Tbilisi and Dilijan hosted "Empowering City: Social Innovation for Urban Sustainability” forum

The forum brought together over 50 experts from post-Soviet countries, Germany and Turkey, coming from the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

Welcoming the participants of the forum, Executive Director of BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt Markus Hipp, Managing Director of MitOst Darius Polok and head of IDeA Foundation Edgar Manukyan stressed the importance of such events and exchange of the best international practices for further urban development.
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Riccardo Marini, Director of Gehl Architects Danish company, was the first speaker of the forum. He talked about the trends and prospects of modern cities, role of social innovations in city transformation and the challenges that the cities are faced with.

On the second day of the forum, the participants visited Dilijan and Kutaisi as two rapidly developing cities in Caucasus. 

In Dilijan, the guests visited UWC Dilijan College, ASBA Foundation’s social housing project, Tumo Dilijan and Dilijan Community Center.
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At the Central Bank of Armenia’s educational and research center, the participants of the forum were also welcomed by Dilijan authorities and representatives of local organizations implementing educational and other urban development programs. Within the extended meeting, the guests shared impressions from the Dilijan visit and their expertise in city transformation through social innovations.

The forum was organized by The BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt, Initiatives for Development of Armenia (IDeA) Foundation, MitOst e.V., Robert Bosch Stiftung with the support of Dilijan Mayor’s Office, Kutaisi municipality, Europa House, Central Bank of Armenia and Heinrich Boll South Caucasus.