On March 27th, a delegation from the City of Turin arrived in Nagoya, the fourth largest city in Japan.
The delegation from Turin was comprised of Chiara Foglietta, Councilor for Ecological and Digital Transition, Innovation, Environment, Mobility and Transportation of the City of Turin, Gianfranco Presutti, Director of European Funds and PNRR of the City of Turin, and Elena Deambrogio, Innovation Manager of CTE NEXT and Head of the Smart City Office, European Projects and Innovation of the City of Turin. The purpose of their visit was to strengthen the collaboration between the two cities.
The dialogue between Turin and Nagoya is part of the European IURC program for international cooperation between cities and regions. The City of Turin was selected for a two-year cooperation project with the Japanese city of Nagoya.
Previously, in November 2022, a delegation from Nagoya visited Turin for a technological tour focused on innovation. Upon their return, the Japanese city decided to allocate funds to adopt the urban testing system developed by Turin City Lab and CTE Next, a news that confirms the international value of the work carried out by the open-air laboratory in Turin.
On the first day, the delegation led by Chiara Foglietta met with Takashi Kawamura, Mayor of Nagoya, and Toshio Sumi, Director of the City's Startup Support Office. During this last meeting held at Nagoya's Innovator's Garage, it was announced that funds would be allocated for the replication of the Turin urban testing model.
The delegation also visited the Nagono Campus, a former school converted into an innovation hub with 180 on-site businesses that aims to become an interactive hub capable of interacting with citizens and local communities. Furthermore, the delegates had the opportunity to discover entrepreneurship training activities for young people and the application of 5G in Japan.
Another stop was the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology, where the delegation enjoyed an interesting journey into the history and future of Toyota.
Another site visited was the Nagoya University's "Idea Stoa", where startup support programs and R&D activities were discussed, such as the COI Next program on the open innovation platform for co-creation between industry and academia.
During the discussions between the delegations, key areas of focus for collaboration between Torino City Lab/CTE Next and Nagoya were identified. These include:
- Demonstrations of 5G activities, such as pilot projects and technological demonstrations that allow for testing of new features and performance of 5G mobile network technology in real situations;
- CCAM applications - Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility, including advanced technologies such as connectivity, automation and cooperation between vehicles and infrastructure to improve road safety, sustainability and efficiency of transportation systems;
- Entrepreneurship programs in schools and universities;
- The definition of "structures" to promote bridges for startups and SMEs from Torino/Italy to Nagoya/Japan and vice versa.
The visit concluded with a stroll among the cherry blossoms of Nagoya Castle, an unforgettable experience for the delegation.
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