{"id":9747,"date":"2025-04-16T13:56:33","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T10:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/?p=9747"},"modified":"2025-04-16T13:57:34","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T10:57:34","slug":"b40-balkan-cities-network-holds-first-online-working-group-meetings-during-sofia-presidency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/b40-balkan-cities-network-holds-first-online-working-group-meetings-during-sofia-presidency\/","title":{"rendered":"B40 Balkan Cities Network Holds First Online Working Group Meetings during Sofia Presidency"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-8q9uql-4d62388af1e1c55e62246b9b1383a613\">\n.avia-section.av-8q9uql-4d62388af1e1c55e62246b9b1383a613{\nbackground-color:#6cc068;\nbackground-image:unset;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div id='av_section_1'  class='avia-section av-8q9uql-4d62388af1e1c55e62246b9b1383a613 main_color avia-section-default avia-no-border-styling  avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_textblock  avia-builder-el-first  avia-bg-style-scroll container_wrap fullsize'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><main  role=\"main\" itemprop=\"mainContentOfPage\"  class='template-page content  av-content-full alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-9747'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-m67ntix5-bb949a1acb290da5efdf3a34a67639ec\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-m67ntix5-bb949a1acb290da5efdf3a34a67639ec{\npadding-bottom:10px;\ncolor:#ffffff;\n}\nbody .av-special-heading.av-m67ntix5-bb949a1acb290da5efdf3a34a67639ec .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{\nfont-size:25px;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-m67ntix5-bb949a1acb290da5efdf3a34a67639ec .special-heading-inner-border{\nborder-color:#ffffff;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-m67ntix5-bb949a1acb290da5efdf3a34a67639ec .av-subheading{\nfont-size:15px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-m67ntix5-bb949a1acb290da5efdf3a34a67639ec av-special-heading-h3 custom-color-heading blockquote modern-quote  avia-builder-el-1  avia-builder-el-no-sibling '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag'  itemprop=\"headline\"  >B40 Balkan Cities Network Holds First Online Working Group Meetings during Sofia Presidency<\/h3><div class=\"special-heading-border\"><div class=\"special-heading-inner-border\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/main><!-- close content main element --><\/div><\/div><div id='after_section_1'  class='main_color av_default_container_wrap container_wrap fullsize'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-full alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-9747'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-m6qt2hnr-58b68686560819ecc949be7f7ee78d2c\">\n#top .av_textblock_section.av-m6qt2hnr-58b68686560819ecc949be7f7ee78d2c .avia_textblock{\ntext-align:justify;\n}\n<\/style>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-m6qt2hnr-58b68686560819ecc949be7f7ee78d2c '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p>The B40 Balkan Cities Network successfully held its first online working group meetings under the Sofia Presidency on April 9, 2025. The meetings, which were conducted online, saw active participation from member cities and observer representatives.<\/p>\n<p>A total of 16 cities participated in the meetings: Istanbul, Athens, Niksic, Zagreb, Tirana, Sofia, Shumen, Mu\u011fla, Thessaloniki, Pella, Izmir, Troyan, Phristina, Split, Tuzi, and Galati. Observer representatives from the Union of Municipalities of T\u00fcrkiye and ICLEI also attended the meetings.<\/p>\n<p>The four working groups \u2013 Local Climate Action, Local Democracy and Migration, Smart Cities and Digital Transformation, and Local Economic and Cultural Cooperation \u2013 each convened to discuss key topics and collaborative projects for the year ahead. Participants shared insights, challenges, and best practices within their respective areas.<\/p>\n<p>Among the primary topics discussed were:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Urban Heat Island Effect<\/strong> and <strong>Air Pollution Mitigation<\/strong> in the Local Climate Action Working Group.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>promotion of local democracy<\/strong> and <strong>citizen engagement<\/strong> through events such as a photo competition\/exhibition on local democracy and citizen protests in the Local Democracy and Migration Working Group.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Digital transformation<\/strong> and <strong>smart city solutions<\/strong>, with an emphasis on artificial intelligence and new technologies in urban services in the Smart Cities and Digital Transformation Working Group.<\/li>\n<li>The strengthening of <strong>transportation and cultural ties<\/strong> between cities, including the creation of direct transport routes and a shared calendar for cultural events in the Local Economic and Cultural Cooperation Working Group.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The B40 Secretariat highlighted the importance of collaboration and the exchange of ideas, with a focus on enhancing inter-city cooperation through joint projects, shared resources, and mutual support for upcoming initiatives. Additionally, the group emphasized the role of funding, including the exploration of EU and other international financial support for climate and cultural projects.<\/p>\n<p>The first round of Online Working Group Meetings ended with the B40 Network, with all of its constituents, emphasizing progresses toward concrete outcomes and that cities can collaborate on initiatives that foster regional sustainability, democracy, and cultural exchange.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":{"id":8831,"url":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1.png","sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1-80x80.png","medium":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1-300x300.png","medium_large":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1.png","large":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1.png","1536x1536":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1.png","2048x2048":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1.png","widget":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1-36x36.png","square":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1-180x180.png","featured":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1-512x430.png","featured_large":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1.png","extra_large":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1.png","portfolio":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1-495x400.png","portfolio_small":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1-260x185.png","gallery":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1.png","magazine":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1-512x375.png","masonry":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1.png","entry_with_sidebar":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1-512x321.png","entry_without_sidebar":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/cropped-b40logo_1-512x423.png"}},"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9747"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9750,"href":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9747\/revisions\/9750"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b40network.org\/v2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}