Become part of the change!
Our events offer participants the opportunity to engage with experts in urban transformation, collaborate across disciplines, and apply innovative solutions to pressing local and global challenges. From immersive workshops to in-depth peer discussions, each event is tailored to foster learning, creativity, and impactful change. Whether virtual or in-person, every gathering is a step toward creating the cities of tomorrow.
In partnership with Eurocities:
Next Generation Academy – Vilnius!
October 2024
the challenge
As Vilnius was gearing up for its role as the European Green Capital in 2025, one of its key priorities was to promote a greener, healthier, and more sustainable mobility model. The Next Generation Academy in Vilnius focused on the challenge of reducing car dependency and encouraging a shift towards public transport and cycling. Participants worked on creating innovative strategies and actions to drive this change, targeting key groups such as schools, workplaces, and the general public.
agenda
Over the two days, our incredible participants brought energy, creativity, and dedication to our four signature formats:
🟡 Deep Talks: In-depth discussions on mobility challenges and solutions with our expert panel.
🟣 Peer Learning: Fostering peer exchange to reflect on the insights gained.
🟡 Application Sprint: Collaborative, hands-on sessions where participants created actionable ideas for the city.
🟣 Active Breaks: A chance to connect with the city through bike tours and walks, helping us experience the city firsthand.
experts
We explored not only physical infrastructure but the underlying social perceptions and behaviors that hinder cycling adoption, with insights from our amazing experts Chris Bruntlett of the Dutch Cycling Embassy; Gintarė Janušaitienė, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Transport, Government of Lithuania; and Kristina Gaučė, Urban Mobility Planning expert. Thank you for being there to share your immense knowledge with the next generation of urban shapers!
The NGA Team moderated the sessions, along with Guillem Ramírez Chico from Eurocities.
participants
People below 30 years old, from:
Local university students and young professionals,
City officials and civil servants from Eurocities member cities,
International urban professionals.
Here we shaped the future of urban mobility! It was a chance to connect with international peers and be part of a collective effort to design a sustainable, inclusive, and vibrant future for our cities.
the solutions
The energy, collaboration, and sense of purpose were truly inspiring. As a result, participants came up with three innovative prototypes that will help Vilnius continue its path to sustainable mobility.
➡️ Making public transport accessible for all socioeconomic groups.
➡️ Reducing morning traffic through alternative school transport solutions.
➡️ Encouraging walking over short-distance scooter rides.
and also:
Next Generation Academy – San Sebastian!
October 2024
For the crazy about urban innovation and sustainability, the Next Generation Academy in San Sebastian was the perfect event to engage creatively in designing solutions for the cities of tomorrow.
the challenge
To involve the younger generation as part of the city’s Innovation Week, the Next Generation Academy in San Sebastian explored how to design innovative public policies that align the needs of the local economy with the demands of young people, ensuring that cities remain competitive and able to foster a thriving, engaged community. To bridge the gap between the environmentally sustainable needs of the emerging labour market and the aspirations of young talent
agenda
During this full-day journey, participants were part of a hands-on project that tackled this real-world challenges. The programme was structured around workshops and exchange with members of the San Sebastian local community – universities, technology, public officials. Joining allowed connecting with peers and professionals in the city, collaborate with international counterparts and bring fresh perspectives to local governance.
experts
In this edition, we could bring together Ben Rogers, academic and cities expert from LSE Cities among others; and Agostina Blengino, specialist in international relations and cooperations in academia. We also had a stakeholders round with Javier Ganuza, representing universities; Ibon Iribarren, from the industry and startup sector; Enrique Tunon, from academia; and Aritz Torres Zurutuza from Fomento San Sebastián.
The NGA Team moderated the sessions, along with Guillem Ramírez Chico from Eurocities.
participants
People below 30 years old, from:
Local university students and young professionals,
City officials and civil servants from Eurocities member cities,
International urban professionals.
Together we all gained valuable knowledge and skills while contributing to shaping policies that could have a lasting impact on urban development across Europe!
A heartfelt thank you to the incredible teams at Vilnius City Municipality and Fomento San Sebastián for their unwavering support in co-organising the first editions of the Eurocities Next Generation Academy. Your dedication, creativity, and shared vision were instrumental in bringing these events to life, and we are truly grateful for the trust and energy you brought to every step of the journey!
our special thanks
UF events
We are always happy to participate in the Urban Future Conference, where in a different city each year, thousands of CityChangers from all over the world share how they create transformation and which mistakes are made, accelerating change and successfully shaping the future of our cities. It is were we met as participants, and where we could host our first live events!
UF2024 in Rotterdam
This year we adapted our Educational Journey to the Conference programme and offering two impact driven workshops within the “Citychangers skills” track.
Our incredible experts for the Deep Talks were:
Isis Nuñez Ferrera: Senior Urban Advisor & Global Urban Workstream Lead at World Food Programme | Rome | Italy
Anna Wierzbicka: Director at City of Łódź | Łódź | Poland
Maria Stamati: Senior Project Leader at MVRDV | Rotterdam | The Netherlands
And presenting us a real case for Rotterdam:
Vincent van der Meulen: Architect / Partner at Kraaijvanger Architects | Rotterdam | The Netherlands
‘When you know there is something to be done, go for it with the right tools.’ This session reinforced the power of collaboration and the essential skills needed for meaningful urban change.’
Srishti Prabakar Nadathur
volunteer in UF23, participant in UF24
‘I thoroughly enjoyed sharing my experience and stories with all of you and listening about the important initiatives you are all doing as young leaders to make cities more inclusive. Although too short of a session, we discussed lots of shared challenges but also many concrete solutions and key skills needed to drive change and work in very complex contexts. Look forward to seeing where your projects go next.’
Isis Nuñez Ferrera
expert
UF2023 in Stuttgart
In 2023 we had the chance to present our first live-event ‘Unleashing the power of Transformative Knowledge‘ as a full day experience.
We are forever thankful to:
Heinrich Strößenreuther: Serial NGO-Founder | Berlin | Germany
Philipp Bouteiller: Managing Partner at Artprojekt | Professor at XU – Exponential University of Applied Sciences
Frederik Fischer: Founder of Neulandia (KoDorf & Summer of Pioneers) | Germany
Raquel Jaureguízar: Architect and PM IBA’27 | Stuttgart | Germany
each responsible for one of the theses here below.
‘This kind of collaboration is imperative for success’.
Gia Chichilla
Director of Business Development & Marketing | Autonomy
‘This day was a valuable learning experience for me since I had the opportunity to meet people from slightly different backgrounds than mine, and this pushed me to think about issues from a different perspective’.
Stefano Simonetta
Eurocities
‘It’s so motivating to see that there are young people in the world with the same spirit who are eager to make our world more sustainable’
Pauline Fante
Pruduct Owner | Automation
get in touch with us