A high-level debate and presentation on Smart Villages, organised under the auspices of the 2021 Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU, moderated by MSc Ladeja Godina Košir, Founder and Director Circular Change, Ljubljana /Chair of CG ECESP, Brussels, will take place at Terra Pavilion at Dubai Expo.

Dubai is one of the most forward-thinking, technologically-advanced cities in the world. A manmade marvel, it is therefore no surprise that Dubai is on its way to becoming a model smart city. It is here that we would like to show off the advantages of investing into Smart Villages. Synergising state of the art technology and AI is the way forward and can have a significant positive impact on rural and remote communities. In this two-part event, major global industry players come together with high-level European institution representatives and national politicians, for an insightful debate on the opportunities and challenges of smart villages, followed by an inspiring presentation of their vision for smart villages.

Preliminary agenda:

18:00 – 18:05 Short introduction

18:05 – 18:20 Introductory speeches

● Matic Volk, Commissioner General of the Republic of Slovenia for EXPO (confirmed)

● Franc Bogovič, Member of the European Parliament (SLS/EPP) (confirmed)

18:20 – 18:30 Keynote Speech

Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Democracy and Demography: A long-term vision for EU rural development (confirmed)

18:30 – 19:15 First panel discussion:

Smart Villages and development of rural areas on a global scale

● Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Democracy and Demography (confirmed)

● dr. Jože Podgoršek, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development, Government of the Republic of Slovenia, Presiding minister of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council of the EU (confirmed)

● Franc Bogovič, Member of the European Parliament (SLS/EPP) & Chair of the EP RUMRA & Smart Villages Intergroup (confirmed)

● H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, UAE (invited)

● Representative of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (TBC)

● Representative of African country - Chenesai Mukora-Mangoma, CEO, Chenesai Africa, Creative Industries Trade Strategist (confirmed) (online participation)

19:15 – 19:30 Coffee break & Presentation, Vision for Smart Villages

19:30 – 19:50 Second panel discussion:

Empowerment of rural women and the role of innovation for the digital transformation of rural areas

● Doris Letina, Vice President of the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA), online participation

● Tony Jin, Huawei Chief Representative for the EU Institutions (confirmed)

● Gregor Novak, CEO Suncontract, Slovenian Energy company (SME) (confirmed)

19:50 – 20:00 Open discussion and key takeaways

The event will be followed by a reception at the Slovenian Pavilion.