Living-in.EU at Smart City Expo World Congress 2025: European Cities and GenAI
The Living-in.EU Movement will be present at the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) 2025, one of the leading global events for cities, digital transformation, and urban innovation.
SCEWC brings together government representatives, industry leaders, urban planners, and researchers from around the world to exchange ideas, showcase cutting-edge solutions, and advance sustainable, inclusive, and smart urban development. With a rich programme of exhibitions, thematic sessions, and networking opportunities, the event acts as a global hub for collaboration on the future of cities.
For the Living-in.EU Movement, being at SCEWC is a strategic opportunity to reinforce its mission of supporting interoperable digital transformation across all levels of public administration. The event provides a valuable space to share ongoing initiatives, engage with key stakeholders, and promote the collective effort to build human-centric, digitally empowered cities across Europe.
European cities and GenAI: examples, challenges and opportunities
📍 Location: Stage: Tech X Cities
📅 Date & Time: 5 November 2025, 9:30 – 10:15
🎙 Format: Agora session
AI is reshaping every aspect of our lives, and cities are no exception. Local administrations are exploring how AI can improve policies, internal processes, and citizen services. While GenAI has gained traction in the private sector, its impact in the public sector is only beginning to be explored.
As the level of government closest to citizens, cities and regions are well-placed to pioneer the responsible use of GenAI. From improving efficiency to enabling more personalised services and data-driven urban planning, municipalities across Europe are experimenting with different applications. Some are integrating commercial solutions like Copilot for Microsoft 365, others are testing open tools, or adopting hybrid approaches.
Living-in.EU is the community of European cities and regions working together to accelerate local digital transformation. By championing advanced digital technologies, members support Europe’s transition towards a greener, more sustainable, and fair society.
In this session, Living-in.EU will bring together cities to share practical experiences with GenAI. Participants will present their applications, discuss challenges, address ethical considerations, and explore how AI can be scaled responsibly in Europe’s public sector.
Speakers
 Anni Orttenvuori-Ganter Anni leads data governance and enterprise architecture development at the City of Espoo. Her work focuses on supporting and improving quality practices across different sectors, while advancing the city’s capabilities in data utilization and impact leadership. She also provides strategic support for service development across municipal units, ensuring that data and knowledge are effectively leveraged to drive innovation and better outcomes for residents. |
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Arnis Gulbis Arnis Gulbis is a senior executive IT Manager experienced in developing business through the effective use of data & technology that benefits customers and employees. Extensive multi-cultural experience gained working in large enterprises - Cabot, JYSK, Kesko, DHL, Latvian Post. Specialties: IT Management, leadership, change management, innovation. |
 Markus Mohl Markus Mohl works for the GeodataService at the City of Munich. He is the Head of Geoservices and Digital Twin Munich. The digital replication is the digital heart of Munich's smart city approach. |
 Julia Olander Julia Olander works at Intraservice, the City of Gothenburg’s department for shared digital infrastructure and AI development in Sweden. She focuses on human-centric digital transformation and the use of AI to make city services more accessible for everyone. Julia coordinates the City of Gothenburg in the European Citiverses Uniting for Inclusiveness (CU) project, co-funded by the Digital Europe Programme. |
 Helen Köpman Helen Köpman is the Deputy Head of Unit AI for Societal Good at the European Commission in the Artificial Intelligence Office at the Directorate-General for Communications, Networks, Content and Technology. She focuses on AI-driven innovation for Smart Cities and Communities. Prior, she was driving innovation actions across digital policies and programmes with particular focus on measures to help scale up European deep tech startups and also managed EU-supported ICT R&D applied to mobility. Her current focus is to develop an EU-based innovative ecosystem of public authorities, cities and tech companies that develop services that benefit the citizens. |
Moderator
 Gabriela Ruseva Gabriela Ruseva works at Eurocities, the network of large European cities, where she coordinates the Living-in.EU initiative accelerating digital transformation of cities and regions. She is passionate about how digital technologies can make our lives easier, about education and training, social inclusion, and innovation. |
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