALS:

The event & the side events are major opportunities for exchanging ideas and doing business. The Event will cater for spontaneous B2B, B2C & B2G meetings during breaks as well pre-organized timeslots in specially organized spaces for meetings between delegations, companies and innovative entrepreneurs. For international delegates we can cater for pre-organized visits and meetings prior of after the event with pre-screened companies and bodies relevant to the needs and interests or through direct request form the delegation members

THE SMART CITY & GREEN BUILDING WEEK:

The conference is the peak of a weeklong program dedicated to Smart Cities and Green building. During this week, as in prior years we will host dozens of activities and satellite events throughout Israel such as study tours, workshops and meetups, cocktails and more. (The final list of events & sites will be announce closer to the date). These events will provide for more intimate & informal meetings with the local innovation scene. Some of these, such as "innovation-on-the-bar" events, will enhance the hype and atmosphere, which leads this state of mind, and hopefully, promoting future partnerships and exchange of knowledge.

For more information please contact: Noa Turgeman - [email protected] Rafi Rich - [email protected]