Cluj-Napoca
Eurocities 2024

Welcome to Cluj-Napoca, ‘the Heart of Transylvania’, where tradition meets innovation. Through the Eurocities conference, you can experience the vibrant blend of our community through green, innovative, and resilient initiatives.

29 – 31 May 2024

eurocities2024@c-edu.ro

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Dear guests,

A heartfelt welcome to our home, Cluj-Napoca!

It is a great honor for the City of Cluj-Napoca to host you all in our home, one of Europe’s beating hearts.

The annual conference will offer our local community insight into the relevance and importance of collaboration among European cities. Additionally, it will be a wonderful opportunity for us to present and welcome all esteemed members of our most important European cities network to the heart of Transylvania.

Yours truly,
Mayor Emil Boc & Cluj City Hall Team

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

Eurocities Annual Conference 2024 Cluj-Napoca and General Assembly

Being held one week before the European Parliament elections, the conference presents a unique opportunity for city leaders to share their experiences and expectations for the next five years. It aims to form a strong alliance with the upcoming European Parliament and Commission to shape the future of our continent and the planet. Eurocities 2024 Cluj-Napoca will showcase how cities are becoming greener, more innovative, and more resilient by nurturing local ecosystems and talents.

Join us at Eurocities 2024, where we wish to inspire other cities, share solutions and tools, and seek support for cities facing challenges.

Europe starts in
Cluj-Napoca

As members of the Eurocities family of cities, we aim to provide you with the opportunity to feel at home in the heart of Transylvania. Here, as in each of your amazing cities, we are working and collaborating towards a better tomorrow—a future envisioned as Green, Innovative, and Resilient.

Cluj-Napoca, known as “the Heart of Transylvania,” is recognized as the cultural and economic capital of the region. It boasts a rich history and culture, where local identity harmonizes with European values. With its strong academic heritage, Cluj-Napoca nurtures a creative, dynamic, and vibrant community, emphasizing cooperation as a pivotal factor in sustainable local development.

Cluj-Napoca is the second-largest city in Romania. Thus, anyone can easily reach here through various means: by plane, by train, by car, or by bus. In terms of accommodation, we have a multitude of options that cater to every taste. We await you for a complete cultural experience in the Heart of Transylvania.

First, let's get you comfortable

Register

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Book a room

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See available rooms

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Flights & transportation

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Enjoy Cluj

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Explore Cluj-Napoca

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Programme

Since the global pandemic, European cities need to change their ways of working in response to several crises, including the war in Ukraine and the ongoing challenges posed by climate change.

Today, cities must build a green, innovative, and resilient Europe for all. At our annual conference in Cluj-Napoca, 29-31 May 2024, we will illustrate how cities are addressing evolving needs and increasing the well-being of their inhabitants in a changing world.

Detailed programme will be announced soon.

Speakers

Giovanna Coi

Giovanna Coi is a data journalist for Politico Europe, which covers the latest news and trends from the EU and its member states.

Giovanna is passionate about climate policy, social equity and gender issues.

She is the co-author of POLITICO’s Living Cities Global Policy Lab, a solutions-journalism project that looks at Europeans’ relationships with the cities in which they live.

Bianca Faragau

Bianca Faragau is an Institutional Policy Officer at the Permanent Representation of the European Investment Bank, with responsibility for urban development policy, cohesion policy and just transition policy.

She ensures close cooperation between the EU institutions and EIB services to deliver on EU investment priorities, particularly in regions and cities. 

Bianca previously worked for Eurocities, where she coordinated cities’ actions on social innovation and social investments, including skills, employment, housing and active inclusion. As an EU public policy expert with 12 years’ experience, Bianca has also worked with the European Commission on employment, education and gender equality, as well as collaborating with the research, consultancy and NGO sectors.

Bianca is committed to improving people’s lives through EU policies and to achieving lasting change at local level.

Catarina Heeckt

Catarina Heeckt is Programme Lead for the European Cities Programme and a Policy Fellow at LSE Cities at the London School of Economics.

She manages the programme and leads on policy research that supports European city leaders to meet urban challenges.

Catarina is passionate about climate action and accelerating the transition towards resilient and inclusive cities by translating academic research into concrete policy advice. Her current research focuses on rethinking sustainable urban mobility in the context of wider post-growth transitions.

Over the past decade, Catarina has collaborated with a range of public, private and third sector partners, including UN-Habitat, the OECD, the European Environment Agency, C40 and Metropolis, as well as national and local governments in the UK, Germany, Mexico, Peru, Sweden, India, Ethiopia and Myanmar.

Miguel González

Miguel González is Communications Manager at the Federation for Innovation in Democracy – Europe (FIDE).

FIDE is a network of democratic innovators working to advance citizens’ involvement in policymaking through deliberative methods.

Miguel coordinates advocacy events, manages communication strategies and oversees the organisation’s online presence. He also leads FIDE’s Deliberative Schools, which are capacity-building events for policymakers and civil society organisations. The events include training on how to design and implement Citizens’ Assemblies, ensuring their legitimacy and impact in public institutions.

Before joining FIDE, Miguel worked at Eurocities, organising international events and conferences, covering areas such as citizens’ engagement, sustainable mobility and environmental policies.

Emilia Botezan

Emilia Botezan is Head of the Foreign Affairs and Investments Department in the Municipality of Cluj-Napoca

She leads the development and implementation of the city diplomacy strategy and promotes the city’s work at national, EU and global levels.

During her 17 years working for Cluj-Napoca, Emilia has led the development of a range of tools to promote the city to international audiences and investors. She also pioneered the creation of the first online business platform to be owned by a European municipality.

Emilia’s is committed to the ongoing development of her city as a hub for innovation, research and business. Her goal is to supporting skills and growth for local people and build a prosperous future for citizens.

Awards & Jury

The annual Eurocities Awards recognise cities’ outstanding achievements in improving quality of life for local people, addressing Europe’s challenges at every level. Eurocities Cluj-Napoca 2024 provides the context for European cities to be recognized for their achievements by offering awards in three categories:

Innovation ecosystems: attracting and retaining talent

Cities are drivers and enablers of innovative processes, involving a wide range of stakeholders, including public and private sectors, academia, and, importantly, people.

The green and digital transitions open new opportunities for people and the economy. A workforce with in-demand skills contributes to sustainable growth, innovation, and competitiveness in cities.

Acquiring new skill sets through up-skilling and reskilling strategies, as well as attracting and retaining talent, is essential to keeping up with the changing needs of the job market and the complexity of the transition towards a more sustainable and digitalised economy.

Sustainable food systems: empowering people

With over 70% of all the food produced consumed in urban areas, cities and their citizens represent a force of change for moving towards more sustainable and fair food systems. Choices need to be made in terms of procurement, providing healthy food for all and reducing food waste, to reduce GHG emissions and make urban food systems more sustainable.

Citizens can play a crucial role in this transformation: they can increase demand for healthy and more plant-based food with their purchasing power, engage in food-related NGOs, set up food-related start-ups and SMEs, and influence the food system in their city and region by getting involved in local food policy development.

As citizens are fundamental for change, in this award category, we are looking for projects that emphasise empowering citizens or other actors with food-related initiatives, combining environmental with social goals, to move towards just and sustainable food systems.

Creative election campaigns: mobilizing citizens

We must mobilize our citizens to engage in the democratic process and participate in elections at all levels.

This is a pressing concern in our democracies, particularly with the European elections in June 2024, just after our awards ceremony.

We are looking for projects that can showcase innovative, creative and successful approaches to getting citizens to the election box for local, national or European elections, in particular campaigns that have successfully encouraged young people to vote, highlighting for example:

Consistent engagement over time

Unusual outreach venues and activities

Effectively using social media

Or any other successful creative ideas

Bianca Faragau

Institutional Policy Officer at the Permanent Representation of the European Investment Bank

Catarina Heeckt