Strategic Partners
Major Cities of Europe – IT Users Group
The Organisation “Major Cities of Europe – IT Users Group” is composed of leading experts of Innovation in cities. They contribute to the continuous improvement of the value proposition of the association. It establishes the priorities and activities, it identifies the key and emerging topics of city innovation, it defines the workshop initiatives. The key activity of the Organisation is the yearly conference that takes place every year in a different city. The conference is the annual occasion for distinguished speakers from all Europe and worldwide to present the latest ICT innovations in their Cities and to share strategies, projects, successes and also issues. Informal exchanges and discussions take place during the whole conference.
Major Cities of Europe www.majorcities.eu (MCE) was created in 1982 as a non-profit and independent membership organisation of CIO’s, IT managers and heads of departments and policy makers in local governments. It includes universities and other public and private organisations supporting local governments, Our mission is to maximise the value realised from the use of information and communication technologies in the administration of public authorities at the local government level within Europe and the European sphere of influence. The objective is achieved by:
- sharing of experiences and learning amongst members through an annual
- conference, workshops, webinars and social networks;
- disseminating amongst members innovative practices from around the world;
- facilitating discussion and engagement with members;
- supporting the involvement of members in EU and other transnational projects;
- engaging the private sector in sharing their experiences in providing innovative technologies and solutions at the local government level;
- engaging research organisations and academia in piloting, sharing and
- experimenting leading-edge technologies and solutions;
Membership is open to local government organisations, academic and research institutions and not-for-profit organisations that share, support or want to contribute to the above objectives. The involvement of private sector organisations is encouraged through their sponsorship of specific activities.
MCE Members cover most European countries together with some non-European Local Governments, such as Israel and USA. The list of members can be viewed in the MCE portal at https://www.majorcities.eu/members/
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Croatia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Kosovo
- Netherlands
- Romania
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE: Since its creation in 1982, MCE has held its conference each year in a different city and country with the objective of giving to the participants the opportunity to share international and local experiences. It is the annual occasion for distinguished speakers from all over Europe and further afield to present the latest digital innovations in their local governments and to share successes and issues. Informal exchanges and discussions take place during the conference. In recent years, the conference has taken place in Venice, Berlin, Prato, Vienna, Ljubljana, Zurich, Hamburg, Florence and Zagreb. In June 2019, the conference took place In Venice, hosting about 350 delegates from 20 countries who gave unanimous, positive feedback. The 2020 conference will be hosted by the Municipality of Larissa from 27th to 29th May.
THE WORKSHOPS: Interested MCE Members organise and host one day workshops on specific topics of interest. The objective is to share and discuss experiences in order to identify common, good practices. The results of the workshops are shared and published on the MCE portal in a dedicated area. These are some examples topics of workshops undertaken since 2014.
- Open Source in local governments
- Policy making, e-inclusion, e-participation
- Safety and Security
- The challenges facing ICT Departments
- Take your smart city to the next level by leveraging City Data
- Local Government Transformation
We are planning to organise new workshops in 2020 to be selected from topics
prioritised according to members’ interests.
PARTICIPATION IN EU RESEARCH AND INNOVATION PROGRAMMES: MCE supports its members in disseminating the results of their EU research and innovation programmes across its network of innovative local governments. MCE also facilitates the formation of project consortia, by supporting its members in selecting partners and in being engaged in such projects. STUDY TOURS: In September 2016 MCE organised for its members its first 3 day study tour in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem aimed at providing opportunities for in-depth meetings with those two cities, who are well known leaders in innovation, creation of new services and economic development. Further study tours in other cities will
be organised in the future.
THE MCE KNOWLEDGE BASE: published on the MCE portal, includes handouts from our conferences and workshops, and video interviews with local government leaders.
MCE GROUPS IN SOCIAL NETWORKS: The Major Cities of Europe group on LinkedIn encompasses more than 500 representatives from local governments, universities and companies from Europe and all over the world. It is open to the participation and contribution from any organisations interested in publishing and sharing information, experiences, articles and publications related to ICT innovation in cities and in taking part to on-line discussions. MCE manages similar dedicated groups on Facebook and Twitter THE MCE NEWSLETTER gives access to news about the organisation, events and emerging topics and technologies to support innovation.
THE MCE NEWSLETTER gives access to news about the organisation, events and emerging topics and technologies to support innovation