Texas and Bologna: two vibrant economic and innovation focus points paired
Our Italian partner has joined the the EU's IUC cooperation programme and has been paired with the city of Austin, the capital of Texas. The first meeting took place on 17 April in Bologna. It was an important step for the collaboration, and in the coming months the two cities will develop a joint action plan addressing urban sustainability.
The networking involves also local stakeholders, and for this reason the Metropolitan City of Bologna organized a first meeting among local institutions and business associations. It was also an opportunity to introduce the RELOS3 project, aiming at better implementation of the local RIS3 strategies at local level. In fact, the economy and the dynamics of the development of Bologna and Austin present significant similarities, therefore important learning stimuli can born from the exchange of experiences.
The President of the Chamber of Commerce of Italy-Texas, Brando Ballerini, and the Director, Alessia Paolicchi, met the Deputy Major Fausto Tinti, the Deputy President of the Chamber of Commerce of Bologna, Domenico Olivieri, as well as the Deputy Secretary Giuseppe Iannaccone, technicians from the Economic Development Department of the Metropolitan City of Bologna and Unindustria Emilia.
The meeting was a first contact between two vibrant economic and innovation knot.
“The inputs to continue the collaboration are a lot", said the Deputy Major Fausto Tinti "– and during this meeting we pointed out some opportunities: visits to businesses, support to investments and marketing, fairs, B2B services and more and more.”
The next meeting will be in June, when the two cities, Bologna and Austin, will discuss some projects on sustainability: the circular economy, environmental service management and urban resilience.
The entire RELOS3 team is very proud that the reach of the project has now effectively increased beyond just the EU. By the way, did you know that also regions from outside the EU can join the S3 Platform? You can read more about it here.
