APD | France’s Nantes elected 2019 European capital of innovation

By APD writer** Aditya Nugraha**

BRUSSELS, Sept. 26 (APD) - France’s city of Nantes was named as European capital of innovation this year by European Union (EU) Research and Innovation Program, earning some euro 1 million of cash from the program.

Nantes was considered fit for the title as the city is highly recognized for its outstanding ability to harness innovation in improving the lives of its citizens, couple with its open and collaborative governance model.

"Nantes stands out as a great example of how a city can engage its citizens in addressing challenges such as energy efficiency, ageing population, digital transformation, and social inclusion. This is how innovation works for the benefit of citizens," the program’s commissioner, Carlos Moedas, said.

Responding the title, Nantes Major and President of Nantes Metropole Johanna Rolland said that innovation 'by and for all' is at the heart of Nantes policies.

“This is why I am honored to receive the European Capital of Innovation Award 2019. For me, this recognition is for the quality of our citizen dialogue and the dynamism of our metropolitan innovation ecosystem," she said.

The other five runner-up cities - Antwerp (Belgium), Bristol (UK), Espoo (Finland), Glasgow (UK) and Rotterdam (the Netherlands), received euro 100,000 each to promote and scale up their innovation practice.

Nantes is the fifth city to win the award, and the second non-capital city after Barcelona.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)