The bidding process for the ninth European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns is now open. The purpose of the conference is to share the most advanced approaches, tools and inspiring ideas for local transformation, to foster governance innovation, and to strengthen local value chains and assets. It will facilitate dialogue on the local sustainability agenda across levels of governance and with relevant stakeholders from business, NGOs and research.

The core event runs for a maximum of three days, leaving the possibility for pre-events and side events open. The next host will join a list which includes previous host cities such as Aalborg 1994, Lisbon 1996, Hanover 2000, Aalborg 2004, Seville 2007, Dunkerque 2010, Geneva 2013 and the Basque Country 2016.

The conference is tentatively planned for 2019 and will build on the success of the 8th ESCT Conference, which took place in the Basque Country. The 8th conference saw 1,000 participants discuss the major challenges facing Europe: the economic and financial crisis, the massive influx of refugees, and the rise of anti-European sentiment. During the conference, European cities and towns acclaimed the Basque Declaration, the new roadmap to address challenges facing urban societies.

The envisaged 9th edition of the conference will again put the spotlight on innovative approaches to local governance and financing for the transformation agenda in the spirit of the Basque Declaration.

Cities interested in hosting the conference are invited to review the bidding package and the call for interest. Deadline for submission of bids is 15 March, 2018.

For more information about the European Sustainable Cities and Towns Conference, visit the Sustainable Cities Platform.