Southeast European cities teach unity to revive the innovation economy


Southeast European cities teach unity to revive the innovation economy

An innovation summit, the first of its kind in the region

Innowave Summit is a Varna brand event held for the first time in Cluj-Napoca (Romania). It is one of the biggest innovation events in Central and Eastern Europe, organized by the Bulgarian Business Forum (Varna), C-EDU Cluster of Education (Cluj-Napoca) and the Municipality of Cluj-Napoca in partnership with the City of Varna (Bulgaria). It is also part of the strategic activities of the first pan-European platform for collaboration and stimulation of start-ups in Europe and worldwide, StartupCities Platform, in which Varna and Cluj-Napoca operate as founding members.

The connection and collaboration of the two cities is particularly important in the context of the European Year of Youth. In the presence of European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya GabrielEuropean Committee of the Regions President Apostolos Tzitzikostas and some of Europe’s most innovative mayors, Innowave Summit will show how two European cities are working together to take youth and education to the next level.

The vibrant appearance of this innovation and knowledge sharing event would also present Cluj and Varna as cities of knowledge and make visible to all the strong bond between these two cities.

Connected events during the Innowave Summit days as part of the StartupCity Cluj Napoca Days:

  • The Europe is going local initiative will organize a transnational conference in Cluj-Napoca, from 17 to 20 May 2022.
  • As part of the European Year of Youth, actors from the local ecosystem will also organize a series of youth events and actions in the city.
  • On May 18, 2022, a Local dialogue with citizens – co-organized by the European Committee of the Region and the Municipality of Cluj-Napoca on the theme “Europe begins in Transylvania. Building the solid foundations of the House of European Democracy”
  • On May 19, 2022 in the morning, the official establishment of the The network of European Youth Capitals will be marked with a signing ceremony.
  • Part of the Innowave Summit 2022 agenda will also be the First regional edition in Romania for the biggest startup event – Startup World Cup. The winner will have the chance to compete against the world’s top startups for the US$1,000,000 prize.

All of the above events, plus Innowave Summit 2022, aim to celebrate innovation and the contribution of young people to the participatory reconstruction of European cities and communities.

This initiative will strengthen the good connection and collaboration between Cluj Napoca and Varna. Through this collaboration, Bulgaria and Romania will continue their efforts to support start-ups, local public authorities, catalysts of the local innovation ecosystem and bottom-up innovative initiatives to retain talent in the region.

Dimitar Vasilev, President of the Bulgarian Business Forum, describes the concept: “Together put into practice and building on the collaboration and mutual support that Varna and Cluj have developed in recent years. Our communities have similar challenges and our ecosystems are compatible. With Innowave Summit, we invite all interested actors to join us in moving forward with pragmatic and concrete business projects, actions and decisions. The summit will bring together policy makers, European startup communities, innovative regional and global market leaders”.

Emilia Botezan, Head of International Affairs and Investors at Cluj-Napoca The municipality pointed out that “In a globalized world, where no one can isolate themselves to avoid problems (like Covid19), what we can do is use this as a constructive tool, and create a mechanism that offers the same resources to as many of communities as possible to access them. Innowave Summit is one of the ways we invite communities to come together and discuss solutions that tackle vital issues for our cities, such as digital transformation, or access to European funding for innovation and technology. opening access to startups from Eastern Europe, and above all providing solutions for the most pressing green problems. Agreement needs”.

Book your spot here: www.innowavesummit.com

Learn more about the Startup World Cup Romania here: swc.innowavesummit.com

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