SDA Participates in the Digital Capacity for Digital Happiness Forum

 
On July 7th, Sevdalina Voynova from the Sofia Development Association took part in the “Digital Capacity for Digital Happiness” forum. The event was dedicated to providing entrepreneurs and disadvantaged communities the opportunity to develop skills and work together towards overall social advancement. Ideas presented at the forum included: digital capacity development strategies for NGOs, obstacles and problem solving methods, finance and sustainment models as well as beneficial practices for NGOs to follow in order to achieve success in the ever-changing digital world.

Participation in the forum granted:

•Access to information regarding the obstacles and models available for NGOs to successfully tackle issues;

•Necessary skills and habits required for achieving goals;

•New contacts through networking and practice.

The event took place at Sofia University.

Organizers: “Trust For Social Achievement”, Begital- Digital Transformation Consulting, The Digital Leadership Institute.

International Conference “Smarter Together”

The project “Smarter Together” from the program Horizon 2020 will host its first international conference in Sofia on July 11th-12th, 2017. The goal of the project is to find a balance between intelligent technology and organizational administration in order to make smart decisions that will enhance the overall standard of living for citizens. The project calls upon European leader cities- Lyon, Munich, Vienna, follower cities- Santiago de Compostela, Sofia and Venice, as well as viewer cities- Kiev, Yokohama. Partnerships between the cities will create jointly integrated solutions with regards to district heating and renewable energy, energy efficiency of public and private buildings, data management platforms and intelligent services as well as sustainable mobility. Sofia as well as the remainder of the follower cities will replicate the results of the project.

This conference will focus on the experience and efforts of the Sofia municipality regarding intelligent and inclusive strategies and solutions in the field of sustainable energy, mobility and air cleanliness. Sevdalina Voynova from the SDA will present the Strategy for Intelligent Specialization of Sofia.

SDA SUPPORTS FORUM "DIGITAL CAPACITY FOR DIGITAL HAPPINESS"

On July 7th, Sofia Development Association will support the digital capacity forum held at Sofia University. The event is dedicated to providing entrepreneurs and disadvantaged communities as a whole the opportunity to cultivate their skills and work together towards overall social advancement.

Speakers, including SDA’s Sevdalina Voynova will explore and discuss topics regarding the different development strategies feasible for NGOs to address social innovation, funding models and the complexity of the digital age as a whole.

More information regarding the digital capacity forum may be found at http://www.bg.digital/community/happiness/

New Generation Skills

 
Young generations have the potential to be pro-active engines of innovation and become change-makers in their local communities. However, 62% of young people in Central and Eastern Europe are not interested in starting their own business, whereas one in five would like to, but consider it too difficult. That's the reason why Sofia Development Association and Sofia Municipality becames partner of the project New Generation Skills, funded by the Danube Transnational Program.

Between June 27 and 29, 2017, partners from Liberec (Czech Republic), Budapest (Hungary), Maribor (Slovenia), Cluj (Romania), Graz (Austria), Belgrade (Serbia) and Sofia met in Liberec to compare and discuss their local environments to support youth. The primary target of the joint efforts are young people (15-29). Cities and regions aim to engage SME's, NGO's, administrations, educational organisations and also mentors, lectors and coaches to build and test common initiatives supporting the young. The interregional workshop identified shared challenges, selected established good practices and outlined the next steps: developing local innovation agendas and transnational innovation lab.
More information on the project is available at http://www.interreg-danube.eu/approved-projects/newgenerationskills

Bringing Innovation to SMEs

Eight European regions met in Gyor, Hungary, on June 19 – 21, 2017, to learn from each other on how to improve R&D utilization in SMEs. The meeting was the fifth interregional learning event of InnoBridge project funded by INTERREG EUROPE programme.

The regions of West Transdanubia, Hungary, and the autonomous region of Bolzano, Italy, presented their ecosystems and policy instruments in support of innovation and SMEs.

Györ, the centre of the Hungarian automotive industry, also demonstrated their good practices: Mobilitis Science Center and the Research Center of Vehicle Industry with the Széchenyi István University. Building on Győr’s technical and industrial heritage and high-tech automotive presence, Mobilis focuses on the scientific and technological concepts related to transport and vehicles, doing so to engage young visitors with the industry and draw attention to exciting potential (engineering and/or science) career paths in the industry. Mobilis (100% Győr City municipality owned non-profit organisation) operates out of a brand new building located on the campus of Széchenyi István University of Győr. The Research Center of Vehicle Industry aims at providing appropriate research and development cooperation between the automotive partners and higher education. Both organizations show that the joined efforts of industry, academia and local government produce proven results by Györ’s ranking second in Hungary in GDP.

The InnoBridge project is implemented in Sofia by Sofia Development Association of behalf of Sofia Municipality and ARC Foundation. More about the project is available here: https://www.interregeurope.eu/INNOBRIDGE/