EUKN 2010 Conference: Effects of Demographic Change on Urban Structures - Budapest, 13-14

EUKN 2010 Conference: Effects of demographic change on urban structures - Budapest, 13-14 September 2010

The third annual EUKN conference will feed into the High-level Conference on demographic change which will be organised by the Hungarian Presidency of the European Union. EUKN's two- day conference will give an overview of the different forms of demographic change, from ageing to migration, and the effects of both shrinking and rapid growth on cities and urban regions. The conference brings together stakeholders, policy makers and experts (EU, national and regional) for an interactive exchange of strategies, experiences and hands-on knowledge. Interactive workshops and visits to projects in Budapest will give you a deeper insight in concrete instruments which might further strengthen the effectiveness of your own policy initiatives. The conference will also offer many informal opportunities for knowledge exchange and networking, including a boat tour with dinner on the Danube river.

All over Europe, cities need to cope with the effects of demographic change. Aging and migration have a huge impact on the social, economic and environmental fabric of our cities. We need to act now to prepare ourselves for the rapidly changing future. Some cities have implemented successful strategies. Others still need to find their way. The 3rd annual conference of the European Urban Knowledge Network (EUKN) brings together all stakeholders for an interactive exchange of views, strategies, experiences and hands-on knowledge. Policy makers, researchers and practitioners at EU, national and local level will present the main challenges and solutions.

The first day will start with three keynote speeches: demographic change in the European, national and city context:

Word of Welcome Prof. Dr. Zoltán Cséfalvay - State Secretary, Ministry for National Economy - Hungary

Key note speech 1 Mr. Péter Szaló - Hungarian Deputy State Secretary responsible for Urban Affairs

Keynote speech 2 Wladyslaw Piskorz - Head of Unit Urban Development - Territorial Cohesion, European Commission - Directorate-General for Regional Policy

Keynote speech 3 Prof.dr. Thorsten Wiechmann - Spatial Planning, Director of the Geographic Institute TU Dresden

After the plenary session interactive workshops will help you to discover what works and what does not work in practice. Different aspects of demographic change will be addressed. For a complete description of these workshops and conference programme click here (link:http://www.eukn.org/Meetings/EUKN_2010_Conference_Effects_of_demographic_chan ge_on_urban_structures_Budapest_13_14_September_2010) After these workshops a panel discussion with expert speakers and public will follow. The day will end with a nice sightseeing cruise on the Danube with dinner.

The second day continues with visits to projects in Budapest and give insights of certain approaches which might further strengthen the effectiveness of your own policy initiatives. During these ‘ onsite visits and debates’ participants will travel to a project within the city of Budapest related to conference topics. For a detailed description of these projects, please read the conference outline on this link (link: http://www.eukn.org/Meetings/EUKN_2010_Conference_Effects_of_demographic_change_o n_urban_structures_Budapest_13_14_September_2010) In addition, at the onsite debates other European ‘mirror projects’ will be presented. In this way, participants gain insights and can compare different approaches followed by an interesting discussion. The ‘mirror projects’ will be announced in the next few weeks.

How to register? To register for the conference, please read the terms and conditions and click here (link: http://85.255.218.237/eukn/Meetings/EUKN_2010_Conference_Effects_of_demographic_cha nge_on_urban_structures_Budapest_13_14_September_2010/See_also/Registration_form) to fill out the registration form. Fill in all required fields and submit it. Your application will be sent to the EUKN Secretariat. Once your registration form has been received, an e-mail will be sent with further payment details.