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For four days, Cascais hosts the network of finalists and winners of the European Capital of Innovation Awards, a meeting aimed at sharing experiences and defining new paths. Amsterdam, Dublin and Dortmund are some of the 11 European cities taking part.
 

Rewarding the most innovative cities 
For the past 10 years, the European Innovation Council has honoured the cities that best promote innovation in their communities, awarding prizes in two categories: European Capital of Innovation (+250,000 inhabitants) and Rising City (between 50,000 and 250,000 inhabitants). (https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-prizes/european-capital-innovation-awards_en)

The example of Cascais 
In 2021, the municipality of Cascais received its second award as a Rising City and, since 2022, it has been part of the Network of Innovative Cities, actively participating in its initiatives and having launched the challenge of organising these technical visits, thus hosting its first edition. 

Cities and the future 
In Europe it is estimated that by 2050 almost 85 per cent of Europeans will be living in cities. The capacity of cities to absorb this growing demand for services and consumption of resources will be fundamental to guaranteeing their sustainability and resilience. 

This growing number of cities are acting as innovation laboratories and promoting initiatives geared towards transversal solutions in areas such as: climate change, digitalisation, sustainable growth or social cohesion.
 

What these cities have in common: 
Values: solidarity and the common good are at the root of Innovation. 
Courage: it's normal to try out new solutions. 
Creativity: good ideas come from a garage or a laboratory. 
Optimism: crises are seen as opportunities. 
Strategy: innovative plans and projects are a common construction. 
Happiness: the well-being of citizens is at the centre of policies. 
Participation: strong, trusting relationships generate innovative ecosystems. 

Cities represented at the Cascais meeting:

- Marseille (France) – Watch the video of this innovative city here
- Amsterdam (Netherlands) – Watch the video of this innovative city here
- Espoo (Sweden) – Watch the video of this innovative city here
- Cork (Ireland) – Watch the video of this innovative city here
- Dortmund (Germany) – Watch the video of this innovative city here
- Dublin (Ireland) – Watch the video of this innovative city here
- Haarlem (Netherlands) – Watch the video of this innovative city here
- Linkoping (Sweden) – Watch the video of this innovative city here
- Lisboa (Portugal) – Watch the video of this innovative city here
- Nante (France) – Watch the video of this innovative city here
- Vantaa (Finland) – Watch the video of this innovative city here